Front solutions for the Ginzburg-Landau equation (Q1803951)

The authors discuss the existence of so called front solutions of the complex Landau-Ginzburg equation: \[ u_ t=u_ x^ 2+(1-| u|^ 2)u, \qquad x\in \mathbb{R}, \qquad t\in \mathbb{R}. \tag{1} \] Equation (1) admits a family of equilibrium solutions: \[ u_ q(x)=(1-q^ 2)^{1\over 2} e^{i\varphi}e^{iqx}, \qquad q\in [-1,+1], \qquad \varphi\in \mathbb{R}.\tag{2} \] A front solution is a solution \(u(t,\cdot)\), \(t\in \mathbb{R}\) which connects two equilibrium solutions \(u_{q_ 0}\), \(u_{q_ 1}\): \[ \lim_{t\to-\infty} u(t,\cdot)=u_{q_ 0}, \qquad \lim_{t\to+\infty} u(t,\cdot)=u_{q_ 1}.\tag{3} \] The limit is taken in some suitable function space. Guided by the spacial case \(q_ 1=\pm 1\), the authors are led to handle the general case \(q_ 0,q_ 1\not\in \{-1,+1\}\) by an ``Ansatz'': \[ u(x,t)=\sum C_ n(x-ct)e^{iq_ n x}, \qquad n\in\mathbb{Z}.\tag{4} \] Here \(q_ n=q_ 0+n(q_ 1-q_ 0)\) and \(c\) is a suitable parameter. By inserting (4) into (1) they obtain an infinite dimensional ODE: \[ C_ n' =D_ n, \qquad D_ n'=-(c+iq_ n)D_ n+C_ n(q_ n^ 2-1)-F_ n(C),\tag{5} \] where \(F_ n(C)=\sum C_ pC_ sC^*_{-r}\), \(p+s+r=n\), \(n\in \mathbb{Z}\). One is seeking solutions \((C_ n(\zeta),D_ n(\zeta))\), \(\zeta\in\mathbb{R}\), lying in a suitable Hilbert space, which satisfy appropriate asymptotic conditions as \(\zeta\to\pm\infty\), reflecting conditions (3). In order to find such solutions, (5) is subjected to a linear transformation related to the spectrum of the linearization of (5), in order to get an equivalent system: \[ A_ n=\lambda_{n+} A_ n+(\lambda_{n+}-\lambda_{n-})^{-1} F_ n(A+B), \qquad B_ n=\lambda_{n-} B_ n-(\lambda_{n+}-\lambda_{n-})^{-1} F_ n(A+B).\tag{6} \] The authors now distinguish two cases: \(u_{q_ 0}\), \(u_{q_ 1}\) both are unstable (\(UU\)-case), \(u_{q_ 0}\) is unstable and \(u_{q_ 1}\) is stable (\(SU\)-case). Both cases are handled with the aid of results about the existence of center stable manifolds for differential equations in Banach spaces by one of the authors [\textit{Th. Gallay}, Commun. Math. Phys. 152, 249-268 (1993)]. These results permit the authors to replace (6) by a reduced equation in the center stable manifold. In the \(UU\)-case this reduced equation is two dimensional, while in the \(SU\)-case the reduced equation is still infinite, but has special form. In both cases, the authors first prove the existence of front solutions for a limiting case, and then for the full reduced equation by quite subtle perturbation arguments which require precise knowledge about the way the center stable manifold depends on the parameters involved. A number of technical arguments are relegated to appendices \(A\), \(B\), \(C\).