Cauchy problem and initial trace for a doubly degenerate parabolic equation with strongly nonlinear sources (Q5956501)

Let \(S_T=\mathbb{R}^N\times (0,T)\), \(N\geq 1\) and \(T>0\). The author investigates in \(S_T\) the Cauchy problem for the equation \(u_t=\operatorname {div}(|Du^m|^{p-2}Du^m)+u^q\) with the initial condition \(u(x,0)=u_0(x)\). Here \(p>1\), \(m>0\), \(m(p-1)>1\), \(q>1\), and \(u_0\) is locally integrable in \(\mathbb{R}^N\). Of course, for \(m=1\) we have the familiar evolution \(p\)-Laplacian equation, and for \(p=2\) we have the porous media equation. The Cauchy problem for the general case is investigated for a large class of initial conditions. To describe this class, the following norm is defined for \(h\geq 1\). \(|||f|||_h=\sup_{x\in \mathbb{R}^N}\|f\|_h(B_1(x))\). Here, \(\|.\|_h\) represents the usual norm in \(L^h(B_1(x))\), where \(B_1(x)\) denotes the unit ball centered at \(x\) in \(\mathbb{R}^N\). The first result is the following. Assume \(u_0\geq 0\), \(|||u_0|||_h<\infty\), where \(h=1\) if \(q<m(p-1)+p/N\) and \(h>(N/p)(q-m(p-1))\) otherwise. Then there is a constant \(T_0>0\) depending on the data such that a solution \(u(x,t)\) exists in \(S_{T_0}\). Quantitative bounds for the solution and results involving a supersolution are obtained. Also the problem of uniqueness is discussed.