A Threshold Result for a Non-local Parabolic Equation

In this paper, we consider the Cauchy problem: (ECP) u_t−Δu+p(x)u=u(x,t)∫u²(y,t)/∣x−y∣dy; x∈ℝ³, t>0, u(x, 0)=u₀(x)⩾0 x∈ℝ³, (0.2) The stationary problem for (ECP) is the famous Choquard–Pekar problem, and it has a unique positive solution ū(x) as long as p(x) is radial, continuous in ℝ³, p(x)⩾ā>0, and lim_{∣x∣→∞}p(x)=p¯>0. In this paper, we prove that if the initial data 0⩽u₀(x)⩽(≢)ū(x), then the corresponding solution u(x, t) exists globally and it tends to the zero steady-state solution as t→∞, if u₀(x)⩾(≢)ū(x), then the solution u(x,t) blows up in finite time. © 1997 B. G. Teubner Stuttgart–John Wiley & Sons Ltd.