Small data blowup for systems of semilinear wave equations with different propagation speeds in three space dimensions (Q1570755)

It is shown that there is a difference between semilinear and quasilinear systems of wave equations with small initial data in the case of critical nonlinearities. Here, quasilinear means that the nonlinearities only depend on the (components) of the solution of the system. If the propagation speeds of the systems are distinct, it is known that there is global existence of solutions with small initial data in the critical case. In contrast, it is shown that in the case of distinct propagation speeds of the equations in the system, there is blow up in the critical case. Estimates of the lifespan of the solutions in terms of the size (smallness) of the data are given.