Metastability of the nonlinear wave equation: insights from transition state theory (Q2359426)

The long-time dynamics of infinite-energy solutions to a wave equation \(u_{tt}-\kappa^2u_{xx}+V^\prime(u)=0\) on the unit interval \([0,1]\) with either a Dirichlet or a Neumann boundary condition is studied. Here \(\kappa>0\) and \(V\) is a potential bounded from below and growing at least quadratically as \(|u|\to\infty\). Typically, \(V\) is a double-well potential creating two disjoint sets in the phase-space where, in each of them, the solution spends long periods of time and only rarely transitions to the other set. The authors calculate the mean frequency at which solutions cross a dividing surface between these sets, i.e., mean residency times are calculated. The numerical investigation is provided alongside. It is also proved that if the wave equation is discretized in space then both the microcanonical and the canonical invariant measures for the discrete systems converge to the single (Gaussian) invariant measure for the wave equation, as the mesh size vanishes.