Reinhard Racke - Böcker

Although the study of classical thermoelasticity has provided information on linear systems, only recently have results on the asymptotic behavior completed our basic understanding of the generic behavior of solutions. Through systematic work that began in the 80s, we now also understand the basic features of nonlinear systems. Yet some questions remain open, and the field has lacked a comprehensive survey that explores these past results and presents recent developments.Evolution Equations in Thermoelasticity presents a modern treatment of initial value problems and of initial boundary value problems in both linear and nonlinear thermoelasticity, in one- and multi-dimensional spatial configurations. The authors provide the first self-contained presentation of the subject that offers both introductory parts accessible to graduate students and sophisticated sections valuable to experts.

This book mainly serves as an elementary, self-contained introduction to several important aspects of the theory of global solutions to initial value problems for nonlinear evolution equations. The book employs the classical method of continuation of local solutions with the help of a priori estimates obtained for small data. The existence and uniqueness of small, smooth solutions that are defined for all values of the time parameter are investigated. Moreover, the asymptotic behaviour of the solutions is described as time tends to infinity. The methods for nonlinear wave equations are discussed in detail. Other examples include the equations of elasticity, heat equations, the equations of thermoelasticity, Schrödinger equations, Klein-Gordon equations, Maxwell equations and plate equations. To emphasize the importance of studying the conditions under which small data problems offer global solutions, some blow-up results are briefly described. Moreover, the prospects for corresponding initial boundary value problems and for open questions are provided.In this second edition, initial-boundary value problems in waveguides are additionally considered.

Other examples include the equations of elasticity, heat equations, the equations of thermoelasticity, Schrödinger equations, Klein-Gordon equations, Maxwell equations and plate equations.

The book in hand is based on lectures which were given at the University of Bonn in the winter semesters of 1989/90 and 1990/91. The aim of the lectures was to present an elementary, self-contained introduction into some important aspects of the theory of global, small, smooth solutions to initial value problems for non linear evolution equa­ tions. The addressed audience included graduate students of both mathematics and physics who were only assumed to have abasie knowledge of linear partial differential equations. Thus, in the spirit of the underlying series, this book is intended to serve as a detailed basis for lectures on the subject as weIl as for self-studies for students or for other newcomers to this field. The presentation of the theory is made using the classical method of continuation of local solutions with the help of apriori estimates obtained for small data. The corre­ sponding global existence theorems have been proved mainly in the last decade, focussing on fully nonlinear systems; Related questions concerning large data problems, the ex­ istence of weak solutions or the analysis of &.hock waves are not discussed. Also the question of optimal regularity assumptions on the coefficients is beyond the scope of the book and is touched only in part and exemplarily.