Gradient theory of phase transitions with general singular perturbations (Q1176415)

The author discusses some recent results concerning the gradient theory of phase transitions in a Van der Waals fluid. In particular, he considers singular perturbations of the free energy of a more general form than \(\varepsilon^ 2|\nabla u|^ 2\), which have been considered elsewhere. (Here, \(u\) is the density of the fluid.) More precisely, the author studies singularly perturbed functionals of the form \(J_ \varepsilon(u)=\int_ \Omega f(u,\varepsilon\nabla u)dx\), where \(f\) is a smooth function such that \(f(u,0)=W(u)\) is the free energy per unit volume and \(f(u,\cdot)\) is convex. Let \(u_ \varepsilon\) denote a minimizer of \(J_ \varepsilon(u)\) in \(W^{1,1}(\Omega)\) subject to the constraint \(\int_ \Omega u(x)dx=M\), and let \(u_ 0\) be the \(L^ 1(\Omega)\)-limit of \(u_ \varepsilon\) as \(\varepsilon\to 0\). Different characterizations of \(u_ 0\) as a solution of a minimization problem in \(\text{BV}(\Omega)\) in the isotropic case (i.e. \(f(u,p)=\tilde f(u,| p|))\) and in the anisotropic case are given. These results are contained in former papers by the author [Trans. Amer. Math. Soc. 310, No. 1, 393-404 (1988; Zbl 0718.34075)], and the author and \textit{P. Sternberg} [Nonlinear Anal., Theory Methods Appl. 16, No. 7/8, 705-719 (1991; Zbl 0748.49034)].