On a fractional thin film equation (Q1987057)

The authors study a nonlinear degenerate parabolic equation \(u_t=\nabla\cdot(u\nabla(-\Delta)^su)\) in \({\mathbb R}^d\times(0,T)\), with \(s\in(0,1)\) so that formally of order \(2s+2\in(2,4)\). This equation is, in a sense, an interpolation between the porous medium equation (\(s=0\)) and the thin film equation (\(s=1\)). Main results include existence of nonnegative weak solutions with sufficiently regular initial data, and a construction of self-similar solutions, compactly supported in \({\mathbb R}^d\) for each \(t\ge 0\), which generalize the Barenblatt solutions for the porous medium equation. Under some supplementary assumptions on the initial data, they describe the long time behavior of those weak solutions. Moreover, some results are extended to the case \(s\in(1,2)\) so that the equation is of order \(2s+2\in(4,6)\). Relations with previously studied fractional porous medium equation when \(s\in(-1,0)\) -- of order \(2s+2\in(0,2)\) ([\textit{S. Serfaty} and \textit{J. L. Vázquez}, Calc. Var. Partial Differ. Equ. 49, No. 3--4, 1091--1120 (2014; Zbl 1290.35316)]: \(s\searrow -1\), [\textit{P. Biler} et al., Arch. Ration. Mech. Anal. 215, No. 2, 497--529 (2015; Zbl 1308.35197); \textit{D. Stan} et al., Arch. Ration. Mech. Anal. 233, No. 1, 451--496 (2019; Zbl 1437.35430)]) are commented.