Existence and stability of weak solutions for a degenerate parabolic system modelling two-phase flows in porous media

We prove global existence of nonnegative weak solutions to a degenerate parabolic system which models the interaction of two thin fluid films in a porous medium. Furthermore, we show that these weak solutions converge at an exponential rate towards flat equilibria.     

Instability of solitary wave solutions for the generalized BO-ZK equation

In this paper we study the generalized BO-ZK equation in two space dimensions

ut+upux+αHuxx+εuxyy=0.     

Spherically symmetric internal layers for activator-inhibitor systems II. Stability and symmetry breaking bifurcations

A reaction-diffusion system of activator-inhibitor type is studied on an N-dimensional ball with the homogeneous Neumann boundary conditions. We analyze the stability property of the spherically symmetric solutions and their symmetry-breaking bifurcations into layer solutions which are not spherically symmetric.     

Spherically symmetric internal layers for activator-inhibitor systems—I. Existence by a Lyapunov-Schmidt reduction

Reaction-diffusion systems of activator-inhibitor type are studied on an N-dimensional ball with the homogeneous Neumann boundary conditions. Under the condition that the activator diffuses slowly, reacts rapidly and the inhibitor diffuses rapidly, reacts moderately, we show that the system admits a family of spherically symmetric internal transition layer equilibria. The method of proof consists of rigorous asymptotic expansions and a Lyapunov-Schmidt reduction.     

Homogenization of singular numbers for a non self-adjoint elliptic problem in a perforated domain

We consider the spectral problem for a non self-adjoint Dirichlet problem for a higher-order elliptic operator in a sequence of perforated domains. We establish the convergence of the singular numbers generated by the problem to the corresponding singular numbers generated by a limit problem of the same type but containing an additional term of capacity type.Research supported by the National Research Foundation of South Africa.     

Pullback attractors for asymptotically compact non-autonomous dynamical systems

First, we introduce the concept of pullback asymptotically compact non-autonomous dynamical system as an extension of the similar concept in the autonomous framework. Our definition is different from that of asymptotic compactness already used in the theory of random and non-autonomous dynamical systems (as developed by Crauel, Flandoli, Kloeden, Schmalfuss, amongst others) which means the existence of a (random or time-dependent) family of compact attracting sets. Next, we prove a result ensuring the existence of a pullback attractor for a non-autonomous dynamical system under the general assumptions of pullback asymptotic compactness and the existence of a pullback absorbing family of sets. This attractor is minimal and, in most practical applications, it is unique. Finally, we illustrate the theory with a 2D Navier–Stokes model in an unbounded domain.     

Viscosity solutions for elliptic-parabolic problems

We study an elliptic-parabolic problem appearing in the theory of partially saturated flows in the framework of viscosity solutions. This is part of current investigation to understand the theory of viscosity solutions for PDE problems involving free boundaries. We prove that the problem is well posed in the viscosity setting and compare the results with the weak theory. Dirichlet or Neumann boundary conditions are considered.     

Free surface motion of an incompressible ideal fluid

We consider the free boundary problem for an incompressible ideal fluid in the two-dimensional space. We show the unique existence of the solution, locally in time, even if the initial surface and the bottom are uneven.     

Stationary viscous flows at zero surface tension

Stationary solutions of free boundary problems for the Navier-Stokes equations are considered with and without surface tension. The linearized problem in a half-space is studied. Exact solutions of the Poiseuille type are obtained. Properties of the free boundary smoothness in 3-D and 2-D cases are discussed.     

Front propagation in infinite cylinders. II. The sharp reaction zone limit

This paper applies the variational approach developed in part I of this work [22] to a singular limit of reaction–diffusion–advection equations which arise in combustion modeling. We first establish existence, uniqueness, monotonicity, asymptotic decay, and the associated free boundary problem for special traveling wave solutions which are minimizers of the considered variational problem in the singular limit. We then show that the speed of the minimizers of the approximating problems converges to the speed of the minimizer of the singular limit. Also, after an appropriate translation the minimizers of the approximating problems converge strongly on compacts to the minimizer of the singular limit. In addition, we obtain matching upper and lower bounds for the speed of the minimizers in the singular limit in terms of a certain area-type functional for small curvatures of the free boundary. The conclusions of the analysis are illustrated by a number of numerical examples.     

Uniform attractor for 2D magneto-micropolar fluid flow in some unbounded domains

We investigate the flow of a magneto-micropolar fluid in an arbitrary unbounded domain on which the Poincaré inequality holds. Assuming homogeneous boundary conditions and the external fields to be almost periodic in time we prove the existence of the uniform attractor by using the energy method [10] which we generalize to nonautonomous systems. We consider the problem in an abstract setting that allows to include also other hydrodynamical models. In particular, we extend the result of R. Rosa [12] from autonomous to nonautonomous Navier-Stokes equations in unbounded domains.     

On the correct formulation of a multidimensional problem for strictly hyperbolic equations of higher order

A theorem of the unique solvability of the first boundary value problem in the Sobolev weighted spaces is proved for higherorder strictly hyperbolic systems in the conic domain with special orientation.     

The regularized Benjamin-Ono and BBM equations: Well-posedness and nonlinear stability

Nonlinear stability of nonlinear periodic solutions of the regularized Benjamin-Ono equation and the Benjamin-Bona-Mahony equation with respect to perturbations of the same wavelength is analytically studied. These perturbations are shown to be stable. We also develop a global well-posedness theory for the regularized Benjamin-Ono equation in the periodic and in the line setting. In particular, we show that the Cauchy problem (in both periodic and nonperiodic case) cannot be solved by an iteration scheme based on the Duhamel formula for negative Sobolev indices.     

On a phase-change problem arising from inductive heating

In this paper we study a phase-change problem arising from induction heating. The mathematical model consists of time-harmonic Maxwell’s system in a quasi-stationary field coupled with nonlinear heat conduction. The enthalpy form is used to characterize the phase-change in the material. It is shown that the problem has a global solution. Moreover, it is shown that the solution is unique and regular in one-space dimension even with an unbounded resistivity. This work is supported in part by a NSF grant: DMS-0102261     

The uniqueness and asymptotic stability of pyramidal traveling fronts in the Allen-Cahn equations

This paper studies the uniqueness and the asymptotic stability of a pyramidal traveling front in the three-dimensional whole space. For a given admissible pyramid we prove that a pyramidal traveling front is uniquely determined and that it is asymptotically stable under the condition that given perturbations decay at infinity. For this purpose we characterize the pyramidal traveling front as a combination of planar fronts on the lateral surfaces. Moreover we characterize the pyramidal traveling front in another way, that is, we write it as a combination of two-dimensional V-form waves on the edges. This characterization also uniquely determines a pyramidal traveling front.     

Spatial problem of Darboux type for one model equation of third order

For a hyperbolic type model equation of third order a Darboux type problem is investigated in a dihedral angle. It is shown that there exists a real number ₀ such that for > ₀ the problem under consideration is uniquelly solvable in the Frechet space. In the case where the coefficients are constants, Bochner's method is developed in multidimensional domains, and used to prove the uniquely solvability of the problem both in Frechet and in Banach spaces.     

A non-autonomous two-phase flow model with oscillating external force and its global attractor

In this article, we consider a non-autonomous diffuse interface model for an isothermal incompressible two-phase flow in a two-dimensional bounded domain. Assuming that the external force is singularly oscillating and depends on a small parameter ?, we prove the existence of the uniform global attractor A^?. Furthermore, using the method similar to that of Chepyzhov and Vishik (2007) [22] in the case of the two-dimensional Navier-Stokes systems, we study the convergence of A^? as ? goes to zero. Let us mention that the nonlinearity involved in the model considered in this article is slightly stronger than the one in the two-dimensional Navier-Stokes system studied in Chepyzhov and Vishik (2007) [22].     

Stable and unstable manifolds for quasilinear parabolic systems with fully nonlinear boundary conditions

We investigate quasilinear systems of parabolic partial differential equations with fully nonlinear boundary conditions on bounded or exterior domains in the setting of Sobolev–Slobodetskii spaces. We establish local wellposedness and study the time and space regularity of the solutions. Our main results concern the asymptotic behavior of the solutions in the vicinity of a hyperbolic equilibrium. In particular, the local stable and unstable manifolds are constructed. Dedicated to Giuseppe Da Prato on the occasion of his 70th birthday     

On the shock wave spectrum for isentropic gas dynamics with capillarity

We consider the stability problem for shock layers in Slemrod's model of an isentropic gas with capillarity. We show that these traveling waves are monotone in the weak capillarity case, and become highly oscillatory as the capillarity strength increases. Using a spectral energy estimate we prove that small-amplitude monotone shocks are spectrally stable. We also show that monotone shocks have no unstable real spectrum regardless of amplitude; this implies that any instabilities of these monotone traveling waves, if they exist, must occur through a Hopf-like bifurcation, where one or more conjugate pairs of eigenvalues cross the imaginary axis. We then conduct a systematic numerical Evans function study, which shows that monotone and mildly oscillatory profiles in an adiabatic gas are spectrally stable for moderate values of shock and capillarity strengths. In particular, we show that the transition from monotone to nonmonotone profiles does not appear to trigger any instabilities.