arXiv subjects
Publications and source records attributed to Roland Donninger.
We consider the hyperboloidal initial value problem for the cubic focusing wave equation. Without symmetry assumptions, we prove the existence of a co-dimension 4 Lipschitz manifold of initial data that lead to global solutions in forward time which do not scatter to free waves.
We consider the critical focusing wave equation $(-\partial_t^2+Δ)u+u^5=0$ in $\R^{1+3}$ and prove the existence of energy class solutions which are of the form [u(t,x)=t^\fracμ{2}W(t^μx)+η(t,x)] in the forward lightcone ${(t,x)\in\R\times \R^3: |x|\leq t, t\gg 1}$ where $W(x)=(1+(1/3)|x|^2)^{-(1/2)}$ is the ground state soliton, $μ$ is an arbitrary prescribed real number (positive or negative) with $|μ|\ll 1$, and the error $η$ satisfies [|\partial_t η(t,\cdot)|_{L^2(B_t)} +|\nabla η(t,\cdot)|_{L^2(B_t)}\ll 1,\quad B_t:={x\in\R^3: |x|<t}] for all $t\gg 1$. Furthermore, the kinetic energy of $u$ outside the cone is small. Consequently, depending on the sign of $μ$, we obtain two new types of solutions which either concentrate as $t\to\infty$ (with a continuum of rates) or stay bounded but do not scatter. In particular, these solutions contradict a strong version of the soliton resolution conjecture.
For the energy critical focusing wave equation in three dimensions we establish the existence of blowup solutions via an "exotic" dynamical rescaling of the ground state solution W(x). The scaling law is not of the pure-power type, but rather eternally oscillates between such classes. Moreover, there is a continuum of these scaling laws.
We study the semilinear wave equation \[ \partial_t^2 ψ-Δψ=|ψ|^{p-1}ψ\] for $p > 3$ with radial data in three spatial dimensions. There exists an explicit solution which blows up at $t=T>0$ given by \[ ψ^T(t,x)=c_p (T-t)^{-\frac{2}{p-1}} \] where $c_p$ is a suitable constant. We prove that the blow up described by $ψ^T$ is stable in the sense that there exists an open set (in a topology strictly stronger than the energy) of radial initial data that lead to a solution which converges to $ψ^T$ as $t\to T-$ in the backward lightcone of the blow up point $(t,r)=(T,0)$.
We consider the semilinear wave equation \[ \partial_t^2 ψ-Δψ=|ψ|^{p-1}ψ\] for $1 0$ and $κ_p$ is a $p$-dependent constant. We prove that the blow up described by $ψ^T$ is stable against small perturbations in the energy topology. This complements previous results by Merle and Zaag. The method of proof is quite robust and can be applied to other self-similar blow up problems as well, even in the energy supercritical case.
We consider the Cauchy problem for an energy supercritical nonlinear wave equation that arises in $(1+5)$--dimensional Yang--Mills theory. A certain self--similar solution $W_0$ of this model is conjectured to act as an attractor for generic large data evolutions. Assuming mode stability of $W_0$, we prove a weak version of this conjecture, namely that the self--similar solution $W_0$ is (nonlinearly) stable. Phrased differently, we prove that mode stability of $W_0$ implies its nonlinear stability. The fact that this statement is not vacuous follows from careful numerical work by Bizoń and Chmaj that verifies the mode stability of $W_0$ beyond reasonable doubt.
We consider semiclassical Schrödinger operators on the real line of the form $$H(\hbar)=-\hbar^2 \frac{d^2}{dx^2}+V(\cdot;\hbar)$$ with $\hbar>0$ small. The potential $V$ is assumed to be smooth, positive and exponentially decaying towards infinity. We establish semiclassical global representations of Jost solutions $f_\pm(\cdot,E;\hbar)$ with error terms that are uniformly controlled for small $E$ and $\hbar$, and construct the scattering matrix as well as the semiclassical spectral measure associated to $H(\hbar)$. This is crucial in order to obtain decay bounds for the corresponding wave and Schrödinger flows. As an application we consider the wave equation on a Schwarzschild background for large angular momenta $\ell$ where the role of the small parameter $\hbar$ is played by $\ell^{-1}$. It follows from the results in this paper and \cite{DSS2}, that the decay bounds obtained in \cite{DSS1}, \cite{DS} for individual angular momenta $\ell$ can be summed to yield the sharp $t^{-3}$ decay for data without symmetry assumptions.
We prove sharp pointwise $t^{-3}$ decay for scalar linear perturbations of a Schwarzschild black hole without symmetry assumptions on the data. We also consider electromagnetic and gravitational perturbations for which we obtain decay rates $t^{-4}$, and $t^{-6}$, respectively. We proceed by decomposition into angular momentum $\ell$ and summation of the decay estimates on the Regge-Wheeler equation for fixed $\ell$. We encounter a dichotomy: the decay law in time is entirely determined by the asymptotic behavior of the Regge-Wheeler potential in the far field, whereas the growth of the constants in $\ell$ is dictated by the behavior of the Regge-Wheeler potential in a small neighborhood around its maximum. In other words, the tails are controlled by small energies, whereas the number of angular derivatives needed on the data is determined by energies close to the top of the Regge-Wheeler potential. This dichotomy corresponds to the well-known principle that for initial times the decay reflects the presence of complex resonances generated by the potential maximum, whereas for later times the tails are determined by the far field. However, we do not invoke complex resonances at all, but rely instead on semiclassical Sigal-Soffer type propagation estimates based on a Mourre bound near the top energy.
We present some numerical findings concerning the nature of the blowup vs. global existence dichotomy for the focusing cubic nonlinear Klein-Gordon equation in three dimensions for radial data. The context of this study is provided by the classical paper by Payne, Sattinger from 1975, as well as the recent work by K. Nakanishi, and the second author arXiv:1005.4894. Specifically, we numerically investigate the boundary of the forward scattering region. At this point we do not have sufficient numerical evidence that might indicate whether or not the boundary remains a smooth manifold for general energies. In this updated version we include some fine-scale computations that reveal more complicated structures than one might expect.
We consider co--rotational wave maps from (3+1) Minkowski space into the three--sphere. This is an energy supercritical model which is known to exhibit finite time blow up via self-similar solutions. The ground state self--similar solution $f_0$ is known in closed form and based on numerics, it is supposed to describe the generic blow up behavior of the system. We prove that the blow up via $f_0$ is stable under the assumption that $f_0$ does not have unstable modes. This condition is equivalent to a spectral assumption for a linear second order ordinary differential operator. In other words, we reduce the problem of stable blow up to a linear ODE spectral problem. Although we are unable, at the moment, to verify the mode stability of $f_0$ rigorously, it is known that possible unstable eigenvalues are confined to a certain compact region in the complex plane. As a consequence, highly reliable numerical techniques can be applied and all available results strongly suggest the nonexistence of unstable modes, i.e., the assumed mode stability of $f_0$.
We consider co-rotational wave maps from (3+1) Minkowski space into the three-sphere. This is an energy supercritical model which is known to exhibit finite time blow up via self-similar solutions. The ground state self-similar solution $f_0$ is known in closed form and based on numerics, it is supposed to describe the generic blow up behavior of the system. In this paper we develop a rigorous linear perturbation theory around $f_0$. This is an indispensable prerequisite for the study of nonlinear stability of the self-similar blow up which is conducted in a companion paper. In particular, we prove that $f_0$ is linearly stable if it is mode stable. Furthermore, concerning the mode stability problem, we prove new results that exclude the existence of unstable eigenvalues with large imaginary parts and also, with real parts larger than 1/2. The remaining compact region is well-studied numerically and all available results strongly suggest the nonexistence of unstable modes.
Price's Law states that linear perturbations of a Schwarzschild black hole fall off as $t^{-2\ell-3}$ for $t \to \infty$ provided the initial data decay sufficiently fast at spatial infinity. Moreover, if the perturbations are initially static (i.e., their time derivative is zero), then the decay is predicted to be $t^{-2\ell-4}$. We give a proof of $t^{-2\ell-2}$ decay for general data in the form of weighted $L^1$ to $L^\infty$ bounds for solutions of the Regge--Wheeler equation. For initially static perturbations we obtain $t^{-2\ell-3}$. The proof is based on an integral representation of the solution which follows from self--adjoint spectral theory. We apply two different perturbative arguments in order to construct the corresponding spectral measure and the decay bounds are obtained by appropriate oscillatory integral estimates.
We study the wave equation on the real line with a potential that falls off like $|x|^{-α}$ for $|x| \to \infty$ where $2 < α\leq 4$. We prove that the solution decays pointwise like $t^{-α}$ as $t \to \infty$ provided that there are no resonances at zero energy and no bound states. As an application we consider the $\ell=0$ Price Law for Schwarzschild black holes. This paper is part of our investigations into decay of linear waves on a Schwarzschild background.
We present a rigorous functional analytic setting to study the radial wave equation in similarity coordinates. As an application we analyse linear stability of the fundamental self--similar solution of the wave equation with a focusing power nonlinearity.
We prove nonlinear stability of the fundamental self--similar solution of the wave equation with a focusing power nonlinearity $ψ_{tt}-Δψ=ψ^p$ for $p=3,5,7,...$ in the radial case. The proof is based on a semigroup formulation of the wave equation in similarity coordinates.
We study co--rotational wave maps from $(3+1)$--Minkowski space to the three--sphere $S^3$. It is known that there exists a countable family $\{f_n\}$ of self--similar solutions. We investigate their stability under linear perturbations by operator theoretic methods. To this end we study the spectra of the perturbation operators, prove well--posedness of the corresponding linear Cauchy problem and deduce a growth estimate for solutions. Finally, we study perturbations of the limiting solution which is obtained from $f_n$ by letting $n \to \infty$.
We study linear perturbations of a self-similar wave map from Minkowski space to the three-sphere which is conjectured to be linearly stable. Considering analytic mode solutions of the evolution equation for the perturbations we prove that there are no real unstable eigenvalues apart from the well-known gauge instability.
In this thesis the Cauchy problem and in particular the question of singularity formation for co--rotational wave maps from 3+1 Minkowski space to the three--sphere $S^3$ is studied. Numerics indicate that self--similar solutions of this model play a crucial role in dynamical time evolution. In particular, it is conjectured that a certain solution $f_0$ defines a universal blow up pattern in the sense that the future development of a large set of generic blow up initial data approaches $f_0$. Thus, singularity formation is closely related to stability properties of self--similar solutions. In this work, the problem of linear stability is studied by functional analytic methods. In particular, a complete spectral analysis of the perturbation operators is given and well--posedness of the linearized Cauchy problem is proved by means of semigroup theory and, alternatively, the functional calculus for self--adjoint operators. These results lead to growth estimates which provide information on the stability of self--similar wave maps. Finally, convergence properties of $f_n$ for large $n$ and the spectra of the corresponding perturbation operators are investigated. The thesis is intended to be self--contained as far as possible, i.e. all the mathematical requirements are carefully introduced, including proofs for many results which could be found elsewhere.