We investigate a parabolic-elliptic system which is related to a harmonic map from a compact Riemann surface with a smooth boundary into a Lorentzian manifold with a warped product metric. We prove that there exists a unique global weak solution for this system which is regular except for at most finitely many singular points.
We investigate a parabolic-elliptic system for maps $(u,v)$ from a compact Riemann surface $M$ into a Lorentzian manifold $Ntimes{mathbb{R}}$ with a warped product metric. That system turns the harmonic map type equations into a parabolic system, but
keeps the $v$-equation as a nonlinear second order constraint along the flow. We prove a global existence result of the parabolic-elliptic system by assuming either some geometric conditions on the target Lorentzian manifold or small energy of the initial maps. The result implies the existence of a Lorentzian harmonic map in a given homotopy class with fixed boundary data.
Inspired by work of Colding-Minicozzi on mean curvature flow, Zhang introduced a notion of entropy stability for harmonic map flow. We build further upon this work in several directions. First we prove the equivalence of entropy stability with a more
computationally tractable $mathcal F$-stability. Then, focusing on the case of spherical targets, we prove a general instability result for high-entropy solitons. Finally, we exploit results of Lin-Wang to observe long time existence and convergence results for maps into certain convex domains and how they relate to generic singularities of harmonic map flow.
In this paper, we discuss the general existence theory of Dirac-harmonic maps from closed surfaces via the heat flow for $alpha$-Dirac-harmonic maps and blow-up analysis. More precisely, given any initial map along which the Dirac operator has nontri
vial minimal kernel, we first prove the short time existence of the heat flow for $alpha$-Dirac-harmonic maps. The obstacle to the global existence is the singular time when the kernel of the Dirac operator no longer stays minimal along the flow. In this case, the kernel may not be continuous even if the map is smooth with respect to time. To overcome this issue, we use the analyticity of the target manifold to obtain the density of the maps along which the Dirac operator has minimal kernel in the homotopy class of the given initial map. Then, when we arrive at the singular time, this density allows us to pick another map which has lower energy to restart the flow. Thus, we get a flow which may not be continuous at a set of isolated points. Furthermore, with the help of small energy regularity and blow-up analysis, we finally get the existence of nontrivial $alpha$-Dirac-harmonic maps ($alphageq1$) from closed surfaces. Moreover, if the target manifold does not admit any nontrivial harmonic sphere, then the map part stays in the same homotopy class as the given initial map.
We prove the existence of a (spectrally) stable self-similar blow-up solution $f_0$ to the heat flow for corotational harmonic maps from $mathbb R^3$ to the three-sphere. In particular, our result verifies the spectral gap conjecture stated by one of
the authors and lays the groundwork for the proof of the nonlinear stability of $f_0$. At the heart of our analysis lies a new existence result of a monotone self-similar solution $f_0$. Although solutions of this kind have already been constructed before, our approach reveals substantial quantitative properties of $f_0$, leading to the stability result. A key ingredient is the use of interval arithmetic: a rigorous computer-assisted method for estimating functions. It is easy to verify our results by robust numerics but the purpose of the present paper is to provide mathematically rigorous proofs.
In this paper, we consider unsaturated poroelasticity, i.e., coupled hydro-mechanical processes in unsaturated porous media, modeled by a non-linear extension of Biots quasi-static consolidation model. The coupled, elliptic-parabolic system of partia
l differential equations is a simplified version of the general model for multi-phase flow in deformable porous media obtained under similar assumptions as usually considered for Richards equation. In this work, the existence of a weak solution is established using regularization techniques, the Galerkin method, and compactness arguments. The final result holds under non-degeneracy conditions and natural continuity properties for the non-linearities. The assumptions are demonstrated to be reasonable in view of geotechnical applications.