arXiv subjects

Hung V. Tran

Publications and source records attributed to Hung V. Tran.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

arXiv2024

Collapsing universe before time

In this note, we prove analytic bounds on the equation of state of a cosmological fluid composed of an arbitrary number of canonical scalars evolving in a negative multi-exponential potential. Because of the negative energy, the universe is contracting and eventually undergoes a big crunch. A contracting universe is a fundamental feature of models of ekpyrosis and cyclic universes, which are a proposed alternative to cosmic inflation to solve the flatness and horizon problems. Our analytic bounds set quantitative constraints on general effective theories of ekpyrosis. When applied to specific top-down constructions, our bounds can be used to determine whether ekpyrosis could in principle be realized. We point out some possible sources of tension in realizing the ekpyrotic universe in controlled constructions of string theory.

gr-qc↗

arXiv2024

Quantitative homogenization of state-constraint Hamilton--Jacobi equations on perforated domains and applications

We study the periodic homogenization problem of state-constraint Hamilton--Jacobi equations on perforated domains in the convex setting and obtain the optimal convergence rate. We then consider a dilute situation in which the holes' diameter is much smaller than the microscopic scale. Finally, a homogenization problem with domain defects where some holes are missing is analyzed.

math.AP↗

arXiv2024

Optimal rate of convergence in periodic homogenization of viscous Hamilton-Jacobi equations

We study the optimal rate of convergence in periodic homogenization of the viscous Hamilton-Jacobi equation $u^\varepsilon_t + H(\frac{x}{\varepsilon},Du^\varepsilon) = \varepsilon Δu^\varepsilon$ in $\mathbb R^n\times (0,\infty)$ subject to a given initial datum. We prove that $\|u^\varepsilon-u\|_{L^\infty(\mathbb R^n \times [0,T])} \leq C(1+T) \sqrt{\varepsilon}$ for any given $T>0$, where $u$ is the viscosity solution of the effective problem. Moreover, we show that the $O(\sqrt{\varepsilon})$ rate is optimal for a natural class of $H$ and a Lipschitz continuous initial datum, both theoretically and through numerical experiments. It remains an interesting question to investigate whether the convergence rate can be improved when $H$ is uniformly convex. Finally, we propose a numerical scheme for the approximation of the effective Hamiltonian based on a finite element approximation of approximate corrector problems.

math.AP↗

arXiv2023

Asymptotic growth rate of solutions to level-set forced mean curvature flows with evolving spirals

Here, we study a level-set forced mean curvature flow with evolving spirals and the homogeneous Neumann boundary condition, which appears in a crystal growth model. Under some appropriate conditions on the forcing term, we prove that the solution is globally Lipschitz. We then study the large time average of the solution and deduce the asymptotic growth rate of the crystal. Some large time behavior results of the solution are obtained.

math.AP↗

arXiv2023

Late-time attractors and cosmic acceleration

We prove the conditions under which scaling cosmologies are inevitable late-time attractors of multi-field multi-exponential potentials, independently of initial conditions. The advantage of such scaling cosmologies is that the time dependence of the fields and of the scale factor is known analytically, thus allowing late-time observables to be determined exactly. Expanding the earlier results of ref. arXiv:hep-th/2303.03418, here we continue the program of analytically characterizing the late-time behavior of cosmological solutions. Our results are general in that they are derived without relying on any approximation nor are they based on any assumption on the sources of the potential, such as their higher-dimensional or string-theoretic origin. We point out a number of model-independent features that follow from our analytic results, including a convex-hull criterion for cosmic acceleration. When applied to string theory, our analytic knowledge of late-time cosmological solutions enables us to single out potentials that can describe an accelerating universe from those which cannot and to quantitatively test several conjectured Swampland criteria.

hep-th↗

arXiv2023

Accelerating universe at the end of time

We investigate whether an accelerating universe can be realized as an asymptotic late-time solution of FLRW-cosmology with multi-field multi-exponential potentials. Late-time cosmological solutions exhibit a universal behavior which enables us to bound the rate of time variation of the Hubble parameter. In string-theoretic realizations, if the dilaton remains a rolling field, our bound singles out a tension in achieving asymptotic late-time cosmic acceleration. Our findings go beyond previous no-go theorems in that they apply to arbitrary multi-exponential potentials and make no specific reference to vacuum or slow-roll solutions. We also show that if the late-time solution approaches a critical point of the dynamical system governing the cosmological evolution, the criterion for cosmic acceleration can be generally stated in terms of a directional derivative of the potential.

hep-th↗

arXiv2023

Optimal convergence rates in stochastic homogenization in a balanced random environment

We consider random walks in a uniformly elliptic, balanced, i.i.d. random environment in the integer lattice $Z^d$ for $d\geq 2$ and the corresponding problem of stochastic homogenization of non-divergence form difference operators. We first derive a quantitative law of large numbers for the invariant measure, which is nearly optimal. A mixing property of the field of the invariant measure is then achieved. We next obtain rates of convergence for the homogenization of the Dirichlet problem for non-divergence form operators, which are generically optimal for $d\geq 3$ and nearly optimal when $d=2$. Furthermore, we establish the existence, stationarity and uniqueness properties of the corrector problem for all dimensions $d\ge 2$. Afterwards, we quantify the ergodicity of the environmental process for both the continuous-time and discrete-time random walks, and as a consequence, we get explicit convergence rates for the quenched central limit theorem of the balanced random walk.

math.PR↗

arXiv2022

Local mass-conserving solution for a critical Coagulation-Fragmentation equation

The critical coagulation-fragmentation equation with multiplicative coagulation and constant fragmentation kernels is known to not have global mass-conserving solutions when the initial mass is greater than $1$. We show that for any given positive initial mass with finite second moment, there is a time $T^*>0$ such that the equation possesses a unique mass-conserving solution up to $T^*$. The novel idea is to singularly perturb the constant fragmentation kernel by small additive terms and study the limiting behavior of the solutions of the perturbed system via the Bernstein transform.

math.AP↗

arXiv2022

State-constraint static Hamilton-Jacobi equations in nested domains

We study state-constraint static Hamilton-Jacobi equations in a sequence of domains $\{Ω_k\}_{k \in \mathbb{N}}$ in $\mathbb{R}^n$ such that $Ω_k \subset Ω_{k+1}$ for all $k\in \mathbb{N}$. We obtain rates of convergence of $u_k$, the solution to the state-constraint problem in $Ω_k$, to $u$, the solution to the corresponding problem in $Ω= \bigcup_{k \in \mathbb{N}} Ω_k$. In many cases, the rates obtained are proven to be optimal. Various new examples and discussions are provided at the end of the paper.

math.AP↗

arXiv2022

Quantitative homogenization in a balanced random environment

We consider discrete non-divergence form difference operators in a random environment and the corresponding process--the random walk in a balanced random environment in $\mathbb{Z}^d$ with a finite range of dependence. We first quantify the ergodicity of the environment from the point of view of the particle. As a consequence, we quantify the quenched central limit theorem of the random walk with an algebraic rate. Furthermore, we prove an algebraic rate of convergence for the homogenization of the Dirichlet problems for both elliptic and parabolic non-divergence form difference operators.

math.PR↗

arXiv2022

Stochastic integrability of heat-kernel bounds for random walks in a balanced random environment

We consider random walks in a balanced i.i.d. random environment in $Z^d$ for $d\ge2$ and the corresponding discrete non-divergence form difference operators. We first obtain an exponential integrability of the heat kernel bounds. We then prove the optimal diffusive decay of the semigroup generated by the heat kernel for $d\ge3$. As a consequence, we deduce a functional central limit theorem for the environment viewed from the particle.

math.PR↗

arXiv2022

Optimal convergence rate for periodic homogenization of convex Hamilton-Jacobi equations

In this paper, we show that the rate of convergence in periodic homogenization of convex Hamilton-Jacobi equations is always $O(\varepsilon)$, which is optimal. This is a natural extension of a result concerning stable norms in metric geometry [4] that is essentially equivalent to the homogenization of convex static Hamilton-Jacobi equations. Another extremely interesting question in this direction is whether the $O(\varepsilon)$ rate holds in the nonconvex setting. We present a special nonconvex example with $O(\varepsilon)$ convergence rate, which relies on identifying the shape of the effective Hamiltonian and game theory interpretation formulas.

math.AP↗

arXiv2022

Differentiability of effective fronts in the continuous setting in two dimensions

We study the effective front associated with first-order front propagations in two dimensions ($n=2$) in the periodic setting with continuous coefficients. Our main result says that that the boundary of the effective front is differentiable at every irrational point. Equivalently, the stable norm associated with a continuous $\mathbb{Z}^2$-periodic Riemannian metric is differentiable at irrational points. This conclusion was obtained decades ago for smooth metrics ([3,5]). To the best of our knowledge, our result provides the first nontrivial property of the effective fronts in the continuous setting, which is the standard assumption in the PDE theory. Combining with the sufficiency result in [12], our result implies that for continuous coefficients, a polygon could be an effective front if and only if it is centrally symmetric with rational vertices and nonempty interior.

math.AP↗

arXiv2022

A Carleman-based numerical method for quasilinear elliptic equations with over-determined boundary data and applications

We propose a new iterative scheme to compute the numerical solution to an over-determined boundary value problem for a general quasilinear elliptic PDE. The main idea is to repeatedly solve its linearization by using the quasi-reversibility method with a suitable Carleman weight function. The presence of the Carleman weight function allows us to employ a Carleman estimate to prove the convergence of the sequence generated by the iterative scheme above to the desired solution. The convergence of the iteration is fast at an exponential rate without the need of an initial good guess. We apply this method to compute solutions to some general quasilinear elliptic equations and a large class of first-order Hamilton-Jacobi equations. Numerical results are presented.

math.NA↗

arXiv2022

Characterizations of diffusion matrices in homogenization of elliptic equations in nondivergence-form

We characterize diffusion matrices that yield a $L^{\infty}$ convergence rate of $\mathcal{O}(\varepsilon^2)$ in the theory of periodic homogenization of linear elliptic equations in nondivergence-form. Such type-$\varepsilon^2$ diffusion matrices are of particular interest as the optimal rate of convergence in the generic case is only $\mathcal{O}(\varepsilon)$. First, we provide a new class of type-$\varepsilon^2$ diffusion matrices, confirming a conjecture posed in [15]. Then, we give a complete characterization of diagonal diffusion matrices in two dimensions and a systematic study in higher dimensions.

math.AP↗

arXiv2022

Remarks on optimal rates of convergence in periodic homogenization of linear elliptic equations in non-divergence form

We study and characterize the optimal rates of convergence in periodic homogenization of linear elliptic equations in non-divergence form. We obtain that the optimal rate of convergence is either $O(\varepsilon)$ or $O(\varepsilon^2)$ depending on the diffusion matrix $A$, source term $f$, and boundary data $g$. Moreover, we show that the set of diffusion matrices $A$ that give optimal rate $O(\varepsilon)$ is open and dense in the set of $C^{2,α}$ periodic, symmetric, and positive definite matrices, which means that generically, the optimal rate is $O(\varepsilon)$.

math.AP↗

arXiv2021

Effective fronts of polygon shapes in two dimensions

We study the effective fronts of first order front propagations in two dimensions ($n=2$) in the periodic setting. Using PDE-based approaches, we show that for every $α\in (0,1)$, the class of centrally symmetric polygons with rational vertices and nonempty interior is admissible as effective fronts for given front speeds in $C^{1,α}(\mathbb T^2,(0,\infty))$. This result can also be formulated in the language of stable norms corresponding to periodic metrics in $\mathbb T^2$. Similar results were known long time ago when $n\geq 3$ for front speeds in $C^{\infty}(\mathbb T^n,(0,\infty))$. Due to topological restrictions, the two dimensional case is much more subtle. In fact, the effective front is $C^1$, which cannot be a polygon, for given $C^{1,1}(\mathbb T^2,(0,\infty))$ front speeds. Our regularity requirements on front speeds are hence optimal. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first time that polygonal effective fronts have been constructed in two dimensions.

math.AP↗

arXiv2021

Numerical viscosity solutions to Hamilton-Jacobi equations via a Carleman estimate and the convexification method

We propose a globally convergent numerical method, called the convexification, to numerically compute the viscosity solution to first-order Hamilton-Jacobi equations through the vanishing viscosity process where the viscosity parameter is a fixed small number. By convexification, we mean that we employ a suitable Carleman weight function to convexify the cost functional defined directly from the form of the Hamilton-Jacobi equation under consideration. The strict convexity of this functional is rigorously proved using a new Carleman estimate. We also prove that the unique minimizer of the this strictly convex functional can be reached by the gradient descent method. Moreover, we show that the minimizer well approximates the viscosity solution of the Hamilton-Jacobi equation as the noise contained in the boundary data tends to zero. Some interesting numerical illustrations are presented.

math.NA↗