On the convective Cahn-Hilliard equation with degenerate mobility (Q2427753)

The author studies the Cahn-Hilliard equation \[ u_t - D\left[m(u)\left(kD^3u - DA(u)\right)\right] - \gamma DB(u) = 0\quad \text{in } Q_T = I\times (0,T), \] where \(I = (0,1)\), \(D = \partial/\partial x\), \(m(u) = |u|^n\), \(0 < n < 1\), \(B(u) = u^2\), and \(k > 0\), \(\gamma > 0\) are constants. From physical point of view, the potential \(H(u)\) such that \(H'(u) = A(u)\) is taken in the following form \(H(u) = 1/4(u^2 - 1)^2\). The equation is supplemented by the initial-boundary value conditions \[ u(x,0) = u_0(x) \] and \[ u(0,t) = u(1,t) = D^2u(0,t) = D^2u(1,t) = 0,\quad t > 0. \] These boundary value conditions are reasonable for the Cahn-Hilliard equation. In view of the degeneracy, the problem does not admit classical solutions in general. As a result, the author proves the existence of weak solutions for the above-mentioned problem. At first, based on the Schauder type estimates, the global existence of classical solutions for regularized problems is proven. Then, after obtaining some necessary uniform a priori estimates of the approximate solutions, the author proves the existence of weak solutions. Finally, the property of finite speed of propagation of perturbations is established for nonnegative weak solutions of the problem.