Bi-Laplacians on graphs and networks (Q1987651)

The paper is devoted to qualitative properties of the one-dimensional parabolic linear evolution equations associated with the bi-Laplacian operators: \[\displaystyle\frac{\partial u}{\partial t}=-Au,\,\,\,\text{on}\,\,\,L^p(\mathcal G),\tag{1}\] \[\displaystyle\frac{df}{dt}=-\mathcal{L}^2 f,\,\,\,\text{on}\,\,\,l^p(V),\tag{2}\] where \(1\le p\le \infty\), the operator \(A=\frac{d^4}{dx^4}\) is acting on a connected network \(\mathcal{G}\), and \(\mathcal{L}^2\) (the square of the discrete Laplacian) is acting on a connected discrete graph \(G\). By using the bi-harmonic functions and combinatorial arguments, the authors show that equation \((1)\) has Markovian features, and they obtain similar results for equation \((2)\) depending on the transmission conditions and/or the network property. They also present a characterization of the complete graphs in terms of the Markovian property of the semigroup generated by \(-\mathcal{L}^2\).