Anisotropic parabolic equations with variable nonlinearity (Q2271353)

The authors study the Dirichlet problem for the nonlinear parabolic equation \[ u_t- \sum_{i} \frac{d}{dx_i} \left[a_i(z,u)|D_iu|^{p_i(z)-2}D_iu+ b_i(z,u)\right]+ d(z,u) = 0, \] \[ u = 0,\quad \text{on }\Gamma_T,\qquad u(x,0)= u_0(x)\quad \text{in }\Omega, \] in a bounded simple-connected domain \(\Omega\subset\mathbb R^n\). Here \(z= (x,t)\in Q_T \equiv \Omega\times(0,T]\), \(\Gamma_T\) is the lateral boundary of \(Q_T\), \(D_i\) denotes the partial derivative with respect to \(x_i\) and \(d/dx_i\) is the total derivative. The exponents \(p_i(z)\) are given continuous in \(Q_T\) functions such that \[ p_i(z)\subset (p^-_i,p_i^+)\subseteq (p^-,p^+)\subset (1,\infty), \] with finite constant \(p^{\pm}\), \(p^{\pm}_i > 1\). It is assumed that the exponents \(p_i(z)\) are continuous in \(Q_T\) with logarithmic module of continuity. The equations of this type can be viewed as a generalization of the evolution equational \(p\)-Laplacian equation and appear in the description of a motion of electro-rhelogical fluids. Under suitable assumptions on the data of problem, the authors prove the existence and uniqueness of weak solutions in Orlicz-Sobolev spaces \(W^{1,p(\cdot)}(Q_T)\), derive global and local in time \(L^{\infty}\) bounds for these solutions. Moreover, the dependence of the regularity of weak solutions on the regularity properties of some exponents of functions from the data of problem is studied. In particular, the authors show that if \(u_0 \in L^{\sigma(\cdot,0)}(\Omega)\), \(D_iu_0 \in L^{p_i(\cdot,0)}(\Omega)\), and if the exponent \(p_i\) and \(\sigma\) are nonincreasing functions of \(t\), then the weak solutions possess better regularity properties: \[ u_t \in L^2(Q_T), \quad |u|^{\sigma(z)}, |D_iu|^{p_i(z)} \in L^{\infty}(0,T;L^1(\Omega)), \] \[ |D_iu|^{p_i(z)},|\ln|D_iu||p_{it}|, |u|^{\sigma}|\ln|u|||\sigma_t| \in L^1(Q_T). \] Finally, the certain extensions of the results to other classes of equations close to the above-mentioned equation are given.