We present a simple proof on the formation of flocking in the F. Cucker and S. Smale system [Jpn. J. Math. (3) 2, No. 1, 197–227 (2007; Zbl 1166.92323)] based on the explicit construction of a Lyapunov functional. Our results also provide a unified condition on the initial states in which the exponential convergence to the flocking state will occur. For large particle systems, we give a rigorous justification for the mean-field limit from the many particle Cucker-Smale system to the Vlasov equation with flocking dissipation as the number of particles goes to infinity.

The first part of this paper describes some important underlying themes in the mathematical theory of continuum mechanics that are distinct from formulating and analyzing governing equations. The main part of this paper is devoted to a survey of some concrete, conceptually simple, pretty problems that help illuminate the underlying themes. The paper concludes with a discussion of the crucial role of invariant constitutive equations in computation.

For periodic initial data with density allowed to vanish initially, we establish the global existence of strong and weak solutions to the two-dimensional barotropic compressible Navier–Stokes equations with no restrictions on the size of initial data provided the shear viscosity is a positive constant and the bulk one is λ =ρ^β with β>4/3. These results generalize and improve the previous ones due to Vaigant–Kazhikhov [Sib. Math. J. 36 (1995) 1283–1316] who required β>3. Moreover, we also prove that the densities for both the strong and weak solutions remain bounded from above independently of time. As a consequence, it is shown that both the strong and weak solutions converge to the equilibrium state as time tends to infinity.