We study a class of nonlocal partial differential equations presenting a tensor-mobility, in space, obtained asymptotically from nonlocal dynamics on localising infinite graphs. Our strategy relies on the variational structure of both equations, being a Riemannian and Finslerian gradient flow, respectively. More precisely, we prove that weak solutions of the nonlocal interaction equation on graphs converge to weak solutions of the aforementioned class of nonlocal interaction equation with a tensor-mobility in the Euclidean space. This highlights an interesting property of the graph, being a potential space-discretisation for the equation under study.
We prove a flatness result for entire nonlocal minimal graphs having some partial derivatives bounded from either above or below. This result generalizes fractional versions of classical theorems due to Bernstein and Moser. Our arguments rely on a general splitting result for blow-downs of nonlocal minimal graphs. Employing similar ideas, we establish that entire nonlocal minimal graphs bounded on one side by a cone are affine. Moreover, we show that entire graphs having constant nonlocal mean curvature are minimal, thus extending a celebrated result of Chern on classical CMC graphs.
For some spatially nonlocal diffusion models with a finite range of nonlocal interactions measured by a positive parameter $δ$, we review their formulation defined on a bounded domain subject to various conditions that correspond to some inhomogeneous data. We consider their consistency to similar inhomogeneous boundary value problems of classical partial differential equation (PDE) models as the nonlocal interaction kernel gets localized in the local $δ\to 0$ limit, and at the same time, for rescaled fractional type kernels, to corresponding inhomogeneous nonlocal boundary value problems of f…
In this paper we show that a nonlocal minimal surface which is a graph outside a cylinder is in fact a graph in the whole of the space. As a consequence, in dimension~$3$, we show that the graph is smooth. The proofs rely on convolution techniques and appropriate integral estimates which show the pointwise validity of an Euler-Lagrange equation related to the nonlocal mean curvature.
In this paper, we propose and analyze a finite element discretization for the computation of fractional minimal graphs of order~$s \in (0,1/2)$ on a bounded domain $Ω$. Such a Plateau problem of order $s$ can be reinterpreted as a Dirichlet problem for a nonlocal, nonlinear, degenerate operator of order $s + 1/2$. We prove that our numerical scheme converges in $W^{2r}_1(Ω)$ for all $r<s$, where $W^{2s}_1(Ω)$ is closely related to the natural energy space. Moreover, we introduce a geometric notion of error that, for any pair of $H^1$ functions, in the limit $s \to 1/2$ recovers a weighted $L^2…
We present an optimization-based coupling method for local and nonlocal continuum models. Our approach couches the coupling of the models into a control problem where the states are the solutions of the nonlocal and local equations, the objective is to minimize their mismatch on the overlap of the local and nonlocal problem domains, and the virtual controls are the nonlocal volume constraint and the local boundary condition. We present the method in the context of Local-to-Nonlocal diffusion coupling. Numerical examples illustrate the theoretical properties of the approach.
We prove that nonlocal minimal graphs in the plane exhibit generically stickiness effects and boundary discontinuities. More precisely, we show that if a nonlocal minimal graph in a slab is continuous up to the boundary, then arbitrarily small perturbations of the far-away data produce boundary discontinuities. Hence, either a nonlocal minimal graph is discontinuous at the boundary, or a small perturbation of the prescribed conditions produces boundary discontinuities. The proof relies on a sliding method combined with a fine boundary regularity analysis, based on a discontinuity/smoothness al…
We consider dynamics driven by interaction energies on graphs. We introduce graph analogues of the continuum nonlocal-interaction equation and interpret them as gradient flows with respect to a graph Wasserstein distance. The particular Wasserstein distance we consider arises from the graph analogue of the Benamou-Brenier formulation where the graph continuity equation uses an upwind interpolation to define the density along the edges. While this approach has both theoretical and computational advantages, the resulting distance is only a quasi-metric. We investigate this quasi-metric both on g…
We develop a functional analytic approach for the study of nonlocal minimal graphs. Through this, we establish existence and uniqueness results, a priori estimates, comparison principles, rearrangement inequalities, and the equivalence of several notions of minimizers and solutions.
In this note, we showcase some recent results concerning the stickiness properties of nonlocal minimal graphs in the plane. To start with, the nonlocal minimal graphs in the plane enjoy an enhanced boundary regularity, since boundary continuity with respect to the external datum is sufficient to ensure differentiability across the boundary of the domain. As a matter of fact, the Hölder exponent of the derivative is in this situation sufficiently high to provide the validity of the Euler-Lagrange equation at boundary points as well. From this, using a sliding method, one also deduces that the s…
We show that arbitrarily small antisymmetric perturbations of the zero function are sufficient to produce the stickiness phenomenon for planar nonlocal minimal graphs (with the same quantitative bounds obtained for the case of even symmetric perturbations, up to multiplicative constants). In proving this result, one also establishes an odd symmetric version of the maximum principle for nonlocal minimal graphs, according to which the odd symmetric minimizer is positive in the direction of the positive bump and negative in the direction of the negative bump.
We consider the geometric evolution problem of entire graphs moving by fractional mean curvature. For this, we study the associated nonlocal quasilinear evolution equation satisfied by the family of graph functions. We establish, using an analytic semigroup approach, short time existence, uniqueness and optimal Hölder regularity in time and space of classical solutions of the nonlocal equation, depending on the regularity of the initial graph. The method also yields $C^\infty-$smoothness estimates of the evolving graphs for positive times.
We explore the dynamical behavior and energetic properties of a model of two species that interact nonlocally on finite graphs. The authors recently introduced the model in the context of nonquadratic Finslerian gradient flows on generalized graphs featuring nonlinear mobilities. In a continuous and local setting, this class of systems exhibits a wide variety of patterns, including mixing of the two species, partial engulfment, or phase separation. This work showcases how this rich behavior carries over to the graph structure. We present analytical and numerical evidence thereof.
We study the evolution of a system of two species with nonlinear mobility and nonlocal interactions on a graph whose vertices are given by an arbitrary, positive measure. To this end, we extend a recently introduced $2$-Wasserstein-type quasi-metric on generalized graphs, which is based on an upwind-interpolation, to the case of two-species systems, concave, nonlinear mobilities, and $p\ne 2$. We provide a rigorous interpretation of the interaction system as a gradient flow in the Finslerian setting, arising from the new quasi-metric.
We consider the class of measurable functions defined in all of $\mathbb{R}^n$ that give rise to a nonlocal minimal graph over a ball of $\mathbb{R}^n$. We establish that the gradient of any such function is bounded in the interior of the ball by a power of its oscillation. This estimate, together with previously known results, leads to the $C^\infty$ regularity of the function in the ball. While the smoothness of nonlocal minimal graphs was known for $n = 1, 2$ (but without a quantitative bound), in higher dimensions only their continuity had been established. To prove the gradient bound, we …
We establish the well-posedness of the nonlocal mean curvature flow of order ${α\in(0,1)}$ for periodic graphs on $\mathbb{R}^n$ in all subcritical little Hölder spaces ${\rm h}^{1+β}(\mathbb{T}^n)$ with $β\in(0,1)$. Furthermore, we prove that if the solution is initially sufficiently close to its integral mean in ${\rm h}^{1+β}(\mathbb{T}^n)$, then it exists globally in time and converges exponentially fast towards a constant. The proofs rely on the reformulation of the equation as a quasilinear evolution problem, which is shown to be of parabolic type by a direct localization approach, and o…
We prove the local boundedness and the local Hölder continuity of weak solutions to nonlocal equations with variable orders and exponents under sharp assumptions.
Local-to-Nonlocal (LtN) coupling refers to a class of methods aimed at combining nonlocal and local modeling descriptions of a given system into a unified coupled representation. This allows to consolidate the accuracy of nonlocal models with the computational expediency of their local counterparts, while often simultaneously removing additional nonlocal modeling issues such as surface effects. The number and variety of proposed LtN coupling approaches have significantly grown in recent year, yet the field of LtN coupling continues to grow and still has open challenges. This review provides an…
We study local and global existence of solutions for some semilinear parabolic initial boundary value problems with autonomous nonlinearities having a "Newtonian" nonlocal term.
We establish Harnack's estimates for positive weak solutions to a mixed local and nonlocal doubly nonlinear parabolic equation. All results presented in this paper are provided together with quantitative estimates.
We study generalized fractional $p$-Laplacian equations to prove local boundedness and Hölder continuity of weak solutions to such nonlocal problems by finding a suitable fractional Sobolev-Poincaré inquality.
We study local (the heat equation) and nonlocal (convolution type problems with an integrable kernel) evolution problems on a metric connected finite graph in which some of the edges have infinity length. We show that the asymptotic behaviour of the solutions to both local and nonlocal problems is given by the solution of the heat equation, but on a star shaped graph in which there is only one node and as many infinite edges as in the original graph. In this way we obtain that the compact component that consists in all the vertices and all the edges of finite length can be reduced to a single …
We formulate and study the nonlocal and local least gradient problem, which is the Dirichlet problem for the 1-Laplace operator, in a quite natural setting of Carnot groups. We study the passage from the nonlocal problem to the local problem as the range of the interaction goes to zero; to do this, we first prove a total variation estimate of independent interest.
We consider the 1D transport equation with nonlocal velocity field: \begin{equation*}\label{intro eq} \begin{split} &θ_t+uθ_x+νΛ^γθ=0, \\ & u=\mathcal{N}(θ), \end{split} \end{equation*} where $\mathcal{N}$ is a nonlocal operator. In this paper, we show the existence of solutions of this model locally and globally in time for various types of nonlocal operators.
This paper deals with a singular nonlocal phase field system of conserved type.Colli--K.\ [Nonlinear Anal.\ 190 (2020)] have derived existence of solutions to a singular phase field system of conserved type. On the other hand, Davoli--Scarpa--Trussardi [Arch. Ration. Mech. Anal.\ 239 (2021)] have studied nonlocal to local convergence of Cahn-Hilliard equations. In this paper we prove existence of solutions to a nonlocal singular phase field system of conserved type whose kernel is not $W^{1, 1}$ and focus on nonlocal to local convergence of singular phase field systems of conserved type.
We show that any function can be locally approximated by solutions of prescribed linear equations of nonlocal type. In particular, we show that every function is locally $s$-caloric, up to a small error. The case of non-elliptic and non-parabolic operators is taken into account as well.
We provide a rigorous mathematical framework to establish the limit of a nonlocal model of cell-cell adhesion system to a local model. When the parameter of the nonlocality goes to 0, the system tends to a Cahn-Hilliard system with degenerate mobility and cross interaction forces. Our analysis relies on a priori estimates and compactness properties.
We provide an informal overview of recent developments concerning the singular local limit of nonlocal conservation laws. In particular, we discuss some counterexamples to convergence and we highlight the role of numerical viscosity in the numerical investigation of the nonlocal-to-local limit. We also state some open questions and describe recent related progress.
There has been recently an important interest in deriving rigorously the Cahn-Hilliard equation from the nonlocal equation, also called aggregation equation. So far, only non-degenerate mobilities were treated. Since we are motivated by models for the biomechanics of living tissues, it is useful to include degenerate motilities. In this framework, we present a new method to show the convergence of the nonlocal to the local degenerate Cahn-Hilliard equation. The method includes the use of nonlocal Poincaré and compactness inequalities.
In this paper we consider a Hénon-type equation driven by a nonlinear operator obtained as a combination of a local and nonlocal term. We prove existence and non-existence akin to the classical result by Ni, and a stability result as the fractional parameter $s \to 1$.
We establish a priori Lipschitz estimates for equations with mixed local and nonlocal diffusion, coercive gradient terms and unbounded right-hand side in Lebesgue spaces through an integral refinement of the Bernstein method. This relies on a nonlinear, nonlocal and variational version of the Bochner identity that involves the adjoint equation of the linearization of the initial problem.
In this paper we study two different ways of coupling a local operator with a nonlocal one in such a way that the resulting equation is related to an energy functional. In the first strategy the coupling is given via source terms in the equation and in the second one a flux condition in the local part appears. For both models we prove existence and uniqueness of a solution that is obtained via direct minimization of the related energy functional. In the second part of this paper we extend these ideas to deal with local/nonlocal elasticity models in which we couple classical local elasticity wi…
We give a unified proof of Hölder regularity of weak solutions for mixed local and nonlocal $p$-Laplace type parabolic equations with the full range of exponents $1<p<\infty$. Our proof is based on the expansion of positivity together with the energy estimate and De Giorgi type lemma.
We investigate the mixed local and nonlocal parabolic $p$-Laplace equation \begin{align*} \partial_t u(x,t)-Δ_p u(x,t)+\mathcal{L}u(x,t)=0, \end{align*} where $Δ_p$ is the local $p$-Laplace operator and $\mathcal{L}$ is the nonlocal $p$-Laplace operator. Based on the combination of suitable Caccioppoli-type inequality and Logarithmic Lemma with a De Giorgi-Nash-Moser iteration, we establish the local boundedness and Hölder continuity of weak solutions for such equations.
We study an initial value problem with fractional Laplacian and a singular drift term, and obtain local and global existence theorems similar to the results in Jourdain et al.(2005).
This article proves a weak Harnack inequality with a tail term for sign changing supersolutions of a mixed local and nonlocal parabolic equation. Our argument is purely analytic. It is based on energy estimates and the Moser iteration technique. Instead of the parabolic John-Nirenberg lemma, we adopt a lemma of Bombieri to the mixed local and nonlocal parabolic case. To this end, we prove an appropriate reverse Hölder inequality and a logarithmic estimate for weak supersolutions.
We study sequences of nonlocal quadratic forms and function spaces that are related to Markov jump processes in bounded domains with a Lipschitz boundary. Our aim is to show the convergence of these forms to local quadratic forms of gradient type. Under suitable conditions we establish the convergence in the sense of Mosco. Our framework allows bounded and unbounded nonlocal operators to be studied at the same time. Moreover, we prove that smooth functions with compact support are dense in the nonlocal function spaces under consideration.
Existence and uniqueness of solutions for nonlocal Cahn-Hilliard equations with degenerate potential is shown. The nonlocality is described by means of a symmetric singular kernel not falling within the framework of any previous existence theory. A convection term is also taken into account. Building upon this novel existence result, we prove convergence of solutions for this class of nonlocal Cahn-Hilliard equations to their local counterparts, as the nonlocal convolution kernels approximate a Dirac delta. Eventually, we show that, under suitable assumptions on the data, the solutions to the …
We describe and analyze nonlocal integro-differential equations with classical local boundary conditions. The interaction kernel of the nonlocal operator has horizon parameter dependent on position in the domain, and vanishes as the boundary of the domain is approached. This heterogeneous localization allows for boundary values to be captured in the trace sense. We state and prove a nonlocal Green's identity for these nonlocal operators that involve local boundary terms. We use this identity to state and establish the well-posedness of variational formulations of the nonlocal problems with sev…
The analysis of an optimal control problem of nonlocal type is analyzed. The results obtained are applied to the study the corresponding local optimal control problems. The state equations are governed by p-laplacian elliptic operators, of local and nonlocal type, and the costs belong to a wide class of integral functionals. The nonlocal problem is formulated by means of a convolution of the states with a kernel. This kernel depends on a parameter, called horizon which, is responsible for the nonlocality of the equation. The input function is the source of the elliptic equation. Existence of n…
