No label defined (Q3972660)

[For the entire collection see Zbl 0713.00008.] The authors use dimensionless variables which allow the ambient temperature \(T_ a\) to be varied independently as a bifurcation parameter, in studying the heat balance equation for thermal ignition i.e., \[ \Delta u+\lambda\exp(-{1\over u})=0 \hbox { in } \Omega,\qquad u=U\hbox{ on }\partial\Omega, \] where \[ u=RT/E,\quad U=RT_ a/E\quad\hbox{and}\quad \lambda=\sigma QARa^ 2_ 0/kE, \] in which \(Q\) is the exothermicity, \(\sigma\) the density, \(A\exp(-E/RT)\) the dependence of the reaction rate on the temperature \(T\), \(k\) the thermal conductivity, \(E\) the activation energy, \(R\) the gas constant, and \(a_ 0\) the characteristic length scale for the problem. Existence, uniqueness and multiplicity of solutions for various \((\lambda,U)\) are studied via the upper and lower solution method and the maximum principle. In contrast to the traditional Frank-Kamenetskij scaling, the first bifurcation point of \(\lambda\) for \(U=0\) is examined.