In this paper, we combine the method of constructing the compensating function introduced by Kawashima and the standard energy method for the study on the Landau equation with external forcing. Both the global existence of solutions near the time asymptotic states which are local Maxwellians and the optimal convergence rates are obtained. The method used here has its own advantage for this kind of studies because it does not involve the spectrum analysis of the corresponding linearized operator.

In this paper, we study the global well-posedness of the 2D compressible NavierStokes equations with large initial data and vacuum. It is proved that if the shear viscosity<i></i> is a positive constant and the bulk viscosity <i></i> is the power function of the density, that is, <i></i>(<i></i>) = <i></i> ^<i></i> with <i></i> &gt; 3, then the 2D compressible NavierStokes equations with the periodic boundary conditions on the torus T 2 admit a unique global classical solution (<i>, u</i>) which may contain vacuums in an open set of T 2 . Note that the initial data can be arbitrarily large to contain vacuum states.

The global existence and uniqueness of classical solutions to the Boltzmann equation without angular cut-off is proved under the condition that the initial data is in some Sobolev space. In addition, the solutions thus obtained are shown to be positive and C in all variables. One of the key observations is the introduction of a new important norm related to the singularity in the cross section of the collision operator. This norm captures the essential property of the singularity and yields precisely the dissipation description of the linearized collision operator through the celebrated H-theorem.

In this paper we study the zero-viscosity limit of 2-D Boussinesq equations with vertical viscosity and zero diffusivity, which is a nonlinear system with partial dissipation arising in atmospheric sciences and oceanic circulation. The domain is taken as R2+ with Navier-type boundary. We prove the nonlinear stability of the approximate solution constructed by boundary layer expansion in conormal Sobolev space. The optimal expansion order and convergence rates for the inviscid limit are also identified in this paper. Our paper extends the partial zero-dissipation limit results of Boussinesq system with full dissipation by Chae D. [Adv.Math.203,no.2,2006] in the whole space to the case with partial dissipation and Navier boundary in the half plane.

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.