Gaussian estimates for a heat equation on a network

Abstract

We consider a diffusion problem on a network on whose nodes we impose Dirichlet and generalized, non-local Kirchhoff-type conditions. We prove well-posedness of the associated initial value problem, and we exploit the theory of sub-Markovian and ultracontractive semigroups in order to obtain upper Gaussian estimates for the integral kernel. We conclude that the same diffusion problem is governed by an analytic semigroup acting on all $L^p$-type spaces as well as on suitable spaces of continuous functions. Stability and spectral issues are also discussed. As an application we discuss a system of semilinear equations on a network related to potential transmission problems arising in neurobiology.Comment: In comparison with the already published version of this paper (Netw. Het. Media 2 (2007), 55-79), a small gap in the proof of Proposition 3.2 has been fille