The value of the critical exponent for reaction-diffusion equations in cones

Let D R ^N be a cone with vertex at the origin i.e., D = (0, )x where S ^N–1 and x D if and only if x = (r, ) with r=¦x¦, . We consider the initial boundary value problem: u _t = u+u ^p in D×(0, T), u=0 on Dx(0, T) with u(x, 0)=u ₀(x) 0. Let ₁ denote the smallest Dirichlet eigenvalue for the Laplace-Beltrami operator on and let ₊ denote the positive root of (+N–2) = ₁. Let p ^* = 1 + 2/(N + ₊). If 1 < p < p ^*, no positive global solution exists. If p>p ^*, positive global solutions do exist. Extensions are given to the same problem for u _t=+¦x¦ u ^p .This research was supported in part by the Air Force Office of Scientific Research under Grant # AFOSR 88-0031 and in part by NSF Grant DMS-8 822 788. The United States Government is authorized to reproduce and distribute reprints for governmental purposes not withstanding any copyright notation therein.