We describe the propagation of singularities of tempered distributional generalized eigenfunctions of many-body Hamiltonians at non-threshold energies under the assumption that the inter-particle interactions are real-valued polyhomogeneous symbols of order -1 (e.g. Coulomb-type, but without the singularity at the origin). Here the term `singularity' refers to a microlocal description of the lack of decay at infinity. We use this result to describe the wave front relation of the S-matrices. We also analyze Lagrangian properties of this relation, which shows that the relation is not `too large' in terms of its dimension.
We survey the correct definition of a generalized Dirac operator on a Space--Time and the classical result about propagation of singularities. This says that light travels along light--like geodesics. Finally we show this is also true for generalized Dirac operators.
For the wave equation associated to the Laplacian on a compact manifold with boundary with a conic metric (with respect to which the boundary is metrically a point) the propagation of singularities through the boundary is analyzed. Under appropriate regularity assumptions the diffracted, non-direct, wave produced by the boundary is shown to have Sobolev regularity greater than the incoming wave.
In a recent paper O. Gannot and M. Wrochna considered the Klein-Gordon equation on an asymptotically anti-de Sitter spacetime subject to Robin boundary conditions, proving in particular a propagation of singularity theorem. In this work we generalize their result considering a more general class of boundary conditions implemented on the conformal boundary via pseudodifferential operators of suitable order. Using techniques proper of $b$-calculus and of twisted Sobolev spaces, we prove also for the case in hand a propagation of singularity theorem along generalized broken bicharacteristics, hig…
In this paper we describe the propagation of singularities of tempered distributional generalized eigenfunctions of many-body Hamiltonians under the assumption that no subsystem has a bound state and that the two-body interactions are real-valued polyhomogeneous symbols of order -1 (e.g. Coulomb-type with the singularity at the origin removed). Here the term 'singularity' provides a microlocal description of the lack of decay at infinity. We use this result to prove that the wave front relation of the free-to-free S-matrix (which, under our assumptions, is all of the S-matrix) is given by the …
We study evolution equations associated to time-dependent dissipative non-selfadjoint quadratic operators. We prove that the solution operators to these non-autonomous evolution equations are given by Fourier integral operators whose kernels are Gaussian tempered distributions associated to non-negative complex symplectic linear transformations, and we derive a generalized Mehler formula for their Weyl symbols. Some applications to the study of the propagation of Gabor singularities (characterizing the lack of Schwartz regularity) for the solutions to non-autonomous quadratic evolution equatio…
We consider the Klein-Gordon equation on asymptotically anti-de Sitter spacetimes subject to Neumann or Robin (or Dirichlet) boundary conditions, and prove propagation of singularities along generalized broken bicharacteristics. The result is formulated in terms of conormal regularity relative to a twisted Sobolev space. We use this to show the uniqueness, modulo regularising terms, of parametrices with prescribed b-wavefront set. Furthermore, in the context of quantum fields, we show a similar result for two-point functions satisfying a holographic Hadamard condition on the b-wavefront set.
This paper studies the structure of the singular set (points of nondifferentiability) of viscosity solutions to Hamilton-Jacobi equations associated with general mechanical systems on the n-torus. First, using the level set method, we characterize the propagation of singularities along generalized characteristics. Then, we obtain a local propagation result for singularities of weak KAM solutions in the supercritical case. Finally, we apply such a result to study the propagation of singularities for barrier functions.
In this paper, we investigate the geometric propagation and diffraction of singularities of solutions to the wave equation on manifolds with edge singularities.
Some results of microlocal continuity for pseudodifferential operators whose non regular symbols belong to weighted Fourier Lebesgue spaces are given. Inhomogeneous local and microlocal propagation of singularities of Fourier Lebesgue type are then studied, with applications to some classes of semilinear equations.
This is a survey paper for the recent results on and beyond propagation of singularities of viscosity solutions. We also collect some open problems in this topic.
We study propagation of phase space singularities for a Schrödinger equation with a Hamiltonian that is the Weyl quantization of a quadratic form with non-negative real part. Phase space singularities are measured by the lack of polynomial decay of given order in open cones in the phase space, which gives a parametrized refinement of the Gabor wave front set. The main result confirms the fundamental role of the singular space associated to the quadratic form for the propagation of phase space singularities. The singularities are contained in the singular space, and propagate in the intersectio…
In this paper we describe the propagation of smooth (C^\infty) and Sobolev singularities for the wave equation on smooth manifolds with corners M equipped with a Riemannian metric g. That is, for X=MxR, P=D_t^2-Δ_M, and u locally in H^1 solving Pu=0 with homogeneous Dirichlet or Neumann boundary conditions, we show that the wave front set of u is a union of maximally extended generalized broken bicharacteristics. This result is a smooth counterpart of Lebeau's results for the propagation of analytic singularities on real analytic manifolds with appropriately stratified boundary. Our methods re…
H{ö}rmander's propagation of singularities theorem does not fully describe the propagation of singularities in subelliptic wave equations, due to the existence of doubly characteristic points. In the present work, building upon a visionary conference paper by R. Melrose \cite{Mel86}, we prove that singularities of subelliptic wave equations only propagate along null-bicharacteristics and abnormal extremals, which are well-known curves in optimal control theory. As a consequence, we characterize the singular support of subelliptic wave kernels outside the diagonal. These results show that abnor…
We prove that for the Martinet wave equation with "flat" metric, which a subelliptic wave equation, singularities can propagate at any speed between 0 and 1 along any singular geodesic. This is in strong contrast with the usual propagation of singularities at speed 1 for wave equations with elliptic Laplacian.
We use a gluing method developed in joint work with András Vasy to show that polynomially bounded cutoff resolvent estimates at the real axis imply, up to a constant factor, the same estimates in a neighborhood of the real axis.
We use semiclassical propagation of singularities to give a general method for gluing together resolvent estimates. As an application we prove estimates for the analytic continuation of the resolvent of a Schrödinger operator for certain asymptotically hyperbolic manifolds in the presence of trapping which is sufficiently mild in one of several senses. As a corollary we obtain local exponential decay for the wave propagator and local smoothing for the Schrödinger propagator.
In this work we prove an FBI characterization for Gevrey vectors on hypo-analytic structures, and we analyze the main differences of Gevrey regularity and hypo-analyticity concerning the FBI transform. We end with an application of this characterization on a propagation of Gevrey singularities result, for solutions of the non-homogeneous system associated with the hypo-analytic structure, for analytic structures of tube type.
This paper is devoted to the investigation of propagation of singularities in hyperbolic equations with non-smooth oefficients, using the Colombeau theory of generalized functions. As a model problem, we study the Cauchy problem for the one-dimensional wave equation with a discontinuous coefficient depending on time. After demonstrating the existence and uniqueness of generalized solutions in the sense of Colombeau to the problem, we investigate the phenomenon of propagation of singularities, arising from delta function initial data, for the case of a piecewise constant coefficient. We also pr…
We study propagation of phase space singularities for the initial value Cauchy problem for a class of Schrödinger equations. The Hamiltonian is the Weyl quantization of a quadratic form whose real part is non-negative. The equations are studied in the framework of projective Gelfand--Shilov spaces and their distribution duals. The corresponding notion of singularities is called the Gelfand--Shilov wave front set and means the lack of exponential decay in open cones in phase space. Our main result shows that the propagation is determined by the singular space of the quadratic form, just as in t…
For a general formulation of linearised hybrid inverse problems in impedance tomography, the qualitative properties of the solutions are analysed. Using an appropriate scalar pseudo-differential formulation, the problems are shown to permit propagating singularities under certain non-elliptic conditions, and the associated directions of propagation are precisely identified relative to the directions in which ellipticity is lost. The same result is found in the setting for the corresponding normal formulation of the scalar pseudo-differential equations. A numerical reconstruction procedure base…
We characterize microlocal regularity of Colombeau generalized functions by an appropriate extension of the classical notion of micro-ellipticity to pseudodifferential operators with slow scale generalized symbols. Thus we obtain an alternative, yet equivalent, way to determine generalized wave front sets, which is analogous to the original definition of the wave front set of distributions via intersections over characteristic sets. The new methods are then applied to regularity theory of generalized solutions of (pseudo-)differential equations, where we extend the general noncharacteristic re…
We use sequences which depend on two parameters to define families of ultradifferentiable functions which contain Gevrey classes. It is shown that such families are closed under superposition, and therefore inverse closed as well. Furthermore, we study partial differential operators whose coefficients satisfy the extended Gevrey regularity. To that aim we introduce appropriate wave front sets and derive a theorem on propagation of singularities. This extends related known results in the sense that weaker assumptions on the regularity of the coefficients are imposed.
We study the propagation of singularities for semilinear Schrodinger equations with quadratic Hamiltonians, in particular for the semilinear harmonic oscillator. We show that the propagation still occurs along the flow the Hamiltonian flow, but for Sobolev regularities in a certain range and provided the notion of Sobolev-wave front set is conveniently modified. The proof makes use of a weighted version of the paradifferential calculus, adapted to our situation. The results can be regarded as the Schrodinger counterpart of those known for semilinear hyperbolic equations, which hold with the us…
In this paper, we investigate the formation and propagation of singularities for the system for one-dimensional Chaplygin gas, which is described by a quasilinear hyperbolic system with linearly degenerate characteristic fields. The phenomena of concentration and the formation of ``$δ$-shock'' waves are identified and analyzed systematically for this system under suitably large initial data. In contrast to the Rankine-Hogoniot conditions for classical shock, the generalized Rankine-Hogoniot conditions for ``$δ$-shock'' waves are established. Finally, it is shown that the total mass and momentu…
We investigate the properties of the set of singularities of semiconcave solutions of Hamilton-Jacobi equations of the form \begin{equation*} u_t(t,x)+H(\nabla u(t,x))=0, \qquad\text{a.e. }(t,x)\in (0,+\infty)\timesΩ\subset\mathbb{R}^{n+1}\,. \end{equation*} It is well known that the singularities of such solutions propagate locally along generalized characteristics. Special generalized characteristics, satisfying an energy condition, can be constructed, under some assumptions on the structure of the Hamiltonian $H$. In this paper, we provide estimates of the dissipative behavior of the energy…
We study propagation of the Gabor wave front set for a Schrödinger equation with a Hamiltonian that is the Weyl quantization of a quadratic form with non-negative real part. We point out that the singular space associated to the quadratic form plays a crucial role for the understanding of this propagation. We show that the Gabor singularities of the solution to the equation for positive times are always contained in the singular space, and that they propagate in this set along the flow of the Hamilton vector field associated to the imaginary part of the quadratic form. As an application we obt…
The main purpose of this paper is to study the global propagation of singularities of viscosity solution to discounted Hamilton-Jacobi equation \begin{equation}\label{eq:discount 1}\tag{HJ$_λ$} λv(x)+H( x, Dv(x) )=0 , \quad x\in \mathbb{R}^n. \end{equation} We reduce the problem for equation \eqref{eq:discount 1} into that for a time-dependent evolutionary Hamilton-Jacobi equation. We proved that the singularities of the viscosity solution of \eqref{eq:discount 1} propagate along locally Lipschitz singular characteristics which can extend to $+\infty$. We also obtained the homotopy equivalence…
The paper is devoted to regularity theory of generalized solutions to semilinear wave equations with a small nonlinearity. The setting is the one of Colombeau algebras of generalized functions. It is shown that in one space dimension, an initial singularity at the origin propagates along the characteristic lines emanating from the origin, as in the linear case. The proof relies on a fixed point theorem in the ultra-metric topology on the algebras involved. The paper takes up the initiating research of the 1970s on anomalous singularities in classical solutions to semilinear hyperbolic equation…
We investigate the singularities of the trace of the half-wave group, $\mathrm{Tr} \, e^{-it\sqrtΔ}$, on Euclidean surfaces with conical singularities $(X,g)$. We compute the leading-order singularity associated to periodic orbits with successive degenerate diffractions. This result extends the previous work of the third author \cite{Hil} and the two-dimensional case of the work of the first author and Wunsch \cite{ForWun} as well as the seminal result of Duistermaat and Guillemin \cite{DuiGui} in the smooth setting. As an intermediate step, we identify the wave propagators on $X$ as singular …
This article addresses linear hyperbolic partial differential equations with non-smooth coefficients and distributional data. Solutions are studied in the framework of Colombeau algebras of generalized functions. Its aim is to prove upper and lower bounds for the singular support of generalized solutions for wave equations with discontinuous coefficients. New existence results with weaker assumptions on the representing families are required and proven. The program is carried through for various types of one- and multidimensional wave equations and hyperbolic systems.
In a previous paper by the second author, we discussed a characterization of the microlocal singularities for solutions to Schrödinger equations with long range type perturbations, using solutions to a Hamilton-Jacobi equation. In this paper we show that we may use Dollard type approximate solutions to the Hamilton-Jacobi equation if the perturbation satisfies somewhat stronger conditions. As applications, we describe the propagation of microlocal singularities for $e^{itH_0}e^{-itH}$ when the potential is asymptotically homogeneous as $|x|\to\infty$, where $H$ is our Schrödinger operator, and…
We prove a microlocal smoothing effect of Schrödinger equations on manifolds. We employ radially homogeneous wavefront sets introduced by Ito and Nakamura (Amer. J. Math., 2009). In terms of radially homogeneous wavefront sets, we can apply our theory to both of asymptotically conical and hyperbolic manifolds. We relate wavefront sets in initial states to radially homogeneous wavefront sets in states after a time development. We also prove a relation between radially homogeneous wavefront sets and homogeneous wavefront sets and prove a special case of Nakamura (2005).
In this paper we investigate the propagation of singularities in a nonlinear parabolic equation with strong absorption when the absorption potential is strongly degenerate following some curve in the $(x,t)$ space. As a very simplified model, we assume that the heat conduction is constant but the absorption of the media depends stronly of the characteristic of the media. More precisely we suppose that the temperature $u$ is governed by the following equation \label{I-1} \partial_{t}u-Δu+h(x,t)u^p=0\quad \text{in}Q_{T}:=R^N\times (0,T) where $p>1$ and $h\in C(\bar Q_{T})$. We suppose that $h(x,…
We study the propagation in time of $1/2$-Gelfand-Shilov singularities, i.e. global analytic singularities, of tempered distributional solutions of the initial value problem \begin{align*} \begin{cases} u_t + q^w(x,D) u = 0 \\ u|_{t=0} = u_0, \end{cases} \end{align*} on $\mathbb{R}^n$, where $u_0$ is a tempered distribution on $\mathbb{R}^n$, $q=q(x,ξ)$ is a complex-valued quadratic form on $\mathbb{R}^{2n} = \mathbb{R}^n_x \times \mathbb{R}^n_ξ$ with nonnegative real part $\textrm{Re} \ q \ge 0$, and $q^w(x,D)$ is the Weyl quantization of $q$. We prove that the $1/2$-Gelfand-Shilov singularit…
In this survey, we review some applications and extensions of the author's results with Richard Melrose on propagation of singularities for solutions to the wave equation on manifolds with conical singularities. These results mainly concern: the local decay of energy on noncompact manifolds with diffractive trapped orbits (joint work with Dean Baskin); singularities of the wave trace created by diffractive closed geodesics (joint work with G. Austin Ford); and the distribution of scattering resonances associated to such closed geodesics (joint work with Luc Hillairet).
We consider 2-dimensional Schrödinger operator with the non-degenerating magnetic field and we discuss spectral asymptotics with the remainder estimate $o(μ^{-1}h^{-1})$ or better. We also consider 3-dimensional Schrödinger operator with the non-degenerating magnetic field and we discuss spectral asymptotics with the remainder estimate $o(μ^{-1}h^{-1})$ or better. We also consider generalized Schrödinger-Pauli operator in the same framework albeit with $μh\ge 1$ and derive spectral asymptotics with the remainder estimate up to $O(h^{-1}|\log h|)$ and with the principal part $\asymp μh^{-2}$.
We consider the Schrödinger equation \begin{equation*} i \displaystyle\frac{\partial u}{\partial t} +Hu=0,\quad H=a(x,D), \end{equation*} where the Hamiltonian $a(z)$, $z=(x,ξ)$, is assumed real-valued and smooth, with bounded derivatives $|\partial^αa(z)|\leq C_α$, for every $|α|\geq 2$, $z\in\mathbb{R}^{2d}$. For such equation results are known concerning well-posedness of the Cauchy problem for initial data in $L^2(\mathbb{R}^d)$ and local representation of the propagator $e^{it H}$ by means of Fourier integral operators. In the present paper we give a global expression for $e^{itH}$ in ter…
We show that certain singular structures (Hölderian cusps and mild divergences) are transported by the flow of homeomorphisms generated by an Osgood velocity field. The structure of these singularities is related to the modulus of continuity of the velocity and the results are shown to be sharp in the sense that slightly more singular structures cannot generally be propagated. For the 2D Euler equation, we prove that certain singular structures are preserved by the motion, e.g. a system of $\log\log_+(1/|x|)$ vortices (and those that are slightly less singular) travel with the fluid in a nonli…
The ill-posedness of Calderón's inverse conductivity problem, responsible for the poor spatial resolution of Electrical Impedance Tomography (EIT), has been an impetus for the development of hybrid imaging techniques, which compensate for this lack of resolution by coupling with a second type of physical wave, typically modeled by a hyperbolic PDE. Here we show how, using EIT data alone, to efficiently detect interior jumps and other singularities of the conductivity. Analysis of the complex geometrical optics solutions of Astala and Päivärinta [\emph{Ann. Math.}, {\bf 163} (2006)] in 2D makes…
In this work we study the wavefront set of a solution u to Pu = f, where P is a pseudodifferential operator on a manifold with real-valued homogeneous principal symbol p, when the Hamilton vector field corresponding to p is radial on a Lagrangian submanifold contained in the characteristic set of P. The standard propagation of singularities theorem of Duistermaat-Hormander gives no information at the Lagrangian submanifold. By adapting the standard positive-commutator estimate proof of this theorem, we are able to conclude additional regularity at a point q in this radial set, assuming some re…
The formation and propagation of singularities for Boltzmann equation in bounded domains has been an important question in numerical studies as well as in theoretical studies. Consider the nonlinear Boltzmann solution near Maxwellians under in-flow, diffuse, or bounce-back boundary conditions. We demonstrate that discontinuity is created at the non-convex part of the grazing boundary, then propagates only along the forward characteristics inside the domain before it hits on the boundary again.
In this article we study the propagation of Wigner measures linked to solutions of the Schr{ö}dinger equation with potentials presenting conical singularities and show that they are transported by two different Hamiltonian flows, one over the bundle cotangent to the singular set and the other elsewhere in the phase space, up to a transference phenomenon between these two regimes that may arise whenever trajectories in the outsider flow lead in or out the bundle. We describe in detail either the flow and the mass concentration around and on the singular set and illustrate with examples some iss…
This is a survey paper on the quantitative analysis of the propagation of singularities for the viscosity solutions to Hamilton-Jacobi equations in the past decades. We also review further applications of the theory to various fields such as Riemannian geometry, Hamiltonian dynamical systems and partial differential equations.
A one-way wave equation is an evolution equation in one of the space directions that describes (approximately) a wave field. The exact wave field is approximated in a high frequency, microlocal sense. Here we derive the pseudodifferential one-way wave equation for an inhomogeneous acoustic medium using a known factorization argument. We give explicitly the two highest order terms, that are necessary for approximating the solution. A wave front (singularity) whose propagation velocity has non-zero component in the special direction is correctly described. The equation can't describe singulariti…
We consider the quantum dynamics of many bosons systems in the mean field limit with a singular pair-interaction potential, including the attractive or repulsive Coulombic case in three dimensions. By using a measure transportation technique, we show that Wigner measures propagate along the nonlinear Hartree flow. Such property was previously proved only for bounded potentials in our previous works with a slightly different strategy.
