Singularity formation for a system of conservation laws in two space dimensions (Q1919572)

The authors study singularity formation for the \(2\times 2\) system \(u_t+(u^2)_x+(uv)_y=0\) and \(v_t+(uv)_x+(v^2)_y=0\). The analysis here is based on the argument, due to \textit{J. B. Keller} and \textit{L. Ting} [Commun. Pure Appl. Math. 19, 371-420 (1966; Zbl 0284.35004)], about the evolution along a characteristic of the compression rate nearby characteristics. This system is one of a class of systems, called partially aligned, which exhibit a degenerate characteristic structure, where a pair of directions replaces the usual cone at every point.