No label defined (Q4945137)

This survey article is devoted to self-similar solutions of the equations of mathematical physics and to the related topics. As a model example the author considers the following nonlinear heat equation in \(\mathbb R^3\): \[ \frac{\partial u}{\partial t}=\Delta u+u^3,\;\;u\big|_{t=0}=u_0(x) \tag{1} \] The sufficient conditions on \(u_0\) which imply the global existence of the solution \(u\) of (1) or in the contrary guarantee the blow up in a finite time are reviewed. Moreover, the author gives a new approach to study the self-similar solutions \(u\) of (1) (i.e. \(\lambda u(\lambda t,\lambda^2x)\equiv u(t,x)\), \(\forall \lambda>0\)) and shows that the large-time behavior of most of the global solutions of (1) are driven by the corresponding self-similar solutions. The analogues of these results to the other types of equations such as Navier-Stockes equations and the nonlinear Schrödinger equation are also considered. For the entire collection see [Zbl 0932.00088].