Evolution of conformal maps with quasiconformal extensions (Q817236)

Consider a subordination chain of simply connected hyperbolic domains \(\Omega(t) \subset\overline{\mathbb C}\), which is defined for \(0\leqslant t < t_0\), \(\Omega(t)\subset\Omega(s)\) whenever \(t < s\). Suppose that all \(\Omega(t)\) are unbounded and \(\infty\in\Omega(t)\) for all \(t\). By the Riemann Mapping Theorem one can construct a subordination chain of mappings \(f(\zeta,t)\), \(\zeta\in U^\ast\), where each function \(f(\zeta,t) =\alpha(t)\zeta + a_0(t) +\frac{a_1(t)}{\zeta}+\dots\) is a meromorphic univalent map of \(U^\ast\) onto \(\Omega(t)\) for every fixed \(t\). Pommerenke first introduced such chains in order to generalize Löwner's equation. His result says that given a subordination chain of domains \(\Omega(t)\) with a differentiable real-valued coefficient \(\alpha(t)\) (in particular, \(e^{-t}\)), there exists an ana\-ly\-tic regular function \(p(\zeta,t)=p_0(t)+\frac{p_1(t)}{\zeta}+\frac{p_2(t)}{\zeta^2}+\dots\), \(\zeta\in U^\ast,\) such that Re\(\,p(\zeta,t) > 0\) in \(\zeta\in U^\ast\) and \(\frac{\partial f(\zeta,t)}{\partial t}=-\zeta\frac{\partial f(\zeta, t)}{\partial\zeta}p(\zeta,t),\) for almost all \(t\in[0, t_0)\). This equation now-a-days is known as the Löwner-Kufarev equation. The coefficient \(\alpha(t) = \alpha(0)\exp\left(-\int_0^tp_0(\tau)\,d\tau\right)\) is the conformal radius of \(\Omega(t)\). The author considers the following problem: If \(\partial\Omega(t)\) is a quasicircle or a smooth Jordan curve, what is \(p(\zeta,t)\)? Note that in the case of smooth boundaries there is the connection to free boundary problems of fluid dynamics, the Laplacian Growth problem in particular. In 1898 Hele-Shaw proposed his famous cell that was a device for investigating a flow of viscous fluid in a narrow gap between two parallel plates. The dimensionless model of a moving viscous incompressible fluid in the Hele-Shaw cell is described by a potential flow with the velocity field \(\mathbf V =(V_1,V_2)\). The pressure \(p\) is the potential for the fluid velocity \(\mathbf V =-\frac{h^2}{12\mu}\nabla p\), where \(h\) is the cell gap and \(\mu\) is the viscosity of the fluid. Through the similarity in the governing equations, Hele-Shaw flows can be used to study models of saturated flows in porous media governed by Darcy's law. In order to solve the above problem, the author studies one-parameter curves on the universal Teichmüller space \(T\) and on the manifold \(M =\text{Diff}\,S^1/\text{Rot}\, S^1\) embedded into~ \(T\). As a result, there are is deduced evolution equations for conformal maps that admit quasiconformal extensions and, in particular, such that the associated quasidisks are bounded by smooth Jordan curves. This approach allows us to understand the Laplacian growth (Hele-Shaw problem) as a flow in the Teichmüller space as on a general parametric space.