Asymptotics for the Heat Content of a Planar Region with a Fractal Polygonal Boundary (Q4487555)

Let \(D\) be an open set in \(\mathbb{R}^2\) with boundary \(\partial D\). Let \(u: (D\cup\partial D)\times [0,\infty)\to \mathbb{R}\) be the unique solution of the heat equation \[ \begin{alignedat}{2} {\partial u\over\partial t} &=\Delta u,\quad && x\in D,\;t> 0,\\ u(x,0) &= 0,\quad && x\in D,\\ u(x,t) &= 1,\quad &&x\in\partial D,\;t> 0\end{alignedat} \] where \(\Delta\) is the standard Euclidean Laplacian. The heat content for the region \(D\) at time \(t\) is given by \[ E_D(t)= \int_D u(x,t)\,dx. \] The authors study the small time asymptotic behavior \((t\downarrow 0)\) of \(E_D(t)\) in the case that \(D\) ranges over a family of regions with fractal polygonal boundary. In particular, the asymptotic expansion of the heat content is determined up to a term of order \(e^{-{C\over t}}\) for a specified constant \(C\).