Fourth order diffusion equations with increasing entropy (Q406090)

Summary: The~general~quasilinear autonomous fourth order~diffusion~equation \(u_t=-[G(u)u_{xxx}+h(u,u_{x},u_{xx})]_x\) with positive variable diffusivity \(G(u)\) and lower-order flux component \(h\) is considered on the real line. A direct algorithm produces a general class of equations for which the Shannon entropy density obeys a reaction-diffusion equation with a positive irreducible source term. Such equations may have any positive twice-differentiable diffusivity function \(G(u)\). The forms of such equations are the indicators of more general conservation equations whose entropy equation may be expressed in an alternative reaction-diffusion form whose source term, although reducible, is positive.