Generalized solutions to Burgers' equation (Q1188239)

The authors study the initial-value problem for Burgers' equation on the line using generalized functions in the sense of Colombeau. Admissible data include bounded functions, but may be more complicated. Entropy solutions are recovered when the viscosity coefficient is ``associated with zero''. Uniqueness may fail if equality is replaced by ``association'' in the problem. The set-up is recalled in some detail, so that no previous knowledge of these generalized distributions is necessary. The proofs rest on the Cole-Hopf transformation.