Stability and localization of unbounded solutions of a nonlinear heat equation in a plane (Q616550)

The authors consider unbounded solutions of a nonlinear heat equation with power-function nonlinearities. The present article investigates the stability of two-dimensional self-similar solutions and studies how arbitrary compact-support initial temperature distribution in a plane attain the self-similar mode, including distributions whose support is different from a disk. Blow-up solutions are not Lyapunov stable, but they may be structurally stable. Detailed studies have been carried out in the one-dimensional and radially symmetrical case. The authors confirm structural stability of the simple structure with a single maximum and metastability of complex structures, and prove structural stability of the radially symmetrical structure with a zero region at the center and investigate its attraction region. They also examine various compact-support distributions whose support is not a disk and investigate how they attain the self-similar mode described by the first radially symmetrical eigenfunction. In particular, the self-similar mode is attained only in some neighborhood of the maximum point, while the entire localization region does not have enough time to symmetrize during blow-up. It is the first time that it is shown that two simple structures, initially disjointed, combine into one complex structure with two peaks. The complex structure exists for a fairly long time, evolving according to a self-similar law. Just before the blow-up instant, the rate of growth at the local maximum points becomes higher than at the center of symmetry, the structure loses its cohesion and breaks up. The authors also investigate the dynamics of compact-support perturbations with a single maximum on a plane. Various stages in the process of evolution are considered: the heat spreading stage, when the support expands, and the blow-up and localization stage. The length of these stages depending on the shape and the amplitude of the initial perturbation is also studied.