A compactness theorem and its application to a system of partial differential equations (Q1906538)

An existence theorem is established for the initial boundary value problem for the system \[ {\partial\over \partial t} \alpha(u)-\Delta u\ni \sigma(u)|\nabla \varphi|^2,\quad \text{div}(\sigma(u) \nabla\varphi)= 0 \] in the case, where \(\alpha\) is a maximal monotone graph in \(\mathbb{R}\) and \(\sigma\) is a continuous, nonnegative function on \(\mathbb{R}\) such that \(\sigma(s)= 0\) if and only if \(s\geq a\) for some \(a> 0\). This problem can be viewed as a model for the combined processes of heat conduction and electrical conduction in a body, which may undergo a phase change as a result of the heat generated by the current, the so-called Joule heating. In this case, \(u\) is the temperature of the body and \(\varphi\) the electrical potential. A solution is constructed as the limit of a sequence of classical weak solutions of the regularized problems. Due to the possible degeneracy of the system, oscillations in the approximating solution sequence can persist.