Dice Question Streamline Icon: https://streamlinehq.com

Existence and amplitude bounds for large-amplitude non-breaking Euler solutions

Establish the existence of large-amplitude non-breaking solutions—smooth solutions without shock formation that persist for long times—for the one-dimensional compressible Euler equations, and ascertain upper bounds on the amplitude of such solutions beyond which shock formation necessarily occurs.

Information Square Streamline Icon: https://streamlinehq.com

Background

Numerical experiments in the paper suggest that for moderate amplitudes relative to a spatially periodic entropy/density background, solutions to the 1D compressible Euler equations avoid shock formation and develop persistent solitary waves, while larger amplitudes lead to shocks. The authors validate a shock-formation criterion in related settings and present strong computational evidence of non-decaying, non-breaking behavior.

A rigorous existence theory for large-amplitude, non-breaking solutions and a precise characterization of the amplitude threshold separating non-breaking and shock-forming regimes remain open. Such results would complement the homogenized model analysis and provide mathematical guarantees for the observed long-time behavior.

References

Many interesting open questions are raised by this work. For instance, is it possible to prove that there exist large-amplitude non-breaking solutions of the 1D Euler equations, and is there a limit to how large they can be?

Solitary wave formation in the compressible Euler equations (2412.11086 - Ketcheson et al., 15 Dec 2024) in Section “Conclusion”