On the semigroup of linearized forced elongation (Q2484667)

Forced elongation is the process by which a highly viscous fluid exits an orifice under pressure and forms an axisymmetric filament (``spinning a molten threadline''). The mathematical model is the system \(a_t + (av)_z = 0\), \((a v_z)_z = 0\), where \(a = a(t, z)\) is the cross-sectional area, and \(v = v(t, z)\) is the axial velocity of the filament along \(0 \leq z \leq 1.\) The boundary conditions are \(a(t, 0) = 1,\) \(v(t, 0) = 1,\) \(v(t, 1) = D =\) pulling velocity \( > 1.\) The author linearizes the above system about the stationary solution \(\tilde a(t, z) = e^{-\nu z},\) \(\tilde v(t, z) = e^{\nu z}\) \((\nu = \log D > 0)\) and shows that the solutions of the linearized equation are produced by an eventually compact, eventually differentiable semigroup in the space \(L^1(0, 1),\) a result that was previously known in other (less physically significant) spaces.