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We study all the ways that a given convex body in $d$ dimensions can break into countably many pieces that move away from each other rigidly at constant velocity, with no rotation or shearing. The initial velocity field is locally constant, but may be continuous and/or fail to be integrable. For any choice of mass-velocity pairs for the pieces, such a motion can be generated by the gradient of a convex potential that is affine on each piece. We classify such potentials in terms of a countable version of a theorem of Alexandrov for convex polytopes, and prove a stability theorem. For bounded velocities, there is a bijection between the mass-velocity data and optimal transport flows (Wasserstein geodesics) that are locally incompressible. Given any rigidly breaking velocity field that is the gradient of a continuous potential, the convexity of the potential is established under any of several conditions, such as the velocity field being continuous, the potential being semi-convex, the mass measure generated by a convexified transport potential being absolutely continuous, or there being a finite number of pieces. Also we describe a number of curious and paradoxical examples having fractal structure., Comment: 37 pages, 3 figures

We prove the existence of small solitary waves for one-dimensional lattices of particles that each repel every other particle with a force that decays as a power of distance. For force exponents $\alpha+1$ with $\frac43<\alpha<3$, we employ fixed-point arguments to find near-sonic solitary waves having scaled velocity profiles close to non-degenerate solitary-wave profiles of fractional KdV or generalized Benjamin-Ono equations. These equations were recently found to approximately govern unidirectional long-wave motions in these lattices., Comment: 30 pages; reference and clarifications added; typos fixed

A nondispersive, conservative regularisation of the inviscid Burgers equation is proposed and studied. Inspired by a related regularisation of the shallow water system recently introduced by Clamond and Dutykh, the new regularisation provides a family of Galilean-invariant interpolants between the inviscid Burgers equation and the Hunter-Saxton equation. It admits weakly singular regularised shocks and cusped traveling-wave weak solutions. The breakdown of local smooth solutions is demonstrated, and the existence of two types of global weak solutions, conserving or dissipating an $H^1$ energy, is established. Dissipative solutions satisfy an Oleinik inequality like entropy solutions of the inviscid Burgers equation. As the regularisation scale parameter $\ell$ tends to $0$ or $\infty$, limits of dissipative solutions are shown to satisfy the inviscid Burgers or Hunter-Saxton equation respectively, forced by an unknown remaining term., Comment: Published online in J. Dynam. Differential Equations in 2022

We study waves on infinite one-dimensional lattices of particles that each interact with all others through power-law forces $F \sim r^{-\beta}$. The inverse-cube case corresponds to Calogero-Moser systems, which are well known to be completely integrable for any finite number of particles. The formal long-wave limit for unidirectional waves in these lattices is the Korteweg-de Vries equation if $\beta >4$, but with $2<\beta <4$ it is a nonlocal dispersive PDE that reduces to the Benjamin-Ono equation for $\beta=3$. For the infinite Calogero-Moser lattice, we find explicit formulas that describe solitary and periodic traveling waves., Comment: 32 pages, 3 figures, fixed important typo

We study the asymptotic convergence of solutions as $t\rightarrow\infty$ of $\partial_t u=-f(u)+\int f(u)$, a nonlocal differential equation that is formally a gradient flow in a constant-mass subspace of $L^2$ arising from simplified models of phase transitions. In case the solution takes finitely many values, we provide a new proof of stabilization that uses a {\L}ojasiewicz-type gradient inequality near a degenerate curve of equilibria. Solutions with infinitely many values in general need not converge to equilibrium, however, which we demonstrate by providing counterexamples for piecewise linear and cubic functions $f$. Curiously, the exponential rate of convergence in the finite-value case can jump from order $O(1)$ to arbitrarily small values upon perturbation of parameters., Comment: 32 pages, 2 figures, minor changes

The Kompaneets equation governs dynamics of the photon energy spectrum in certain high temperature (or low density) plasmas. We prove several results concerning the long-time convergence of solutions to Bose--Einstein equilibria and the failure of photon conservation. In particular, we show the total photon number can decrease with time via an outflux of photons at the zero-energy boundary. The ensuing accumulation of photons at zero energy is analogous to Bose--Einstein condensation. We provide two conditions that guarantee that photon loss occurs, and show that once loss is initiated then it persists forever. We prove that as $t\to \infty$, solutions necessarily converge to equilibrium and we characterize the limit in terms of the total photon loss. Additionally, we provide a few results concerning the behavior of the solution near the zero-energy boundary, an Oleinik inequality, a comparison principle, and show that the solution operator is a contraction in $L^1$. None of these results impose a boundary condition at the zero-energy boundary., Comment: 36 pages, 3 figures

For ideal fluid flow with zero surface tension and gravity, it remains unknown whether local singularities on the free surface can develop in well-posed initial value problems with smooth initial data. This is so despite great advances over the last 25 years in the mathematical analysis of the Euler equations for water waves. Here we expand our earlier work (Chin. Ann. Math. Ser. B 40 (2019) 925) and review the mathematical literature and some of the history concerning Dirichlet's ellipsoids and related hyperboloids associated with jet formation and "flip-through," "splash singularities," and recent constructions of singular free surfaces that however violate the Taylor sign condition for linear well-posedness. We illustrate some of these phenomena with numerical computations of 2D flow based upon a conformal mapping formulation (whose derivation is detailed and discussed in an appendix). Additional numerical evidence strongly suggests that corner singularities may form in an unstable self-similar way from specially prepared initial data., Comment: 38 pages, 10 figures

We study the Becker-D\"oring bubblelator, a variant of the Becker-D\"oring coagulation-fragmentation system that models the growth of clusters by gain or loss of monomers. Motivated by models of gas evolution oscillators from physical chemistry, we incorporate injection of monomers and depletion of large clusters. For a wide range of physical rates, the Becker-D\"oring system itself exhibits a dynamic phase transition as mass density increases past a critical value. We connect the Becker-D\"oring bubblelator to a transport equation coupled with an integrodifferential equation for excess monomer density by formal asymptotics in the near-critical regime. For suitable injection/depletion rates, we argue that time-periodic solutions appear via a Hopf bifurcation. Numerics confirm that the generation and removal of large clusters can become desynchronized, leading to temporal oscillations associated with bursts of large-cluster nucleation., Comment: 32 pages. Improved presentation and structure

For classic Lotka-Volterra systems governing many interacting species, we establish an exclusion principle that rules out the existence of linearly asymptotically stable steady states in subcommunitites of communities that admit a stable state which is internally D-stable. This type of stability is known to be ensured, e.g., by diagonal dominance or Volterra-Lyapunov stability conditions. By consequence, the number of stable steady states of this type is bounded by Sperner's lemma on anti-chains in a poset. The number of stable steady states can nevertheless be very large if there are many groups of species that strongly inhibit outsiders but have weak interactions among themselves. By examples we also show that in general it is possible for a stable community to contain a stable subcommunity consisting of a single species. Thus a recent empirical finding to the contrary, in a study of random competitive systems by Lischke and L\"offler (Theo. Pop. Biol. 115 (2017) 24--34), does not hold without qualification., Comment: 28 pages, clarify and shorten some material

We prove that time-periodic solutions arise via Hopf bifurcation in a finite closed system of coagulation-fragmentation equations. The system we treat is a variant of the Becker-Doering equations, in which clusters grow or shrink by addition or deletion of monomers. To this is added a linear atomization reaction for clusters of maximum size. The structure of the system is motivated by models of gas evolution oscillators in physical chemistry, which exhibit temporal oscillations under certain input/output conditions., Comment: 30 pages, 3 figures; revised to include formal continuum limit & minor revisions

In a recent study of certain merging-splitting models of animal-group size (Degond et al., J. Nonl. Sci. 27 (2017) 379), it was shown that an initial size distribution with infinite first moment leads to convergence to zero in weak sense, corresponding to unbounded growth of group size. In the present paper we show that for any such initial distribution with a power-law tail, the solution approaches a self-similar spreading form. A one-parameter family of such self-similar solutions exists, with densities that are completely monotone, having power-law behavior in both small and large size regimes, with different exponents., Comment: 27 pages

We translate a coagulation-framentation model, describing the dynamics of animal group size distributions, into a model for the population distribution and associate the \blue{nonlinear} evolution equation with a Markov jump process of a type introduced in classic work of H.~McKean. In particular this formalizes a model suggested by H.-S. Niwa [J.~Theo.~Biol.~224 (2003)] with simple coagulation and fragmentation rates. Based on the jump process, we develop a numerical scheme that allows us to approximate the equilibrium for the Niwa model, validated by comparison to analytical results by Degond et al. [J.~Nonlinear Sci.~27 (2017)], and study the population and size distributions for more complicated rates. Furthermore, the simulations are used to describe statistical properties of the underlying jump process. We additionally discuss the relation of the jump process to models expressed in stochastic differential equations and demonstrate that such a connection is justified in the case of nearest-neighbour interactions, as opposed to global interactions as in the Niwa model.

We study kinetic theories for isotropic, two-dimensional grain boundary networks which evolve by curvature flow. The number densities $f_s(x,t)$ for $s$-sided grains, $s =1,2,\ldots$, of area $x$ at time $t$, are modeled by kinetic equations of the form $\partial_t f_s + v_s \partial_x f_s =j_s$. The velocity $v_s$ is given by the Mullins-von Neumann rule and the flux $j_s$ is determined by the topological transitions caused by the vanishing of grains and their edges. The foundations of such kinetic models are examined through simpler particle models for the evolution of grain size, as well as purely topological models for the evolution of trivalent maps. These models are used to characterize the parameter space for the flux $j_s$. Several kinetic models in the literature, as well as a new kinetic model, are simulated and compared with direct numerical simulations of mean curvature flow on a network. Existence and uniqueness of mild solutions to the kinetic equations with continuous initial data is established., Comment: 61 pages, multiple figures

We study local-time well-posedness and breakdown for solutions of regularized Saint-Venant equations (regularized classical shallow water equations) recently introduced by Clamond and Dutykh. The system is linearly non-dispersive, and smooth solutions conserve an $H^1$-equivalent energy. No shock discontinuities can occur, but the system is known to admit weakly singular shock-profile solutions that dissipate energy. We identify a class of small-energy smooth solutions that develop singularities in the first derivatives in finite time., Comment: 28 pages, 1 figure; substantial reorganization, corrected proof of blow-up criteria, new references

In this paper we study the asymptotic behavior of Brownian motion in both comb-shaped planar domains, and comb-shaped graphs. We show convergence to a limiting process when both the spacing between the teeth \emph{and} the width of the teeth vanish at the same rate. The limiting process exhibits an anomalous diffusive behavior and can be described as a Brownian motion time-changed by the local time of an independent sticky Brownian motion. In the two dimensional setting the main technical step is an oscillation estimate for a Neumann problem, which we prove here using a probabilistic argument. In the one dimensional setting we provide both a direct SDE proof, and a proof using the trapped Brownian motion framework in Ben Arous \etal (Ann.\ Probab.\ '15)., Comment: 47 pages, 4 figures

We give a rigorous proof of existence for solitary waves of a peridynamics model in one space dimension recently investigated by Silling (J. Mech. Phys. Solids 96:121--132, 2016). We adapt the variational framework developed by Friesecke and Wattis (Comm. Math Phys. 161:391--418, 1994) for the Fermi-Pasta-Ulam-Tsingou lattice equations to treat a truncated problem which cuts off short-range interactions, then pass to the limit., Comment: 33 pages

The basis of this paper is the elementary observation that the $n$-step descendant distribution of any Galton-Watson process satisfies a discrete Smoluchowski coagulation equation with multiple coalescence. Using this we obtain necessary and sufficient criteria for the convergence of scaling limits of Galton-Watson processes that are simpler (and equivalent) to the classical criteria obtained by Grimvall in 1974. Our results provide a clear and natural interpretation, and an alternate proof, of the fact that the L\'evy jump measure of certain CSBPs satisfies a generalized Smoluchowski equation. (This result was previously proved by Bertoin and Le Gall in 2006.) Moreover, our analysis shows that the nonlinear scaling dynamics of CSBPs becomes linear and purely dilatational when expressed in terms of the L\'evy triple associated with the branching mechanism. We use this to prove existence of universal critical Galton-Watson and CSBPs analogous to W. Doeblin's "universal laws". Namely, these universal processes generate all possible critical and subcritical CSBPs as subsequential scaling limits. Our convergence results rely on a natural topology for L\'evy triples and a continuity theorem for Bernstein transforms (Laplace exponents). We develop these in a self-contained appendix., Comment: 44 pages, 0 figures. Version 2: Minor formatting fixes. Version 3: Final version accepted

As V. I. Arnold observed in the 1960s, the Euler equations of incompressible fluid flow correspond formally to geodesic equations in a group of volume-preserving diffeomorphisms. Working in an Eulerian framework, we study incompressible flows of shapes as critical paths for action (kinetic energy) along transport paths constrained to have characteristic-function densities. The formal geodesic equations for this problem are Euler equations for incompressible, inviscid potential flow of fluid with zero pressure and surface tension on the free boundary. The problem of minimizing this action exhibits an instability associated with microdroplet formation, with the following outcomes: Any two shapes of equal volume can be approximately connected by an Euler spray---a countable superposition of ellipsoidal geodesics. The infimum of the action is the Wasserstein distance squared, and is almost never attained except in dimension 1. Every Wasserstein geodesic between bounded densities of compact support provides a solution of the (compressible) pressureless Euler system that is a weak limit of (incompressible) Euler sprays. Each such Wasserstein geodesic is also the unique minimizer of a relaxed least-action principle for a two-fluid mixture theory corresponding to incompressible fluid mixed with vacuum., Comment: 47 pages, 2 figures, extensively re-revised and improved

The Kompaneets equation describes a field of photons exchanging energy by Compton scattering with the free electrons of a homogeneous, isotropic, non-relativistic, thermal plasma. This paper strives to advance our understanding of how this equation captures the phenomenon of Bose-Einstein condensation through the study of a model equation. For this model we prove existence and uniqueness theorems for global weak solutions. In some cases a Bose-Einstein condensate will form in finite time, and we show that it will continue to gain photons forever afterwards. Moreover we show that every solution approaches a stationary solution for large time. Key tools include a universal super solution, a one-sided Oleinik type inequality, and an $L^1$ contraction., Comment: 40 pages

In low-density or high-temperature plasmas, Compton scattering is the dominant process responsible for energy transport. Kompaneets in 1957 derived a non-linear degenerate parabolic equation for the photon energy distribution. In this paper we consider a simplified model obtained by neglecting diffusion of the photon number density in a particular way. We obtain a non-linear hyperbolic PDE with a position-dependent flux, which permits a one-parameter family of stationary entropy solutions to exist. We completely describe the long-time dynamics of each non-zero solution, showing that it approaches some non-zero stationary solution. While the total number of photons is formally conserved, if initially large enough it necessarily decreases after finite time through an out-flux of photons with zero energy. This corresponds to formation of a Bose-Einstein condensate, whose mass we show can only increase with time., Comment: 20 pages

We study coagulation-fragmentation equations inspired by a simple model proposed in fisheries science to explain data for the size distribution of schools of pelagic fish. Although the equations lack detailed balance and admit no $H$-theorem, we are able to develop a rather complete description of equilibrium profiles and large-time behavior, based on recent developments in complex function theory for Bernstein and Pick functions. In the large-population continuum limit, a scaling-invariant regime is reached in which all equilibria are determined by a single scaling profile. This universal profile exhibits power-law behavior crossing over from exponent $-\frac23$ for small size to $-\frac32$ for large size, with an exponential cut-off., Comment: 51 pages, 2 figures

This paper studies rates of decay to equilibrium for the Becker-D\"oring equations with subcritical initial data. In particular, polynomial rates of decay are established when initial perturbations of equilibrium have polynomial moments. This is proved by using new dissipation estimates in polynomially weighted $\ell^1$ spaces, operator decomposition techniques from kinetic theory, and interpolation estimates from the study of travelling waves.

The class of generating functions for completely monotone sequences (moments of finite positive measures on $[0,1]$) has an elegant characterization as the class of Pick functions analytic and positive on $(-\infty,1)$. We establish this and another such characterization and develop a variety of consequences. In particular, we characterize generating functions for moments of convex and concave probability distribution functions on $[0,1]$. Also we provide a simple analytic proof that for any real $p$ and $r$ with $p>0$, the Fuss-Catalan or Raney numbers $\frac{r}{pn+r}\binom{pn+r}{n}$, $n=0,1,\ldots$ are the moments of a probability distribution on some interval $[0,\tau]$ {if and only if} $p\ge1$ and $p\ge r\ge 0$. The same statement holds for the binomial coefficients $\binom{pn+r-1}n$, $n=0,1,\ldots$., Comment: 23 pages, LaTeX; Minor corrections and explanations added, literature update. To appear in Transactions Amer. Math. Soc

We prove global existence of weak solutions to two systems of equations which extend the dynamics of the Navier-Stokes equations for incompressible viscous flow with no-slip boundary condition. The systems of equations we consider arise as formal limits of time discrete pressure-Poisson schemes introduced by Johnston and Liu (J. Comp. Phys. 199 (2004) 221-259) and by Shirokoff and Rosales (J Comp. Phys 230 (2011) 8619-8646) when the initial data does not satisfy the required compatibility condition. Unlike the results of Iyer et al (J. Math. Phys. 53 (2012) 115605), our approach proves existence of weak solutions in domains with less than C^1 regularity. Our approach also addresses uniqueness in 2D and higher regularity.

We investigate the well-posedness and asymptotic self-similarity of solutions to a generalized Smoluchowski coagulation equation recently introduced by Bertoin and Le Gall in the context of continuous-state branching theory. In particular, this equation governs the evolution of the L\'{e}vy measure of a critical continuous-state branching process which becomes extinct (i.e., is absorbed at zero) almost surely. We show that a nondegenerate scaling limit of the L\'{e}vy measure (and the process) exists if and only if the branching mechanism is regularly varying at 0. When the branching mechanism is regularly varying, we characterize nondegenerate scaling limits of arbitrary finite-measure solutions in terms of generalized Mittag-Leffler series., Comment: Published in at http://dx.doi.org/10.1214/14-AAP1008 the Annals of Applied Probability (http://www.imstat.org/aap/) by the Institute of Mathematical Statistics (http://www.imstat.org)

In this article we study a system of equations that is known to {\em extend} Navier-Stokes dynamics in a well-posed manner to velocity fields that are not necessarily divergence-free. Our aim is to contribute to an understanding of the role of divergence and pressure in developing energy estimates capable of controlling the nonlinear terms. We address questions of global existence and stability in bounded domains with no-slip boundary conditions. Even in two space dimensions, global existence is open in general, and remains so, primarily due to the lack of a self-contained $L^2$ energy estimate. However, through use of new $H^1$ coercivity estimates for the linear equations, we establish a number of global existence and stability results, including results for small divergence and a time-discrete scheme. We also prove global existence in 2D for any initial data, provided sufficient divergence damping is included., Comment: 29 pages, no figures

We study asymptotic stability of solitary wave solutions in the one-dimensional Benney-Luke equation, a formally valid approximation for describing two-way water wave propagation. For this equation, as for the full water wave problem, the classic variational method for proving orbital stability of solitary waves fails dramatically due to the fact that the second variation of the energy-momentum functional is infinitely indefinite. We establish nonlinear stability in energy norm under the spectral stability hypothesis that the linearization admits no non-zero eigenvalues of non-negative real part. We also verify this hypothesis for waves of small energy., Comment: 40 pages, LaTeX with amsmath, amsfonts, amssymb, amsaddr packages

We investigate spectral stability of vortex solutions of the Gross-Pitaevskii equation, a mean-field approximation for Bose-Einstein condensates (BEC) in an effectively two-dimensional axisymmetric harmonic trap. We study eigenvalues of the linearization both rigorously and through computation of the Evans function, a sensitive and robust technique whose use we justify mathematically. The absence of unstable eigenvalues is justified a posteriori through use of the Krein signature of purely imaginary eigenvalues, which also can be used to significantly reduce computational effort. In particular, we prove general basic continuation results on Krein signature for finite systems of eigenvalues in infinite-dimensional problems., Comment: 45 pages, 7 figures

We prove an asymptotic stability result for the water wave equations linearized around small solitary waves. The equations we consider govern irrotational flow of a fluid with constant density bounded below by a rigid horizontal bottom and above by a free surface under the influence of gravity neglecting surface tension. For sufficiently small amplitude waves, with waveform well-approximated by the well-known sech-squared shape of the KdV soliton, solutions of the linearized equations decay at an exponential rate in an energy norm with exponential weight translated with the wave profile. This holds for all solutions with no component in (i.e., symplectically orthogonal to) the two-dimensional neutral-mode space arising from infinitesimal translational and wave-speed variation of solitary waves. We also obtain spectral stability in an unweighted energy norm., Comment: 50 pages, LaTeX with ulem package

For smooth domains, Liu et al. (Comm. Pure Appl. Math. 60: 1443-1487, 2007) used optimal estimates for the commutator of the Laplacian and the Leray projection operator to establish well-posedness of an extended Navier-Stokes dynamics. In their work, the pressure is not determined by incompressibility, but rather by a certain formula involving the Laplace-Leray commutator. A key estimate of Liu et al. controls the commutator strictly by the Laplacian in energy norm at leading order. In this paper we show that this strict control fails in a large family of bounded planar domains with corners. However, when the domain is an infinite cone, we find that strict control may be recovered in certain power-law weighted norms., Comment: Changed the Latex format

We study a mean-field model for a clustering process that may be described informally as follows. At each step a random integer $k$ is chosen with probability $p_k$, and the smallest cluster merges with $k$ randomly chosen clusters. We prove that the model determines a continuous dynamical system on the space of probability measures supported in $(0,\infty)$, and we establish necessary and sufficient conditions for approach to self-similar form. We also characterize eternal solutions for this model via a Levy-Khintchine formula. The analysis is based on an explicit solution formula discovered by Gallay and Mielke, extended using a careful choice of time scale.

We describe a basic framework for studying dynamic scaling that has roots in dynamical systems and probability theory. Within this framework, we study Smoluchowski's coagulation equation for the three simplest rate kernels $K(x,y)=2$, $x+y$ and $xy$. In another work, we classified all self-similar solutions and all universality classes (domains of attraction) for scaling limits under weak convergence (Comm. Pure Appl. Math 57 (2004)1197-1232). Here we add to this a complete description of the set of all limit points of solutions modulo scaling (the scaling attractor) and the dynamics on this limit set (the ultimate dynamics). The main tool is Bertoin's L\'{e}vy-Khintchine representation formula for eternal solutions of Smoluchowski's equation (Adv. Appl. Prob. 12 (2002) 547--64). This representation linearizes the dynamics on the scaling attractor, revealing these dynamics to be conjugate to a continuous dilation, and chaotic in a classical sense. Furthermore, our study of scaling limits explains how Smoluchowski dynamics ``compactifies'' in a natural way that accounts for clusters of zero and infinite size (dust and gel).

We establish necessary and sufficient conditions for the shock statistics to approach self-similar form in Burgers turbulence with L\'{e}vy process initial data. The proof relies upon an elegant closure theorem of Bertoin and Carraro and Duchon that reduces the study of shock statistics to Smoluchowski's coagulation equation with additive kernel, and upon our previous characterization of the domains of attraction of self-similar solutions for this equation.

We show that in bounded domains with no-slip boundary conditions, the Navier-Stokes pressure can be determined in a such way that it is strictly dominated by viscosity. As a consequence, in a general domain we can treat the Navier-Stokes equations as a perturbed vector diffusion equation, instead of as a perturbed Stokes system. To illustrate the advantages of this view, we provide a simple proof of the unconditional stability of a difference scheme that is implicit only in viscosity and explicit in both pressure and convection terms, requiring no solution of stationary Stokes systems or inf-sup conditions., Comment: 15 pages. Submitted to the Proceedings of the Tenth International Conference on Hyperbolic Problems (HYP2004, held in Osaka, September 2004), Yokohama Publishers, Inc

We show that in bounded domains with no-slip boundary conditions, the Navier-Stokes pressure can be determined in a such way that it is strictly dominated by viscosity. As a consequence, in a general domain we can treat the Navier-Stokes equations as a perturbed vector diffusion equation, instead of as a perturbed Stokes system. We illustrate the advantages of this view in a number of ways. In particular, we provide simple proofs of (i) local-in-time existence and uniqueness of strong solutions for an unconstrained formulation of the Navier-Stokes equations, and (ii) the unconditional stability and convergence of difference schemes that are implicit only in viscosity and explicit in both pressure and convection terms, requiring no solution of stationary Stokes systems or inf-sup conditions., Comment: 44 pages

We consider the approach to self-similarity (or dynamical scaling) in Smoluchowski's coagulation equations for the solvable kernels K(x,y)=2, x+y and xy. We prove the uniform convergence of densities to the self-similar solution with exponential tails under the regularity hypothesis that a suitable moment have an integrable Fourier transform. For the discrete equations we prove uniform convergence under optimal moment hypotheses. Our results are completely analogous to classical local convergence theorems for the normal law in probability theory. The proofs rely on the Fourier inversion formula and the solution by the method of characteristics for the Laplace transform., Comment: Latex2e, 31 pages with 1 figure. Revised per referee's suggestions

We consider the approach to self-similarity (or dynamical scaling) in Smoluchowski's equations of coagulation for the solvable kernels $K(x,y)=2$, $x+y$ and $xy$. In addition to the known self-similar solutions with exponential tails, there are one-parameter families of solutions with algebraic decay, whose form is related to heavy-tailed distributions well-known in probability theory. For K=2 the size distribution is Mittag-Leffler, and for $K=x+y$ and $K=xy$ it is a power-law rescaling of a maximally skewed $\alpha$-stable Levy distribution. We characterize completely the domains of attraction of all self-similar solutions under weak convergence of measures. Our results are analogous to the classical characterization of stable distributions in probability theory. The proofs are simple, relying on the Laplace transform and a fundamental rigidity lemma for scaling limits., Comment: Latex2e, 42 pages with 1 figure

We describe traveling waves in a basic model for three-dimensional water-wave dynamics in the weakly nonlinear long-wave regime. Small solutions that are periodic in the direction of translation (or orthogonal to it) form an infinite-dimensional family. We characterize these solutions through spatial dynamics, by reducing a linearly ill-posed mixed-type initial-value problem to a center manifold of infinite dimension and codimension. A unique global solution exists for arbitrary small initial data for the two-component bottom velocity, specified along a single line in the direction of translation (or orthogonal to it). A dispersive, nonlocal, nonlinear wave equation governs the spatial evolution of bottom velocity., Comment: 22 pages with 1 figure, LaTeX2e with amsfonts, epsfig packages

A large class of multidimensional nonlinear Schroedinger equations admit localized nonradial standing wave solutions that carry nonzero intrinsic angular momentum. Here we provide evidence that certain of these spinning excitations are spectrally stable. We find such waves for equations in two space dimensions with focusing-defocusing nonlinearities, such as cubic-quintic. Spectrally stable waves resemble a vortex (non-localized solution with asymptotically constant amplitude) cut off at large radius by a kink layer that exponentially localizes the solution. For the evolution equations linearized about a localized spinning wave, we prove that unstable eigenvalues are zeros of Evans functions for a finite set of ordinary differential equations. Numerical computations indicate that there exist spectrally stable standing waves having central vortex of any degree., Comment: 40 pages with 10 figures, LaTeX2e with amsfonts, epsfig packages; clarifications and new references

The classical Lifshitz-Slyozov-Wagner theory of domain coarsening predicts asymptotically self-similar behavior for the size distribution of a dilute system of particles that evolve by diffusional mass transfer with a common mean field. Here we consider the long-time behavior of measure-valued solutions for systems in which particle size is uniformly bounded, i.e., for initial measures of compact support. We prove that the long-time behavior of the size distribution depends sensitively on the initial distribution of the largest particles in the system. Convergence to the classically predicted smooth similarity solution is impossible if the initial distribution function is comparable to any finite power of distance to the end of the support. We give a necessary criterion for convergence to other self-similar solutions, and conditional stability theorems for some such solutions. For a dense set of initial data, convergence to any self-similar solution is impossible., Comment: 31 pages, LaTeX2e; Revised version, to appear in J. Stat. Phys

The LSW theory of Ostwald ripening concerns the time evolution of the size distribution of a dilute system of particles that evolve by diffusional mass transfer with a common mean field. We prove global existence, uniqueness and continuous dependence on initial data for measure-valued solutions with compact support in particle size. These results are established with respect to a natural topology on the space of size distributions, one given by the Wasserstein metric which measures the smallest maximum volume change required to rearrange one distribution into another., Comment: 21 pages, LaTeX2e with amsfonts package

We study low-speed flows of a highly compressible, single-phase fluid in the presence of gravity, for example in a regime appropriate for modeling recent space-shuttle experiments on fluids near the liquid-vapor critical point. In the equations of motion, we include forces due to capillary stresses that arise from a contribution made by strong density gradients to the free energy. We derive formally simplified sets of equations in a low-speed limit analogous to the zero Mach number limit in combustion theory. When viscosity is neglected and gravity is weak, the simplified system includes: a hyperbolic equation for velocity, a parabolic equation for temperature, an elliptic equation related to volume expansion, an integro-differential equation for mean pressure, and an algebraic equation (the equation of state). Solutions are determined by initial values for the mean pressure, the temperature field, and the divergence-free part of the velocity field. To model multidimensional flows with strong gravity, we offer an alternative to the anelastic approximation, one which admits stratified fluids in thermodynamic equilibrium, as well as gravity waves but not acoustic waves., Comment: 27 pages with 1 figure, LaTeX2e