The singular parabolic problem $u_t-\triangle u=\l{\frac{1+\d|\nabla u|^2}{(1-u)^2}}$ on a bounded domain $\O$ of $\Rn$ with Dirichlet boundary condition, models the Microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) device with fringing field. In this paper, we focus on the quenching behavior of the solution to this equation. We first show that there exists a critical value $\l_\d^*>0$ such that if $0<\l<\l_\d^*$, all solutions exist globally; while for $\l>\l_\d^*$, all the solution will quench in finite time. The estimate of the quenching time in terms of large voltage $\l$ is investigated. Furthermore, the quenching set is a compact subset of $\O$, provided $\O$ is a convex bounded domain in $\mathbb{R}^n$. In particular, if the domain $\O$ is radially symmetric, then the origin is the only quenching point. We not only derive the one-side estimate of the quenching rate, but also further study the refined asymptotic behavior of the finite quenching solution.

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.

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This work considers the rigorous derivation of continuum models of step motion starting from a mesoscopic Burton-Cabrera-Frank (BCF) type model following the work [Xiang, SIAM J. Appl. Math. 2002]. We prove that as the lattice parameter goes to zero, for a finite time interval, a modified discrete model converges to the strong solution of the limiting PDE with first order convergence rate.

In the present paper, we prove an improved Combes–Thomas estimate, viz. the Combes–Thomas estimate in trace-class norms, for magnetic Schrödinger operators under general assumptions. In particular, we allow for unbounded potentials. We also show that for any function in the Schwartz space on the reals the operator kernel decays, in trace-class norms, faster than any polynomial.