The Riemann problem for nonlinear degenerate wave equations (Q605157)

The authors study the Riemann problem for the nonlinear degenerate first-order wave equations \[ v_t=u_x,\quad u_t = (|v|^{\gamma-1}v)_x \] for \(\gamma>1\). The initial data are piecewise-constant with the jump in \(x=0\). Unknown \(u\) and \(v\) are velocity and strain respectively, the equations describe a wave in elasticity with viscosity ignored. The stress function is neither convex nor concave, so the well-known method for \(P\)-systems does not work because the shock condition is degenerate. Using the degenerate shock theory, the authors construct the global Riemann solutions to the problem.