arXiv subjects

Alessandro Audrito

Publications and source records attributed to Alessandro Audrito.

16 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2025

On the existence of solutions to some singular parabolic free boundary problems

We construct nonnegative weak solutions to the singular parabolic free boundary problem \[ \partial_t u - \Delta u = - \frac{\mathrm{d}}{\mathrm{d} u} u_+^\gamma , \] where $\gamma \in (0,1]$, $u_+ := \max\{u,0\}$, and the term in the right-hand side denotes the formal derivative of the non-smooth function $u \mapsto u_+^\gamma$. Weak solutions are obtained as limits of a suitable approximation procedure. We show uniform optimal regularity, optimal growth and nondegeneracy estimates, and a Weiss-type monotonicity formula for solutions to the approximating problem. Such uniform estimates are then passed to limit: we prove the existence of a class of weak solutions to the free boundary problem which is closed under blow-up and whose weak formulation encodes the sharp free boundary condition. Finally, we construct several examples of weak solutions with self-similar and traveling wave form.

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arXiv2024

Higher order Schauder estimates for degenerate or singular parabolic equations

In this paper, we complete the analysis initiated in [AFV24] establishing some higher order $C^{k+2,\alpha}$ Schauder estimates ($k \in \mathbb{N}$) for a a class of parabolic equations with weights that are degenerate/singular on a characteristic hyperplane. The $C^{2,\alpha}$-estimates are obtained through a blow-up argument and a Liouville theorem, while the higher order estimates are obtained by a fine iteration procedure. As a byproduct, we present two applications. First, we prove similar Schauder estimates when the degeneracy/singularity of the weight occurs on a regular hypersurface of cylindrical type. Second, we provide an alternative proof of the higher order boundary Harnack principles established in [BG16,Kuk22].

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arXiv2024

Schauder estimates for parabolic equations with degenerate or singular weights

We establish some $C^{0,\alpha}$ and $C^{1,\alpha}$ regularity estimates for a class of weighted parabolic problems in divergence form. The main novelty is that the weights may vanish or explode on a characteristic hyperplane $\Sigma$ as a power $a > -1$ of the distance to $\Sigma$. The estimates we obtain are sharp with respect to the assumptions on coefficients and data. Our methods rely on a regularization of the equation and some uniform regularity estimates combined with a Liouville theorem and an approximation argument. As a corollary of our main result, we obtain similar $C^{1,\alpha}$ estimates when the degeneracy/singularity of the weight occurs on a regular hypersurface of cylindrical type.

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arXiv2023

Elliptic regularization of some semilinear parabolic free boundary problems

We prove existence of strong solutions to a family of some semilinear parabolic free boundary problems by means of elliptic regularization. Existence of solutions is obtained in two steps: we first show some uniform energy estimates and then we pass to the weak limit. To carry out this second step, we establish uniform non-degeneracy estimates for the approximating sequence as well as parabolic non-degeneracy and optimal regularity for the limit solution. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first time the elliptic regularization approach is used in the context of parabolic obstacle problems.

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arXiv2022

Regularity theory for fully nonlinear parabolic obstacle problems

We study the free boundary of solutions to the parabolic obstacle problem with fully nonlinear diffusion. We show that the free boundary splits into a regular and a singular part: near regular points the free boundary is $C^\infty$ in space and time. Furthermore, we prove that the set of singular points is locally covered by a Lipschitz manifold of dimension $n-1$ which is also $\varepsilon$-flat in space, for any $\varepsilon>0$.

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arXiv2022

Convergence in relative error for the Porous Medium equation in a tube

Given a bounded domain $D \subset \mathbb{R}^N$ and $m > 1$, we study the long-time behaviour of solutions to the Porous Medium equation (PME) posed in a tube \[ \partial_tu = Δu^m \quad \text{ in } D \times \mathbb{R}, \quad t > 0, \] with homogeneous Dirichlet boundary conditions on the boundary $\partial D \times \mathbb{R}$ and suitable initial datum at $t=0$. In two previous works, Vázquez and Gilding & Goncerzewicz proved that a wide class of solutions exhibit a traveling wave behaviour, when computed at a logarithmic time-scale and suitably renormalized. In this paper, we show that, for large times, solutions converge in relative error to the Friendly Giant, i.e., the unique nonnegative solution to the PME posed in the section $D$ of the tube (with homogeneous Dirichlet boundary conditions) having a special self-similar form. In addition, sharp rates of convergence and uniform bounds for the location of the free boundary of solutions are given.

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arXiv2021

On the existence and Hölder regularity of solutions to some nonlinear Cauchy-Neumann problems

We prove uniform parabolic Hölder estimates of De Giorgi-Nash-Moser type for sequences of minimizers of the functionals \[ \mathcal{E}_\varepsilon(W) = \int_0^\infty \frac{e^{- t/\varepsilon}}{\varepsilon} \bigg\{ \int_{\mathbb{R}_+^{N+1}} y^a \left( \varepsilon|\partial_t W|^2 + |\nabla W|^2 \right) dX + \int_{\mathbb{R}^N \times\{0\}} Φ(w) dx \bigg\}dt, \qquad \varepsilon \in (0,1) \] where $a \in (-1,1)$ is a fixed parameter, $\mathbb{R}_+^{N+1}$ is the upper half-space and $dX = dxdy$. As a consequence, we deduce the existence and Hölder regularity of weak solutions to a class of weighted nonlinear Cauchy-Neumann problems arising in combustion theory and fractional diffusion.

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arXiv2021

Interface regularity for semilinear one-phase problems

We study critical points of a one-parameter family of functionals arising in combustion models. The problems we consider converge, for infinitesimal values of the parameter, to Bernoulli's free boundary problem, also known as one-phase problem. We prove a $C^{1,α}$ estimates for the "interfaces" (level sets separating the burnt and unburnt regions). As a byproduct, we obtain the one-dimensional symmetry of minimizers in the whole $\mathbb{R}^N$, for $N \leq 4$, answering positively a conjecture of Fernández-Real and Ros-Oton. Our results are to Bernoulli's free boundary problem what Savin's results for the Allen-Cahn equation are to minimal surfaces.

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arXiv2020

The Neumann problem for the fractional Laplacian: regularity up to the boundary

We study the regularity up to the boundary of solutions to the Neumann problem for the fractional Laplacian. We prove that if $u$ is a weak solution of $(-Δ)^s u=f$ in $Ω$, $\mathcal N_s u=0$ in $Ω^c$, then $u$ is $C^α$ up tp the boundary for some $α>0$. Moreover, in case $s>\frac12$, we then show that $u\in C^{2s-1+α}(\overlineΩ)$. To prove these results we need, among other things, a delicate Moser iteration on the boundary with some logarithmic corrections. Our methods allow us to treat as well the Neumann problem for the regional fractional Laplacian, and we establish the same boundary regularity result. Prior to our results, the interior regularity for these Neumann problems was well understood, but near the boundary even the continuity of solutions was open.

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arXiv2020

A minimization procedure to the existence of segregated solutions to parabolic reaction-diffusion systems

We study the existence of segregated solutions to a class of reaction-diffusion systems with strong interactions, arising in many physical applications. These special solutions are obtained as weak limits of minimizers of a family of perturbed functionals. We prove some a priori estimates through a minimization procedure which is nonstandard in the parabolic theory: our approach is purely variational and all the information is encoded in the family of functionals we consider.

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arXiv2020

On the nodal set of solutions to a class of nonlocal parabolic equations

We investigate the local properties, including the nodal set and the nodal properties of solutions to the following parabolic problem of Muckenhoupt-Neumann type: \begin{equation*} \begin{cases} \partial_t \overline{u} - y^{-a} \nabla \cdot(y^a \nabla \overline{u}) = 0 \quad &\text{ in } \mathbb{B}_1^+ \times (-1,0) \\ -\partial_y^a \overline{u} = q(x,t)u \quad &\text{ on } B_1 \times \{0\} \times (-1,0), \end{cases} \end{equation*} where $a\in(-1,1)$, is a fixed parameter $\mathbb{B}_1^+\subset \mathbb{R}^{N+1}$ is the upper unit half ball and $B_1$ is the unit ball in $\mathbb{R}^N$. Our main motivation comes from its relation with a class of nonlocal parabolic equations involving the fractional power of the heat operator \begin{equation*} H^su(x,t) = \frac{1}{|Γ(-s)|} \int_{-\infty}^t \int_{\mathbb{R}^N} \left[u(x,t) - u(z,τ)\right] \frac{G_N(x-z,t-τ)}{(t-τ)^{1+s}} dzdτ. \end{equation*} We characterise the possible blow-ups and we examine the structure of the nodal set of solutions vanishing with a finite order. More precisely, we prove that the nodal set has at least parabolic Hausdorff codimension one in $\mathbb{R}^N\times\mathbb{R}$, and can be written as the union of a locally smooth part and a singular part, which turns out to possess remarkable stratification properties. Moreover, the asymptotic behaviour of general solutions near their nodal points is classified in terms of a class of explicit polynomials of Hermite and Laguerre type, obtained as eigenfunctions to an Ornstein-Uhlenbeck type operator. Our main results are obtained through a fine blow-up analysis which relies on the monotonicity of an Almgren-Poon type quotient and some new Liouville type results for parabolic equations, combined with more classical results including Federer's reduction principle and the parabolic Whitney's extension.

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arXiv2020

The Dirichlet problem for nonlocal elliptic operators with $C^{0,α}$ exterior data

In this note we study the boundary regularity of solutions to nonlocal Dirichlet problems of the form $Lu=0$ in $Ω$, $u=g$ in $\mathbb R^N\setminusΩ$, in non-smooth domains $Ω$. When $g$ is smooth enough, then it is easy to transform this problem into an homogeneous Dirichlet problem with a bounded right hand side, for which the boundary regularity is well understood. Here, we study the case in which $g\in C^{0,α}$, and establish the optimal Hölder regularity of $u$ up to the boundary. Our results extend previous results of Grubb for $C^\infty$ domains $Ω$.

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arXiv2019

Travelling wave behaviour arising in nonlinear diffusion problems posed in tubular domains

For a fixed bounded domain $D \subset \mathbb{R}^N$ we investigate the asymptotic behaviour for large times of solutions to the $p$-Laplacian diffusion equation posed in a tubular domain \begin{equation*} \partial_t u = Δ_p u \quad \text{ in } D \times \mathbb{R}, \quad t > 0 \end{equation*} with $p>2$, i.e., the slow diffusion case, and homogeneous Dirichlet boundary conditions on the tube boundary. Passing to suitable re-scaled variables, we show the existence of a travelling wave solution in logarithmic time that connects the level $u = 0$ and the unique nonnegative steady state associated to the re-scaled problem posed in a lower dimension, i.e. in $D\subset \mathbb{R}^N$. We then employ this special wave to show that a wide class of solutions converge to the universal stationary profile in the middle of the tube and at the same time they spread in both axial tube directions, miming the behaviour of the travelling wave (and its reflection) for large times. The first main feature of our analysis is that wave fronts are constructed through a (nonstandard) combination of diffusion and absorbing boundary conditions, which gives rise to a sort of Fisher-KPP long-time behaviour. The second one is that the nonlinear diffusion term plays a crucial role in our analysis. Actually, in the linear diffusion framework $p=2$ solutions behave quite differently.

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arXiv2019

Bistable reaction equations with doubly nonlinear diffusion

Reaction-diffusion equations appear in biology and chemistry, and combine linear diffusion with different kind of reaction terms. Some of them are remarkable from the mathematical point of view, since they admit families of travelling waves that describe the asymptotic behaviour of a larger class of solutions $0\leq u(x,t)\leq 1$ of the problem posed in the real line. We investigate here the existence of waves with constant propagation speed, when the linear diffusion is replaced by the "slow" doubly nonlinear diffusion. In the present setting we consider bistable reaction terms, which present interesting differences w.r.t. the Fisher-KPP framework recently studied in \cite{AA-JLV:art}. We find different families of travelling waves that are employed to describe the wave propagation of more general solutions and to study the stability/instability of the steady states, even when we extend the study to several space dimensions. A similar study is performed in the critical case that we call "pseudo-linear", i.e., when the operator is still nonlinear but has homogeneity one. With respect to the classical model and the "pseudo-linear" case, the travelling waves of the "slow" diffusion setting exhibit free boundaries. \\ Finally, as a complement of \cite{AA-JLV:art}, we study the asymptotic behaviour of more general solutions in the presence of a "heterozygote superior" reaction function and doubly nonlinear diffusion ("slow" and "pseudo-linear").

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arXiv2016

The Fisher-KPP problem with doubly nonlinear "fast" diffusion

The famous Fisher-KPP reaction diffusion model combines linear diffusion with the typical Fisher-KPP reaction term, and appears in a number of relevant applications. It is remarkable as a mathematical model since, in the case of linear diffusion, it possesses a family of travelling waves that describe the asymptotic behaviour of a wide class solutions $0\leq u(x,t)\leq 1$ of the problem posed in the real line. The existence of propagation wave with finite speed has been confirmed in the cases of "slow" and "pseudo-linear" doubly nonlinear diffusion too, see arXiv:1601.05718. We investigate here the corresponding theory with "fast" doubly nonlinear diffusion and we find that general solutions show a non-TW asymptotic behaviour, and exponential propagation in space for large times. Finally, we prove precise bounds for the level sets of general solutions, even when we work in with spacial dimension $N \geq 1$. In particular, we show that location of the level sets is approximately linear for large times, when we take spatial logarithmic scale, finding a strong departure from the linear case, in which appears the famous Bramson logarithmic correction.

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arXiv2016

The Fisher-KPP problem with doubly nonlinear diffusion

The famous Fisher-KPP reaction-diffusion model combines linear diffusion with the typical KPP reaction term, and appears in a number of relevant applications in biology and chemistry. It is remarkable as a mathematical model since it possesses a family of travelling waves that describe the asymptotic behaviour of a large class solutions $0\le u(x,t)\le 1$ of the problem posed in the real line. The existence of propagation waves with finite speed has been confirmed in some related models and disproved in others. We investigate here the corresponding theory when the linear diffusion is replaced by the "slow" doubly nonlinear diffusion and we find travelling waves that represent the wave propagation of more general solutions even when we extend the study to several space dimensions. A similar study is performed in the critical case that we call "pseudo-linear", i.e., when the operator is still nonlinear but has homogeneity one. With respect to the classical model and the "pseudo-linear" case, the "slow" travelling waves exhibit free boundaries.

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