A two-dimensional labile aether through homogenization (Q1741660)

The authors investigate the $\Gamma$-limit of the Dirichlet integral $\int_{\Omega}(\mathbb{L}(x/\varepsilon)\nabla v)\cdot\nabla v dx$ for the weak topology on bounded sets in $L^2(\Omega;\mathbb{R}^2)$ and show that, at least for periodic mixtures of two isotropic materials that satisfy appropriate constraints, the $\Gamma$-limit is identical to that obtained for the weak topology on bounded sets of $H^1_0(\Omega;\mathbb{R}^2)$. Using this result in the dynamical setting, the authors show that the homogenization process may lead to a plane wave propagation for the homogenized system on a bounded domain with Dirichlet boundary conditions, although at a fixed scale, the microstructure prevents such a propagation.