Harnack inequalities for a class of heat flows with nonlinear reaction terms (Q2237978)

The main aim of this paper is to establish Harnack inequalities for positive solutions to a class of heat flows with nonlinear reactions \[ \frac{\partial}{\partial t} w(x,t) = \Delta w(x,t) + g(w(x,t)) \] on an \(n\)-dimensional complete (compact or noncompact) Riemannian manifold with Ricci curvature bounded from below. More precisely, two types of gradient estimates (space-time and space only) are established for positive solutions to the flow, and the corresponding (Li-Yau type (space-time) and Hamilton-Souplet-Zhang type (space only)) Harnack inequalities are obtained to allow for comparison of solutions. Some specific examples of the reaction term such as logarithmic reaction, Fisher-KPP and Allen-Cahn equations are discussed as applications of the estimates so derived. Referring to logarithmic nonlinearities, some discussions are made on Liouville type properties of bounded solutions.