A Stefan problem for the heat equation subject to an integral condition (Q1065292)

The authors consider a Stefan problem for the one dimensional heat equation: find a boundary function \(s=s(t)>0\), \(t\in [0,T)\) for some T, and a solution u of the heat equation in \(D_ T:=\{(x,t)\in {\mathbb{R}}^ 2:\) \(0<x<s(t),0<t<T\}\), vanishing at the free boundary, satisfying a Stefan condition there, and assuming given initial values at time 0. Moreover, the energy of the solution is prescribed at any time. The problem is transformed into a nonlinear integral equation which for smal T yields a unique solution by contraction. The function s, describing the free boundary, is shown to be of class \(C[0,T)\cap C^{\infty}(0,T)\) and to depend continuously on the data (in \(C^ 1)\). Finally, the authors discuss the behaviour of the free boundary with respect to the signs of the data.