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Daniel Spirn

Publications and source records attributed to Daniel Spirn.

18 recordsLinked to original sources
arXiv2026

Anchored Peskin Problem

The Immersed Boundary Method has long served as a robust computational framework for fluid-structure interactions, yet the rigorous analysis of 1D Peskin filaments anchored to rigid boundaries remains sparse. In this paper, we generalize the classical Peskin problem to the half-plane by considering an elastic filament whose endpoints are anchored to a no-slip wall. Moving beyond the algebraic complexity of the traditional Blake image system, we utilize the boundary-symmetric formulation of Gimbutas, Greengard, and Veerapaneni. This representation allows for a transparent decomposition of the hydrodynamic interactions into a free space principal part and a regularizing reflected component without resorting to hypersingular integral operators. Through this framework, we prove that the leading-order evolution of the anchored filament is governed by a fractional Laplacian equipped with homogeneous Dirichlet boundary conditions. We characterize the stationary states of the system, proving that all equilibria are circular arcs connecting the anchor points, a result that holds for a broad class of elastic energy densities. By framing the non-local dynamics in weighted little H\"older spaces, we establish local well posedness and prove that the filament exhibits instantaneous $C^\infty$ regularization in both space and time. This work provides a rigorous analytical foundation for anchored filaments in bounded domains and suggests a spectrally accurate numerical path for simulating tethered biological structures.

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arXiv2023

Tetrahedral frame fields via constrained third order symmetric tensors

Tetrahedral frame fields have applications to certain classes of nematic liquid crystals and frustrated media. We consider the problem of constructing a tetrahedral frame field in three dimensional domains in which the boundary normal vector is included in the frame on the boundary. To do this we identify an isomorphism between a given tetrahedral frame and a symmetric, traceless third order tensor under a particular nonlinear constraint. We then define a Ginzburg-Landau-type functional which penalizes the associated nonlinear constraint. Using gradient descent, one retrieves a globally defined limiting tensor outside of a singular set. The tetrahedral frame can then be recovered from this tensor by a determinant maximization method, developed in this work. The resulting numerically generated frame fields are smooth outside of one dimensional filaments that join together at triple junctions.

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arXiv2021

A single-layer based numerical method for the slender body boundary value problem

Fluid flows containing dilute or dense suspensions of thin fibers are widespread in biological and industrial processes. To describe the motion of a thin immersed fiber, or to describe the forces acting on it, it is convenient to work with one-dimensional fiber centerlines and force densities rather than two-dimensional surfaces and surface tractions. Slender body theories offer ways to model and simulate the motion of immersed fibers using only one-dimensional data. However, standard formulations can break down when the fiber surface comes close to intersecting itself or other fibers. In this paper we introduce a numerical method for a recently derived three-dimensional slender body boundary value problem that can be stated entirely in terms of a one-dimensional distribution of forces on the centerline. The method is based on a new completed single-layer potential formulation of fluid velocity which removes the nullspace associated with the unmodified single layer potential. We discretize the model and present numerical results demonstrating the good conditioning and improved performance of the method in the presence of near-intersections. To avoid the modeling and numerical choices involved with free ends, we consider closed fibers.

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arXiv2020

The profile decomposition for the hyperbolic Schrödinger equation

In this note, we prove the profile decomposition for hyperbolic Schrödinger (or mixed signature) equations on $\mathbb{R}^2$ in two cases, one mass-supercritical and one mass-critical. First, as a warm up, we show that the profile decomposition works for the ${\dot H}^{\frac12}$ critical problem, which gives a simple generalization of for instance one of the results in Fanelli-Visciglia (2013). Then, we give the derivation of the profile decomposition in the mass-critical case by proving an improved Strichartz estimate. We will use a very similar approach to that laid out in the notes of Killip-Visan (2008), but we are forced to do a double Whitney decomposition to accommodate an extra scaling symmetry that arises in the problem with mixed signature.

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arXiv2020

A variational method for generating $n$-cross fields using higher-order $Q$-tensors

An $n$-cross field is a locally-defined orthogonal coordinate system invariant with respect to the cubic symmetry group. Cross fields are finding wide-spread use in mesh generation, computer graphics, and materials science among many applications. It was recently by other authors that $3$-cross fields can be embedded into the set of symmetric $4$th-order tensors. Another concurrent work further develops a relaxation of this tensor field via a certain set of varieties. In this paper, we consider the problem of generating an arbitrary $n$-cross field using a fourth-order $Q$-tensor theory that is constructed out of tensored projection matrices. We establish that by a Ginzburg-Landau relaxation towards a global projection, one can reliably generate an $n$-cross field on arbitrary Lipschitz domains. Our work provides a rigorous approach that offers several new results including porting the tensor framework to arbitrary dimensions, providing a new relaxation method that embeds the problem into a global steepest descent, and offering a relaxation scheme for aligning the cross field with the boundary. Our approach is designed to fit within the classical Ginzburg-Landau PDE theory, offering a concrete road map for the future careful study of singularities of energy minimizers.

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arXiv2019

Theoretical justification and error analysis for slender body theory

Slender body theory facilitates computational simulations of thin fibers immersed in a viscous fluid by approximating each fiber using only the geometry of the fiber centerline curve and the line force density along it. However, it has been unclear how well slender body theory actually approximates Stokes flow about a thin but truly three-dimensional fiber, in part due to the fact that simply prescribing data along a one-dimensional curve does not result in a well-posed boundary value problem for the Stokes equations in $\mathbb{R}^3$. Here, we introduce a PDE problem to which slender body theory (SBT) provides an approximation, thereby placing SBT on firm theoretical footing. The slender body PDE is a new type of boundary value problem for Stokes flow where partial Dirichlet and partial Neumann conditions are specified everywhere along the fiber surface. Given only a 1D force density along a closed fiber, we show that the flow field exterior to the thin fiber is uniquely determined by imposing a fiber integrity condition: the surface velocity field on the fiber must be constant along cross sections orthogonal to the fiber centerline. Furthermore, a careful estimation of the residual, together with stability estimates provided by the PDE well-posedness framework, allow us to establish error estimates between the slender body approximation and the exact solution to the above problem. The error is bounded by an expression proportional to the fiber radius (up to logarithmic corrections) under mild regularity assumptions on the 1D force density and fiber centerline geometry.

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arXiv2019

Theoretical justification and error analysis for slender body theory with free ends

Slender body theory is a commonly used approximation in computational models of thin fibers in viscous fluids, especially in simulating the motion of cilia or flagella in swimming microorganisms. In [23], we developed a PDE framework for analyzing the error introduced by the slender body approximation for closed-loop fibers with constant radius $ε$, and showed that the difference between our closed-loop PDE solution and the slender body approximation is bounded by an expression proportional to $ε|\logε|$. Here we extend the slender body PDE framework to the free endpoint setting, which is more physically relevant from a modeling standpoint but more technically demanding than the closed loop analysis. The main new difficulties arising in the free endpoint setting are defining the endpoint geometry, identifying the extent of the 1D slender body force density, and determining how the well-posedness constants depend on the non-constant fiber radius. Given a slender fiber satisfying certain geometric constraints at the filament endpoints and a one-dimensional force density satisfying an endpoint decay condition, we show a bound for the difference between the solution to the slender body PDE and the slender body approximation in the free endpoint setting. The bound is a sum of the same $ε|\logε|$ term appearing in the closed loop setting and an endpoint term proportional to $ε$, where $ε$ is now the maximum fiber radius.

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arXiv2018

Well-posedness and global behavior of the Peskin problem of an immersed elastic filament in Stokes flow

We consider the problem of a one dimensional elastic filament immersed in a two dimensional steady Stokes fluid. Immersed boundary problems in which a thin elastic structure interacts with a surrounding fluid are prevalent in science and engineering, a class of problems for which Peskin has made pioneering contributions. Using boundary integrals, we first reduce the fluid equations to an evolution equation solely for the immersed filament configuration. We then establish local well-posedness for this equation with initial data in low-regularity Hölder spaces. This is accomplished by first extracting the principal linear evolution by a small scale decomposition and then establishing precise smoothing estimates on the nonlinear remainder. Higher regularity of these solutions is established via commutator estimates with error terms generated by an explicit class of integral kernels. Furthermore, we show that the set of equilibria consists of uniformly parametrized circles and prove nonlinear stability of these equilibria with explicit exponential decay estimates, the optimality of which we verify numerically. Finally, we identify a quantity which respects the symmetries of the problem and controls global-in-time behavior of the system.

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arXiv2017

An inverse problem from condense matter physics

We consider the problem of reconstructing the features of a weak anisotropic background potential by the trajectories of vortex dipoles in a nonlinear Gross-Pitaevskii equation. At leading order, the dynamics of vortex dipoles are given by a Hamiltonian system. If the background potential is sufficiently smooth and flat, the background can be reconstructed using ideas from the boundary and the lens rigidity problems. We prove that reconstructions are unique, derive an approximate reconstruction formula, and present numerical examples.

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arXiv2017

A model for vortex nucleation in the Ginzburg-Landau equations

This paper studies questions related to the dynamic transition between local and global minimizers in the Ginzburg-Landau theory of superconductivity. We derive a heuristic equation governing the dynamics of vortices that are close to the boundary, and of dipoles with small inter vortex separation. We consider a small random perturbation of this equation, and study the asymptotic regime under which vortices nucleate.

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arXiv2016

Gross-Pitaevskii vortex motion with critically-scaled inhomogeneities

We study the dynamics of vortices in an inhomogeneous Gross-Pitaevskii equation $i \partial_t u = Δu + {1\over \varepsilon^2} (p_\varepsilon^2(x) - |u|^2)$. For a unique scaling regime $|p_\varepsilon(x) - 1 | = O(|\log \varepsilon|^{-1})$, it is shown that vortices can interact both with the background perturbation and with each other. Results for associated parabolic and elliptic problems are discussed.

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arXiv2014

Petviashvilli's Method for the Dirichlet Problem

We examine the Petviashvilli method for solving the equation $ \phi - \Delta \phi = |\phi|^{p-1} \phi$ on a bounded domain $\Omega \subset \mathbb{R}^d$ with Dirichlet boundary conditions. We prove a local convergence result, using spectral analysis, akin to the result for the problem on $\mathbb{R}$ by Pelinovsky & Stepanyants, 2004. We also prove a global convergence result by generating a suite of nonlinear inequalities for the iteration sequence, and we show that the sequence has a natural energy that decreases along the sequence.

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arXiv2014

Recovering a Potential from Cauchy Data via Complex Geometrical Optics Solutions

This paper is devoted to the problem of recovering a potential $q$ in a domain in $\mathbb{R}^d$ for $d \geq 3$ from the Dirichlet to Neumann map. This problem is related to the inverse Calderón conductivity problem via the Liouville transformation. It is known from the work of Haberman and Tataru [11] and Nachman and Lavine [17] that uniqueness holds for the class of conductivities of one derivative and the class of $W^{2,d/2}$ conductivities respectively. The proof of Haberman and Tataru is based on the construction of complex geometrical optics (CGO) solutions initially suggested by Sylvester and Uhlmann [22], in functional spaces introduced by Bourgain [2]. The proof of the second result, in the work of Ferreira et al. [10], is based on the construction of CGO solutions via Carleman estimates. The main goal of the paper is to understand whether or not an approach which is based on the construction of CGO solutions in the spirit of Sylvester and Uhlmann and involves only standard Sobolev spaces can be used to obtain these results. In fact, we are able to obtain a new proof of uniqueness for the Calderón problem for 1) a slightly different class as the one in [11], and for 2) the class of $W^{2,d/2}$ conductivities. The proof of statement 1) is based on a new estimate for CGO solutions and some averaging estimates in the same spirit as in [11]. The proof of statement 2) is on the one hand based on a generalized Sobolev inequality due to Kenig et al. [14] and on another hand, only involves standard estimates for CGO solutions [22]. We are also able to prove the uniqueness of a potential for 3) the class of $W^{s, 3/s}$ ($\supsetneqq W^{2, 3/2}$) conductivities with $3/2 < s < 2$ in three dimensions. As far as we know, statement 3) is new.

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arXiv2014

Vortex liquids and the Ginzburg-Landau equation

We establish vortex dynamics for the time-dependent Ginzburg-Landau equation for asymptotically large numbers of vortices for the problem without a gauge field and either Dirichlet or Neumann boundary conditions. As our main tool, we establish quantitative bounds on several fundamental quantities, including the kinetic energy, that lead to explicit convergence rates. For dilute vortex liquids we prove that sequences of solutions converge to the hydrodynamic limit.

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arXiv2013

Hydrodynamic limit of the Gross-Pitaevskii equation

We study dynamics of vortices in solutions of the Gross-Pitaevskii equation $i \partial_t u = Δu + \varepsilon^{-2} u (1 - |u|^2)$ on $\mathbb{R}^2$ with nonzero degree at infinity. We prove that vortices move according to the classical Kirchhoff-Onsager ODE for a small but finite coupling parameter $\varepsilon$. By carefully tracking errors we allow for asymptotically large numbers of vortices, and this lets us connect the Gross-Pitaevskii equation on the plane to two dimensional incompressible Euler equations through the work of Schochet [21].

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arXiv2012

On the regularity of the flow map for the gravity-capillary equations

We prove via explicitly constructed initial data that solutions to the gravity-capillary wave system in $\mathbb{R}^3$ representing a 2d air-water interface immediately fails to be $C^3$ with respect to the initial data if the initial data $(h_0, ψ_0) \in H^{s+\frac12} \otimes H^{s}$ for $s<3$. Similar results hold in $\mathbb{R}^2$ domains with a 1d interface. Furthermore, we discuss the illposedness threshold for the pure gravity water wave system.

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arXiv2012

Vortex dynamics in the presence of excess energy for the Landau-Lifschitz-Gilbert equation

We study the Landau-Lifshitz-Gilbert equation for the dynamics of a magnetic vortex system. We present a PDE-based method for proving vortex dynamics that does not rely on strong well-preparedness of the initial data and allows for instantaneous changes in the strength of the gyrovector force due to bubbling events. The main tools are estimates of the Hodge decomposition of the supercurrent and an analysis of the defect measure of weak convergence of the stress energy tensor. Ginzburg-Landau equations with mixed dynamics in the presence of excess energy are also discussed.

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