The Toda system and clustering interfaces in the Allen-Cahn equation (Q1000544)

The interesting paper under review deals with the Neumann problem \[ \begin{cases} \varepsilon^2 \Delta u + (1-u^2)u = 0 & \text{in}\;\Omega,\\ {{\partial u}\over {\partial\nu}}=0 & \text{on}\;\partial\Omega \end{cases} \] where \(\Omega\subset\mathbb R^2\) is a bounded and smooth domain, \(\nu\) stands for the unit outward normal to \(\partial\Omega\) and \(\varepsilon>0\) is a small parameter. Problems of that kind describe evolution of antiphase boundaries and its solutions correspond to critical points in \(H^1(\Omega)\) of the Allen--Cahn energy \[ J_\varepsilon(u)\int_\Omega \left( {\varepsilon\over 2}|\nabla u|^2+{1\over{4\varepsilon}}(1-u^2)^2\right)dx. \] Suppose \(\Gamma_0\) is a segment contained in \(\Omega,\) which connects orthogonally two points of the boundary. Under certain nondegeneracy and nonminimality assumptions for \(\Gamma _0\) (satisfied for example by the short axis in an ellipse), the authors construct, for any given \(N \geq 1\), a solution exhibiting \(N\) transition layers whose mutual distances are \(O(\varepsilon|\log\varepsilon|)\) and which collapse onto \(\Gamma _0\) as \(\varepsilon\to 0.\) Asymptotic location of these interfaces is governed by a Toda-type system and yields in the limit broken lines with an angle at a common height and at main order cutting orthogonally to the boundary.