Exponential attractors of reaction-diffusion systems in an unbounded domain (Q1908802)

The system \[ \partial_t u- \Delta u+ f(u)+ \lambda_0 u- g= 0,\tag{1} \] where \(u= u(t, x)\), \(t> 0\), \(x\in \mathbb{R}^n\), \(\lambda_0\) is a positive constant and the functions \(u\), \(f\), \(g\) have values in \(\mathbb{R}^n\), is considered. The function \(f\) is assumed to be nonlinear and to satisfy natural smoothness and growth conditions and to vanish at zero. The function \(g\) belongs to weighted Sobolev space \(H_{0, \gamma}\), \(\gamma> 0\), with the norm defined by \[ |u|^2_{0, \gamma}= \int_{\mathbb{R}^n} (1+ |x|^2)^\gamma |u(x)|^2 dx. \] The weighted Sobolev spaces \(H_{l, \gamma}\), \(l= 1, 2\), are defined with the norms \(|u|^2_{l, \gamma}= \sum_{|\alpha|\leq l} |\partial^\alpha u|^2_{0, \gamma}\). Babin and Vishik showed that there exists a unique solution to (1) with initial conditions \(u|_{t= 0}= u_0\in H_{1, \gamma}\), which belongs to \(L_2([0, T]\), \(H_{2, \gamma})\cap L_\infty([0, T], H_{1, \gamma})\). The semigroup \(S_t: H_{0, \gamma}\to H_{0, \gamma}\) \((S_t u_0= u(t))\) has an absorbing invariant set \(B_4\) which is bounded in \(H_{2,\gamma}\); \(S_t\) is continuous on \(B_4\) in the topology of \(H_{0, \gamma}\). The authors consider the restriction of this semigroup to the invariant set \(B_4\), and prove that it possesses an exponential attractor. Exponential attractors (also called inertial sets) have finite fractal dimension and contain global attractors. A very important property of exponential attractors is their lower and upper semicontinuity with respect to Galerkin approximations.