Five types of blow-up in a semilinear fourth-order reaction-diffusion equation: an analytic-numerical approach

Five types of blow-up patterns that can occur for the 4th-order semilinear parabolic equation of reaction-diffusion type u_t= -\Delta^2 u + |u|^{p-1} u \quad {in} \quad \ren \times (0,T), p>1, \quad \lim_{t \to T^-}\sup_{x \in \ren} |u(x,t)|= +\iy, are discussed. For the semilinear heat equation $u_t= \Delta u+ u^p$, various blow-up patterns were under scrutiny since 1980s, while the case of higher-order diffusion was studied much less, regardless a wide range of its application.Comment: 41 pages, 27 figure

Examples of sharp asymptotic profiles of singular solutions to an elliptic equation with a sign-changing non-linearity

The first two authors [Proc. Lond. Math. Soc. (3) {\bf 114}(1):1--34, 2017] classified the behaviour near zero for all positive solutions of the perturbed elliptic equation with a critical Hardy--Sobolev growth $$-\Delta u=|x|^{-s} u^{2^\star(s)-1} -\mu u^q \hbox{ in }B\setminus\{0\},$$ where $B$ denotes the open unit ball centred at $0$ in $\mathbb{R}^n$ for $n\geq 3$, $s\in (0,2)$, $2^\star(s):=2(n-s)/(n-2)$, $\mu>0$ and $q>1$. For $q\in (1,2^\star-1)$ with $2^\star=2n/(n-2)$, it was shown in the op. cit. that the positive solutions with a non-removable singularity at $0$ could exhibit up to three different singular profiles, although their existence was left open. In the present paper, we settle this question for all three singular profiles in the maximal possible range. As an important novelty for $\mu>0$, we prove that for every $q\in (2^\star(s) -1,2^\star-1)$ there exist infinitely many positive solutions satisfying $|x|^{s/(q-2^\star(s)+1)}u(x)\to \mu^{-1/(q-2^\star(s)+1)}$ as $|x|\to 0$, using a dynamical system approach. Moreover, we show that there exists a positive singular solution with $\liminf_{|x|\to 0} |x|^{(n-2)/2} u(x)=0$ and $\limsup_{|x|\to 0} |x|^{(n-2)/2} u(x)\in (0,\infty)$ if (and only if) $q\in (2^\star-2,2^\star-1)$.Comment: Mathematische Annalen, to appea

On nonexistence of Baras--Goldstein type for higher-order parabolic equations with singular potentials

An analogy of nonexistence result by Baras and Goldstein (1984), for the heat equation with inverse singular potential, is proved for 2mth-order linear parabolic equations with Hardy-supercritical singular potentials. Extensions to other linear and nonlinear singular PDEs are discussed.Comment: 22 page

Rigidity versus symmetry breaking via nonlinear flows on cylinders and Euclidean spaces

This paper is motivated by the characterization of the optimal symmetry breaking region in Caffarelli-Kohn-Nirenberg inequalities. As a consequence, optimal functions and sharp constants are computed in the symmetry region. The result solves a longstanding conjecture on the optimal symmetry range. As a byproduct of our method we obtain sharp estimates for the principal eigenvalue of Schr\"odinger operators on some non-flat non-compact manifolds, which to the best of our knowledge are new. The method relies on generalized entropy functionals for nonlinear diffusion equations. It opens a new area of research for approaches related to carr\'e du champ methods on non-compact manifolds. However key estimates depend as much on curvature properties as on purely nonlinear effects. The method is well adapted to functional inequalities involving simple weights and also applies to general cylinders. Beyond results on symmetry and symmetry breaking, and on optimal constants in functional inequalities, rigidity theorems for nonlinear elliptic equations can be deduced in rather general settings.Comment: 33 pages, 1 figur

Decay for solutions of the wave equation on Kerr exterior spacetimes III: The full subextremal case |a| < M

This paper concludes the series begun in [M. Dafermos and I. Rodnianski, Decay for solutions of the wave equation on Kerr exterior spacetimes I-II: the cases |a| << M or axisymmetry, arXiv:1010.5132], providing the complete proof of definitive boundedness and decay results for the scalar wave equation on Kerr backgrounds in the general subextremal |a| < M case without symmetry assumptions. The essential ideas of the proof (together with explicit constructions of the most difficult multiplier currents) have been announced in our survey [M. Dafermos and I. Rodnianski, The black hole stability problem for linear scalar perturbations, in Proceedings of the 12th Marcel Grossmann Meeting on General Relativity, T. Damour et al (ed.), World Scientific, Singapore, 2011, pp. 132-189, arXiv:1010.5137]. Our proof appeals also to the quantitative mode-stability proven in [Y. Shlapentokh-Rothman, Quantitative Mode Stability for the Wave Equation on the Kerr Spacetime, arXiv:1302.6902, to appear, Ann. Henri Poincare], together with a streamlined continuity argument in the parameter a, appearing here for the first time. While serving as Part III of a series, this paper repeats all necessary notations so that it can be read independently of previous work.Comment: 84 pages, 2 figures, v2: ode estimates strengthened so as to admit scattering theory application

Weighted fast diffusion equations (Part I): Sharp asymptotic rates without symmetry and symmetry breaking in Caffarelli-Kohn-Nirenberg inequalities

In this paper we consider a family of Caffarelli-Kohn-Nirenberg interpolation inequalities (CKN), with two radial power law weights and exponents in a subcritical range. We address the question of symmetry breaking: are the optimal functions radially symmetric, or not ? Our intuition comes from a weighted fast diffusion (WFD) flow: if symmetry holds, then an explicit entropy - entropy production inequality which governs the intermediate asymptotics is indeed equivalent to (CKN), and the self-similar profiles are optimal for (CKN). We establish an explicit symmetry breaking condition by proving the linear instability of the radial optimal functions for (CKN). Symmetry breaking in (CKN) also has consequences on entropy - entropy production inequalities and on the intermediate asymptotics for (WFD). Even when no symmetry holds in (CKN), asymptotic rates of convergence of the solutions to (WFD) are determined by a weighted Hardy-Poincar{\'e} inequality which is interpreted as a linearized entropy - entropy production inequality. All our results rely on the study of the bottom of the spectrum of the linearized diffusion operator around the self-similar profiles, which is equivalent to the linearization of (CKN) around the radial optimal functions, and on variational methods. Consequences for the (WFD) flow will be studied in Part II of this work

Inequalities involving Aharonov-Bohm magnetic potentials in dimensions 2 and 3

This paper is devoted to a collection of results on nonlinear interpolation inequalities associated with Schr\"odinger operators involving Aharonov-Bohm magnetic potentials, and to some consequences. As symmetry plays an important role for establishing optimality results, we shall consider various cases corresponding to a circle, a two-dimensional sphere or a two-dimensional torus, and also the Euclidean spaces of dimensions two and three. Most of the results are new and we put the emphasis on the methods, as very little is known on symmetry, rigidity and optimality in presence of a magnetic field. The most spectacular applications are new magnetic Hardy inequalities in dimensions 2 and 3