Local smoothing effects, positivity, and Harnack inequalities for the fast p-Laplacian equation

We study qualitative and quantitative properties of local weak solutions of the fast p-Laplacian equation, t_∂u=Δpu, with 1<p<2. Our main results are quantitative positivity and boundedness estimates for locally defined solutions in domains of Rn×[0,T]. We combine these lower and upper bounds in different forms of intrinsic Harnack inequalities, which are new in the very fast diffusion range, that is when 1<p?2n/(n+1). The boundedness results may be also extended to the limit case p=1, while the positivity estimates cannot.We prove the existence as well as sharp asymptotic estimates for the so-called large solutions for any 1<p<2, and point out their main properties.We also prove a new local energy inequality for suitable norms of the gradients of the solutions. As a consequence, we prove that bounded local weak solutions are indeed local strong solutions, more precisely .     

Improved interpolation inequalities,relative entropy and fast diffusion equations

We consider a family of Gagliardo–Nirenberg–Sobolev interpolation inequalities which interpolate between Sobolev?s inequality and the logarithmic Sobolev inequality, with optimal constants. The difference of the two terms in the interpolation inequalities (written with optimal constant) measures a distance to the manifold of the optimal functions. We give an explicit estimate of the remainder term and establish an improved inequality, with explicit norms and fully detailed constants. Our approach is based on nonlinear evolution equations and improved entropy–entropy production estimates along the associated flow. Optimizing a relative entropy functional with respect to a scaling parameter, or handling properly second moment estimates, turns out to be the central technical issue. This is a new method in the theory of nonlinear evolution equations, which can be interpreted as the best fit of the solution in the asymptotic regime among all asymptotic profiles.     

Existence of solutions of the very fast diffusion equation in bounded and unbounded domain

We prove the existence of a unique solution of the following Neumann problem , u > 0, in (a, b) × (0, T), u(x, 0) = u ₀(x) ≥ 0 in (a, b), and , where if m < 0, if m = 0, and m≤ 0, , and the case −1 < m ≤ 0, , for some constant p > 1 − m. We also obtain a similar result in higher dimensions. As a corollary we will give a new proof of a result of A. Rodriguez and J.L. Vazquez on the existence of infinitely many finite mass solutions of the above equation in for any −1 < m ≤ 0. We also obtain the exact decay rate of the solution at infinity.     

Fast diffusion flow on manifolds of nonpositive curvature

We consider the fast diffusion equation (FDE) u _t = Δu ^m (0 < m < 1) on a nonparabolic Riemannian manifold M. Existence of weak solutions holds. Then we show that the validity of Euclidean–type Sobolev inequalities implies that certain L ^p −L ^q smoothing effects of the type ∥u(t)∥ _q ≤ Ct ^−α ∥u ₀∥^γ _p , the case q = ∞ being included. The converse holds if m is sufficiently close to one. We then consider the case in which the manifold has the addition gap property min σ(−Δ) > 0. In that case solutions vanish in finite time, and we estimate from below and from above the extinction time.      

A Harnack inequality for a degenerate parabolic equation

We prove a Harnack inequality for a degenerate parabolic equation using proper estimates based on a suitable version of the Rayleigh quotient. Dedicated to Giuseppe Da Prato on the occasion of his 70th birthday     

Harnack inequality and continuity of solutions to quasi-linear degenerate parabolic equations with coefficients from Kato-type classes

For a general class of divergence type quasi-linear degenerate parabolic equations with measurable coefficients and lower order terms from nonlinear Kato-type classes, we prove local boundedness and continuity of solutions, and the intrinsic Harnack inequality for positive solutions.     

On some global well-posedness and asymptotic results for quasilinear parabolic equations

We prove that the quasilinear parabolic initial-boundary value problem (1.1) below is globally well-posed in a class of high order Sobolev solutions, and that these solutions possess compact, regular attractors ast+.     

Blow up for nonlinear parabolic equations with time degeneracy under dynamical boundary conditions

We study the blow up behaviour of nonlinear parabolic equations including a time degeneracy, under dynamical boundary conditions. For some exponential and polynomial degeneracies, we develop some energy methods and some spectral comparison techniques and derive upper bounds for the blow up times.     

On the non-existence of global solutions to the Cauchy problem for semilinear parabolic equations and inequalities

We generalize and improve recent non-existence results for global solutions to the Cauchy problem for the inequality as well as for the equation u_t = Δu + |u|^q in the half-space . Received: 16 September 2005     

Harnack inequalities,exponential separation,and perturbations of principal Floquet bundles for linear parabolic equations

We consider the Dirichlet problem for linear nonautonomous second order parabolic equations with bounded measurable coefficients on bounded Lipschitz domains. Using a new Harnack-type inequality for quotients of positive solutions, we show that each positive solution exponentially dominates any solution which changes sign for all times. We then examine continuity and robustness properties of a principal Floquet bundle and the associated exponential separation under perturbations of the coefficients and the spatial domain.     

Degenerate quasilinear pseudoparabolic equations with memory terms and variational inequalities

The existence of solutions of degenerate quasilinear pseudoparabolic equations, where the term _∂tu${\partial }_{t}u$ is replace by _∂tb(u)${\partial }_{t}b\left(u\right)$, with memory terms and quasilinear variational inequalities is shown. The existence of solutions of equations is proved under the assumption that the nonlinear function b$b$ is monotone and a gradient of a convex, continuously differentiable function. The uniqueness is proved for Lipschitz-continuous elliptic parts. The existence of solutions of quasilinear variational inequalities is proved under stronger assumptions, namely, the nonlinear function defining the elliptic part is assumed to be a gradient and the function b$b$ to be Lipschitz continuous.     

Alexandroff-Bakelman-Pucci estimate and Harnack inequality for degenerate/singular fully non-linear elliptic equations

In this paper, we study fully non-linear elliptic equations in non-divergence form which can be degenerate or singular when “the gradient is small”. Typical examples are either equations involving the m-Laplace operator or Bellman-Isaacs equations from stochastic control problems. We establish an Alexandroff-Bakelman-Pucci estimate and we prove a Harnack inequality for viscosity solutions of such non-linear elliptic equations.     

Harnack estimates for a quasi-linear parabolic equation with a singular weight

In this paper, based on measure theoretical arguments, we establish Harnack estimates and Hölder continuity of nonnegative weak solutions for a degenerate parabolic equation with a singular weight. We transform the equation by performing the change of function. The energy estimates, the upper boundedness, the lower boundedness and the expansion of positivity for the solutions to the transformed equation are obtained. Then our aim is reached.     

Nonlocal Harnack inequalities

We state and prove a general Harnack inequality for minimizers of nonlocal, possibly degenerate, integro-differential operators, whose model is the fractional p-Laplacian.     

Singular and degenerate anisotropic parabolic equations with a nonlinear source

The Dirichlet problem in arbitrary domain for degenerate and singular anisotropic parabolic equations with a nonlinear source term is considered. We state conditions that guarantee the existence and uniqueness of a global weak solution to the problem. A similar result is proved for the parabolic p-Laplace equation.     

A comparison principle for weak solutions of the Cauchy problem for quasilinear parabolic inequalities

We obtain a new comparison principle for weak solutions of the Cauchy problem for a wide class of quasilinear parabolic inequalities. This is a nonlinear result with no analogue in linear theory. Received: 13 January 2005     

Blow-up results for a class of first-order nonlinear evolution inequalities

We investigate the non-existence of solutions to a class of evolution inequalities; in this case, as it happens in a relatively small number of blow-up studies, nonlinearities depend also on time-variable t and spatial derivatives of the unknown. The present results, which in great part do not require any assumption on the regularity of data, are completely new and shown with various applications. Some of these results referring to the problem u_t=Δu+a(x)|u|^p+λf(x) in R^N, t>0 include the non-existence results of positive global solutions obtained by Fujita and others when a≡1 and f≡0, Bandle-Levine and Levine-Meier when a≡|x|^m and f≡0, Pinsky when either f≡0 or f?0 and λ>0, Zhang and Bandle-Levine-Zhang when a≡1 and λ=1.     

Non-simultaneous quenching in a system of heat equations coupled at the boundary

We study the solutions of a parabolic system of heat equations coupled at the boundary through a nonlinear flux. We characterize in terms of the parameters involved when non-simultaneous quenching may appear. Moreover, if quenching is non-simultaneous we find the quenching rate, which surprisingly depends on the flux associated to the other component. Partially supported by project BFM2002-04572 (Spain). Partially supported by UBA grant EX046, CONICET and Fundación Antorchas (Argentina). Received: February 17, 2004; revised: July 5, 2004