Let G=(V,E) be a finite weighted graph, and Ω⊆V be a domain such that Ω^∘≠∅. In this paper, we study the following initial boundary problem for the non-homogenous wave equation ∂^2_t u(t,x) − Δ_Ω u(t,x) = f(t,x), (t,x)∈[0,∞)×Ω^∘ u(0,x)=g(x), x∈Ω^∘, ∂_t u(0,x)=h(x), x∈Ω^∘, u(t,x)=0, (t,x)∈[0,∞)×∂Ω, where Δ_Ω denotes the Dirichlet Laplacian on Ω^∘. Using Rothe's method, we prove that the above wave equation has a unique solution.

Let G=(V,E) be a locally finite connected weighted graph, and Ω be an unbounded subset of V. Using Rothe's method, we study the existence of solutions for the semilinear heat equation ∂_t u+|u|^{p−1}⋅u=Δu (p≥1) and the parabolic variational inequality ∫_{Ω^∘} ∂_t u⋅(v−u)dμ ≥ ∫_{Ω^∘} (Δu+f)⋅(v−u)dμ for any v∈H, where H={u∈W^{1,2}(V):u=0 on V∖Ω^∘}.

Let G=(V,E) be a locally finite graph. Firstly, using calculus of variations, including a direct method of variation and the mountain-pass theory, we get sequences of solutions to several local equations on G (the Schrödinger equation, the mean field equation, and the Yamabe equation). Secondly, we derive uniform estimates for those local solution sequences. Finally, we obtain global solutions by extracting convergent sequence of solutions. Our method can be described as a variational method from local to global.

Inspired by works of Castéras (Pac J Math 276:321–345, 2015), Li and Zhu (Calc Var Partial Differ Equ 58:1–18, 2019), Sun and Zhu (Calc Var Partial Differ Equ 60:1–26, 2021), we propose a heat flow for the mean field equation on a connected finite graph G=(V,E). Namely ∂_tϕ(u)=Δu−Q+ρ\frac{e^u}{∫_V e^u dμ} u(⋅,0)=u_0, where Δ is the standard graph Laplacian, ρ is a real number, Q:V→R is a function satisfying ∫_V Qdμ=ρ, and ϕ:R→R is one of certain smooth functions including ϕ(s)=es. We prove that for any initial data u_0 and any ρ∈R, there exists a unique solution u:V×[0,+∞)→R of the above heat flow; moreover, u(x, t) converges to some function u_∞:V→R uniformly in x∈V as t→+∞, and u_∞ is a solution of the mean field equation Δu_∞−Q+ρ\frac{e^{u_∞}}{∫_V e^{u_∞}dμ}=0. Though G is a finite graph, this result is still unexpected, even in the special case Q≡0. Our approach reads as follows: the short time existence of the heat flow follows from the ODE theory; various integral estimates give its long time existence; moreover we establish a Lojasiewicz–Simon type inequality and use it to conclude the convergence of the heat flow.

In this paper, we prove two existence results of solutions to mean field equations Δu+e^u=ρδ_0 and Δu=λe^u(e^u−1)+4π\sum_{j=1}^M δ_{p_j} on an arbitrary connected finite graph, where ρ>0 and λ>0 are constants, M is a positive integer, and p_1,…,p_M are arbitrarily chosen distinct vertices on the graph.

Let G=(V,E) be a locally finite connected weighted graph, and Δ be the usual graph Laplacian. In this article, we study blow-up problems for the nonlinear parabolic equation u_t = Δu + f(u) on G. The blow-up phenomenons for u_t = Δu + f(u) are discussed in terms of two cases: (i) an initial condition is given; (ii) a Dirichlet boundary condition is given. We prove that if f satisfies appropriate conditions, then the corresponding solutions will blow up in a finite time.

We prove a Harnack inequality for positive harmonic functions on graphs which is similar to a classical result of Yau on Riemannian manifolds. Also, we prove a mean value inequality of nonnegative subharmonic functions on graphs.

Based on a global estimate of the heat kernel, some important inequalities such as Poincaré inequality and log-Sobolev inequality, furthermore a tight logarithm Sobolev inequality are presented on graphs, just under a positive curvature condition CDE'(n,K) with some K > 0. As consequences, we obtain exponential integrability of integrable Lipschitz functions and moment bounds at the same assumption on graphs.

We establish a new on-diagonal lower estimate of continuous-time heat kernels for large time on graphs. To achieve the goal, we first introduce an upper estimate of heat kernels in natural graph metric, then use the upper estimate and the volume growth condition to show the validity of the on-diagonal lower estimate.

Let G = (V, E) be a locally finite graph, whose measure μ(x) has positive lower bound, and Δ be the usual graph Laplacian. Applying the mountain-pass theorem due to Ambrosetti and Rabinowitz (1973), we establish existence results for some nonlinear equations, namely Δu + hu = f(x, u), x ∈ V. In particular, we prove that if h and f satisfy certain assumptions, then the above-mentioned equation has strictly positive solutions. Also, we consider existence of positive solutions of the perturbed equation Δu + hu = f(x, u) + ϵg. Similar problems have been extensively studied on the Euclidean space as well as on Riemannian manifolds.

Let G=(V,E) be a connected finite graph and Δ be the usual graph Laplacian. Using the calculus of variations and a method of upper and lower solutions, we give various conditions such that the Kazdan–Warner equation Δu=c−he^u has a solution on V, where c is a constant, and h:V→R is a function. We also consider similar equations involving higher order derivatives on graph. Our results can be compared with the original manifold case of Kazdan and Warner (Ann. Math. 99(1):14–47, 1974).

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∈(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}(T^2,(0,∞)). This result can also be formulated in the language of stable norms corresponding to periodic metrics in T^2. Similar results were known long time ago when n≥3 for front speeds in C^∞(T^n,(0,∞)). 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}(T^2,(0,∞)) 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.

We revisit the homogenization problem for the Poisson equation in periodically perforated domains with zero Neumann data at the boundary of the holes and prescribed Dirichlet data at the outer boundary. It is known that, if the periodicity of the holes goes to zero but their volume fraction remains fixed and positive, the limit problem is a Dirichlet boundary value problem posed in the domain without the holes, and the effective diffusion coefficients are non-trivially modified; if that volume fraction goes to zero instead, i.e. the holes are dilute, the effective operator remains the Laplacian (that is, unmodified). Our main results contain the study of a "continuity" in those effective models with respect to the volume fraction of the holes and some new convergence rates for homogenization in the dilute setting. Our method explores the classical two-scale expansion ansatz and relies on asymptotic analysis of the rescaled cell problems using layer potential theory.

This article is a sequel to our previous work [13] concerned with the derivation of high-order homogenized models for the Stokes equation in a periodic porous medium. We provide an improved asymptotic analysis of the coefficients of the higher order models in the low-volume fraction regime whereby the periodic obstacles are rescaled by a factor η which converges to zero. By introducing a new family of order k corrector tensors with a controlled growth as η→0 uniform in k∈\N, we are able to show that both the infinite order and the finite order models converge in a coefficient-wise sense to the three classical asymptotic regimes. Namely, we retrieve the Darcy model, the Brinkman equation or the Stokes equation in the homogeneous cubic domain depending on whether η is respectively larger, proportional to, or smaller than the critical size η_{crit}∼ϵ2/(d−2). For completeness, the paper first establishes the analogous results for the perforated Poisson equation, considered as a simplified scalar version of the Stokes system.

We investigate Lamé systems in periodically perforated domains, and establish quantitative homogenization results in the setting where the domain is clamped at the boundary of the holes. Our method is based on layer potentials and it provides a unified proof for various regimes of hole-cell ratios (the ratio between the size of the holes and the size of the periodic cells), and, more importantly, it yields natural correctors that facilitate error estimates. A key ingredient is the asymptotic analysis for the rescaled cell problems, and this is studied by exploring the convergence of the periodic layer potentials for the Lamé system to those in the whole space when the period tends to infinity.

We study the periodic homogenization of first order front propagations. Based on PDE methods, we provide a simple proof that, for n ≥ 3, the class of centrally symmetric polytopes with rational coordinates and nonempty interior is admissible as effective fronts, which was also established by I. Babenko and F. Balacheff [Sur la forme de la boule unit\'e de la norme stable unidimensionnelle, Manuscripta Math. 119 (2006) 347--358] and M. Jotz [Hedlund metrics and the stable norm, Diff. Geometry Appl. 27 (2009) 543--550] in the form of stable norms as an extension of G. A. Hedlund's classical result [Geodesics on a two-dimensional Riemannian manifold with periodic coefficients, Ann. Math. 33 (1932) 719--739]. Besides, we obtain the optimal convergence rate of the homogenization problem for this class.

We study a generalized ergodic problem (E), which is a Hamilton-Jacobi equation of contact type, in the flat n-dimensional torus. We first obtain existence of solutions to this problem under quite general assumptions. Various examples are presented and analyzed to show that (E) does not have unique solutions in general. We then study uniqueness structures of solutions to (E) in the convex setting by using the nonlinear adjoint method.

We revisit the periodic homogenization of Dirichlet problems for the Laplace operator in perforated domains and establish a unified proof that works for different regimes of hole-cell ratios, which is the ratio between the scaling factor of the holes and that of the periodic cells. The approach is then made quantitative and yields correctors and error estimates for vanishing hole-cell ratios. For a positive volume fraction of holes, the approach is just the standard oscillating test function method; for a vanishing volume fraction of holes, we study asymptotic behaviors of properly rescaled cell problems and use them to build oscillating test functions. Our method reveals how the different regimes are intrinsically connected through the cell problems and the connection with periodic layer potentials.

This work concerns the analysis of wave propagation in random media. Our medium of interest is sea ice, which is a composite of a pure ice background and randomly located inclusions of brine and air. From a pulse emitted by a source above the sea ice layer, the main objective of this work is to derive a model for the backscattered signal measured at the source/detector location. The problem is difficult in that, in the practical configuration we consider, the wave impinges on the layer with a non-normal incidence. Since the sea ice is seen by the pulse as an effective (homogenized) medium, the energy is specularly reflected and the backscattered signal vanishes in a first order approximation. What is measured at the detector consists therefore of corrections to leading order terms, and we focus in this work on the homogenization corrector. We describe the propagation by a random Helmholtz equation, and derive an expression of the corrector in this layered framework. We moreover obtain a transport model for quadratic quantities in the random wavefield in a high frequency limit.

We study the averaging of fronts moving with positive oscillatory normal velocity, which is periodic in space and stationary ergodic in time. The problem can be formulated as the homogenization of coercive level set Hamilton-Jacobi equations with spatio-temporal oscillations. To overcome the difficulties due to the oscillations in time and the linear growth of the Hamiltonian, we first study the long time averaged behavior of the associated reachable sets using geometric arguments. The results are new for higher than one dimensions even in the space-time periodic setting.

We study the homogenization of a stationary conductivity problem in a random heterogeneous medium with highly oscillating conductivity coefficients and an ensemble of simply closed conductivity resistant membranes. This medium is randomly deformed and then rescaled from a periodic one with periodic membranes, in a manner similar to the random medium proposed by Blanc, Le Bris, and Lions (2006). Across the membranes, the flux is continuous but the potential field itself undergoes a jump of Robin-type. We prove that, for almost all realizations of the random deformation, as the small scale of variations of the medium goes to zero, the random conductivity problem is well approximated by that of an effective medium which has deterministic and constant coefficients and contains no membrane. The effective coefficients are explicitly represented. One of our main contributions is to provide a solution to the associated auxiliary problem that is posed on the whole space with infinitely many interfaces, a setting that is out of the standard stationary ergodic framework.

The focus of this work is on rigorous mathematical analysis of the topological derivative based detection algorithms for the localization of an elastic inclusion of vanishing characteristic size. A filtered quadratic misfit is considered, and the performance of the topological derivative imaging functional resulting therefrom is analyzed. Our analysis reveals that the imaging functional may not attain its maximum at the location of the inclusion. Moreover, the resolution of the image is below the diffraction limit. Both phenomena are due to the coupling of pressure and shear waves propagating with different wave speeds and polarization directions. A novel imaging functional based on the weighted Helmholtz decomposition of the topological derivative is, therefore, introduced. It is thereby substantiated that the maximum of the imaging functional is attained at the location of the inclusion and the resolution is enhanced and proves to be the diffraction limit. Finally, we investigate the stability of the proposed imaging functionals with respect to measurement and medium noises.

We consider reflector imaging in a weakly random waveguide. We address the situation in which the source is farther from the reflector to be imaged than the energy equipartition distance, but the receiver array is closer to the reflector to be imaged than the energy equipartition distance. As a consequence, the reflector is illuminated by a partially coherent field and the signals recorded by the receiver array are noisy. This paper shows that migration of the recorded signals cannot give a good image, but an appropriate migration of the cross correlations of the recorded signals can give a very good image. The resolution and stability analysis of this original functional shows that the reflector can be localized with an accuracy of the order of the wavelength even when the receiver array has small aperture, and that broadband sources are necessary to ensure statistical stability, whatever the aperture of the array.

This paper analyzes the random fluctuations obtained by a heterogeneous multi-scale first-order finite element method applied to solve elliptic equations with a random potential. Several multiscale numerical algorithms have been shown to correctly capture the homogenized limit of solutions of elliptic equations with coefficients modeled as stationary and ergodic random fields. Because theoretical results are available in the continuum setting for such equations, we consider here the case of a secondorder elliptic equations with random potential in two dimensions of space. We show that the random fluctuations of such solutions are correctly estimated by the heterogeneous multi-scale algorithm when appropriate fine-scale problems are solved on subsets that cover the whole computational domain. However, when the fine-scale problems are solved over patches that do not cover the entire domain, the random fluctuations may or may not be estimated accurately. In the case of random potentials with short-range interactions, the variance of the random fluctuations is amplified as the inverse of the fraction of the medium covered by the patches. In the case of random potentials with long-range interactions, however, such an amplification does not occur and random fluctuations are correctly captured independent of the (macroscopic) size of the patches. These results are consistent with those obtained in [9] for more general equations in the one-dimensional setting and provide indications on the loss in accuracy that results from using coarser, and hence computationally less intensive, algorithms.

The aim of this paper is to develop a mathematical framework for opto-elastography. In opto-elastography, a mechanical perturbation of the medium produces a decorrelation of optical speckle patterns due to the displacements of optical scatterers. To model this, we consider two optically random media, with the second medium obtained by shifting the first medium in some local region. We derive the radiative transfer equation for the cross-correlation of the wave fields in the media. Then we derive its diffusion approximation. In both the radiative transfer and the diffusion regimes, we relate the correlation of speckle patterns to the solutions of the radiative transfer and the diffusion equations. We present numerical simulations based on our model which are in agreement with recent experimental measurements.