On solvability of a time-fractional semilinear heat equation, and its quantitative approach to the classical counterpart

Abstract

We are concerned with the following time-fractional semilinear heat equation in the $N$-dimensional whole space ${\bf R}^N$ with $N \geq 1$. \[ {\rm (P)}_\alpha \qquad \partial_t^\alpha u -\Delta u = u^p,\quad t>0,\,\,\, x\in{\bf R}^N, \qquad u(0) = \mu \quad \mbox{in}\quad {\bf R}^N, \] where $\partial_t^\alpha$ denotes the Caputo derivative of order $\alpha \in (0,1)$, $p>1$, and $\mu$ is a nonnegative Radon measure on ${\bf R}^N$. The case $\alpha=1$ formally gives the Fujita-type equation (P)$_1$ \ $\partial_tu-\Delta u=u^p$. In particular, we mainly focus on the Fujita critical case where $p=p_F:=1+2/N$. It is well known that the Fujita exponent $p_F$ separates the ranges of $p$ for the global-in-time solvability of (P)$_1$. In particular, (P)$_1$ with $p=p_F$ possesses no global-in-time solutions, and does not locally-in-time solvable in its scale critical space $L^1(\mathbf{R}^N)$. It is also known that the exponent $p_F$ plays the same role for the global-in-time solvability for (P)$_\alpha$. However, the problem (P)$_\alpha$ with $p=p_F$ is globally-in-time solvable, and exhibites local-in-time solvability in its scale critical space $L^1(\mathbf{R}^N)$. The purpose of this paper is to clarify the collapse of the global and local-in-time solvability of (P)$_\alpha$ as $\alpha$ approaches $1-0$.