Second order type-changing equations for a scalar function on a plane (Q411709)

The authors study the theory of a single second order partial differential equation for one function of two variables, at a point where it changes type (for instance, from elliptic to hyperbolic). Their results are local, but their work is independent of local coordinates. Given a type changing equation, the set of 2-jets at which it changes type, being a subset of the 2-jet bundle, is an overdetermined system of differential equations. The authors determine, under mild regularity conditions, when this overdetermined system is in involution in the sense of the Cartan-Kähler theorem, and when it has local solutions in the smooth category. They also show where this overdetermined system lies in Cartan's classification of overdetermined second-order PDE systems for one function of two variables.