Convergence to a ground state as a threshold phenomenon in nonlinear parabolic equations (Q1374508)

The authors give a complete characterization of the asymptotic behaviour as \(t \to \infty\) of non-negative solutions \(u = u(x,t)\) of the equation \(u_t - \Delta u + f(u) = 0\), where the spatial variable runs through the whole space \(\mathbb{R}^N\), \[ f(u) = u + \sum_{j=1}^m b_ju^{r_j} - \sum_{i=1}^n a_iu^{p_i}, \quad 1 < r_j < p_i \leq N/(N - 2), \;a_i,b_j > 0. \] Using a recent result of \textit{C.-C. Chen} and \textit{C.-S. Lin} [Commun. Partial Differ. Equations 16, No. 8/9, 1549-1572 (1991; Zbl 0753.35034)] on the uniqueness (up to a spatial shift) of the least energy solution (the so-called ground state) \(w_g\) to the stationary equation \(- \Delta w + f(w) = 0, \;w\not \equiv 0, x \in \mathbb{R}^N\), they prove: for any non-negative function \(\bar u\) with a compact support in \(\mathbb{R}^N\), \(\bar u \not \equiv 0\) there exists a constant \(\alpha_c = \alpha_c(\bar u) > 0\) such that the solution \(u\) with \(u(0) = \alpha_c\bar u\) converges to a spatial shift of the ground state \(w_g\). If \(u(0) = \alpha \bar u\) and \(0 \leq \alpha < \alpha_c\) then \(u\) tends to zero or, in case \(\alpha > \alpha_c\), \(u\) blows up at a finite time. The proof is based on a combination of the concentrated compactness and comparison theorems for parabolic equations.