This paper introduces a new p-dependent coercivity condition through which (Formula presented.) -moments for solutions can be obtained for a large class of SPDEs in the variational framework. If p = 2, our condition reduces to the classical coercivity condition, which only yields second moments for the solution. The abstract result is shown to be optimal. Moreover, the results are applied to obtain (Formula presented.) -moments of solutions for several classical SPDEs such as stochastic heat equations with Dirichlet and Neumann boundary conditions, Burgers' equation and the Navier–Stokes equations in two spatial dimensions. Furthermore, we can recover recent results for systems of SPDEs and higher-order SPDEs using our unifying coercivity condition.

We consider the thin-film equation for a class of free boundary conditions modelling friction at the contact line, as introduced by E and Ren. Our analysis focuses on formal long-time asymptotics of solutions in the perfect wetting regime. In particular, through the analysis of quasi-self-similar solutions, we characterize the profile and the spreading rate of solutions depending on the strength of friction at the contact line, as well as their (global or local) corrections, which are due to the dynamical nature of the free boundary conditions. These results are complemented with full transient numerical solutions of the free boundary problem.

We investigate the stability of traveling-pulse solutions to the stochastic FitzHugh–Nagumo equations with additive noise. Special attention is given to the effect of small noise on the classical deterministically stable fast traveling pulse. Our method is based on adapting the velocity of the traveling wave by solving a scalar stochastic ordinary differential equation (SODE) and tracking perturbations to the wave meeting a system of a scalar stochastic partial differential equation (SPDE) coupled to a scalar ordinary differential equation (ODE). This approach has been recently employed by Krüger and Stannat (Nonlinear Anal. 162 (2017) 197–223) for scalar stochastic bistable reaction–diffusion equations such as the Nagumo equation. A main difference in our situation of an SPDE coupled to an ODE is that the linearization has essential spectrum parallel to the imaginary axis and thus only generates a strongly continuous semigroup. Furthermore, the linearization around the traveling wave is not self-adjoint anymore, so that fluctuations around the wave cannot be expected to be orthogonal in a corresponding inner product. We demonstrate that this problem can be overcome by making use of Riesz instead of orthogonal spectral projections as recently employed in a series of papers by Hamster and Hupkes in case of analytic semigroups. We expect that our approach can also be applied to traveling waves and other patterns in more general situations such as systems of SPDEs with linearizations only generating a strongly continuous semigroup. This provides a relevant generalization as these systems are prevalent in many applications.

We consider the thin-film equation ∂th+∂ym(h)∂y3h=0 in {h > 0} with partial-wetting boundary conditions and inhomogeneous mobility of the form m(h) = h 3 + λ 3-n h n , where h ∼ 0 is the film height, λ > 0 is the slip length, y > 0 denotes the lateral variable, and n ϵ (0, 3) is the mobility exponent parameterizing the nonlinear slip condition. The partial-wetting regime implies the boundary condition ∂ y h = const. > 0 at the triple junction ∂{h > 0} (nonzero microscopic contact angle). Existence and uniqueness of traveling-wave solutions to this problem under the constraint ∂y2h→0 as h → ∞ have been proved in previous work by Chiricotto and Giacomelli (2011 Commun. Appl. Ind. Math. 2 e-388, 16). We are interested in the asymptotics as h ↓ 0 and h → ∞. By reformulating the problem as h ↓ 0 as a dynamical system for the difference between the solution and the microscopic contact angle, values for n are found for which linear as well as nonlinear resonances occur. These resonances lead to a different asymptotic behavior of the solution as h ↓ 0 depending on n. Together with the asymptotics as h → ∞ characterizing the Cox-Voinov law for the velocity-dependent macroscopic contact angle as found by Giacomelli, the first author of this work, and Otto (2016 Nonlinearity 29 2497-536), the rigorous asymptotics of traveling-wave solutions to the thin-film equation in partial wetting can be characterized. Furthermore, our approach enables us to analyze the relation between the microscopic and macroscopic contact angle. It is found that the Cox-Voinov law for the macroscopic contact angle depends continuously differentiably on the microscopic contact angle.

We prove the existence of non-negative martingale solutions to a class of stochastic degenerate-parabolic fourth-order PDEs arising in surface-tension driven thin-film flow influenced by thermal noise. The construction applies to a range of mobilites including the cubic one which occurs under the assumption of a no-slip condition at the liquid-solid interface. Since their introduction more than 15 years ago, by Davidovitch, Moro, and Stone and by Grün, Mecke, and Rauscher, the existence of solutions to stochastic thin-film equations for cubic mobilities has been an open problem, even in the case of sufficiently regular noise. Our proof of global-in-time solutions relies on a careful combination of entropy and energy estimates in conjunction with a tailor-made approximation procedure to control the formation of shocks caused by the nonlinear stochastic scalar conservation law structure of the noise.

We consider the stochastic thin-film equation with colored Gaussian Stratonovich noise in one space dimension and establish the existence of nonnegative weak (martingale) solutions. The construction is based on a Trotter–Kato-type decomposition into a deterministic and a stochastic evolution, which yields an easy to implement numerical algorithm. Compared to previous work, no interface potential has to be included, the initial data and the solution can have de-wetted regions of positive measure, and the Trotter–Kato scheme allows for a simpler proof of existence than in case of Itô noise.

Consider the thin-film equation h _t +(hh _yyy ) _y =0 with a zero contact angle at the free boundary, that is, at the triple junction where liquid, gas, and solid meet. Previous results on stability and well-posedness of this equation have focused on perturbations of equilibrium-stationary or self-similar profiles, the latter eventually wetting the whole surface. These solutions have their counterparts for the second-order porous-medium equation h _t −(h ^m ) _yy =0, where m>1 is a free parameter. Both porous-medium and thin-film equation degenerate as h↘0, but the porous-medium equation additionally fulfills a comparison principle while the thin-film equation does not. In this note, we consider traveling waves h=[Formula presented]x ³ +νx ² for x≥0, where x=y−Vt and V,ν≥0 are free parameters. These traveling waves are receding and therefore describe de-wetting, a phenomenon genuinely linked to the fourth-order nature of the thin-film equation and not encountered in the porous-medium case as it violates the comparison principle. The linear stability analysis leads to a linear fourth-order degenerate-parabolic operator for which we prove maximal-regularity estimates to arbitrary orders of the expansion in x in a right-neighborhood of the contact line x=0. This leads to a well-posedness and stability result for the corresponding nonlinear equation. As the linearized evolution has different scaling as x↘0 and x→∞ the analysis is more intricate than in related previous works. We anticipate that our approach is a natural step towards investigating other situations in which the comparison principle is violated, such as droplet rupture.

We consider the thin-film equation ∂_th+∇⋅(h²∇Δh)=0 in physical space dimensions (i.e., one dimension in time t and two lateral dimensions with h denoting the height of the film in the third spatial dimension), which corresponds to the lubrication approximation of the Navier–Stokes equations of a three-dimensional viscous thin fluid film with Navier-slip at the substrate. This equation can have a free boundary (the contact line), moving with finite speed, at which we assume a zero contact angle condition (complete-wetting regime). Previous results have focused on the 1+1-dimensional version, where it has been found that solutions are not smooth as a function of the distance to the free boundary. In particular, a well-posedness and regularity theory is more intricate than for the second-order counterpart, the porous-medium equation, or the thin-film equation with linear mobility (corresponding to Darcy dynamics in the Hele-Shaw cell). Here, we prove existence and uniqueness of classical solutions that are perturbations of an asymptotically stable traveling-wave profile. This leads to control on the free boundary and in particular its velocity.

We are interested in traveling-wave solutions to the thin-film equation with zero microscopic contact angle (in the sense of complete wetting without precursor) and inhomogeneous mobility h³+λ^3?nhⁿ, where h, λ, and n ϵ (3/2, 7/3) denote film height, slip parameter, and mobility exponent, respectively. Existence and uniqueness of these solutions have been established by Maria Chiricotto and the first of the authors in previous work under the assumption of subquadratic growth as h → ∞. In the present work we investigate the asymptotics of solutions as h ↘ 0 (the contact-line region) and h → ∞. As h ↘ 0 we observe, to leading order, the same asymptotics as for traveling waves or source-type self-similar solutions to the thin-film equation with homogeneous mobility hn and we additionally characterize corrections to this law. Moreover, as h → ∞ we identify, to leading order, the logarithmic Tanner profile, i.e. the solution to the corresponding unperturbed problem with λ = 0 that determines the apparent macroscopic contact angle. Besides higher-order terms, corrections turn out to affect the asymptotic law as h → ∞ only by setting the length scale in the logarithmic Tanner profile. Moreover, we prove that both the correction and the length scale depend smoothly on n. Hence, in line with the common philosophy, the precise modeling of liquid-solid interactions (within our model, the mobility exponent) does not affect the qualitative macroscopic properties of the film.

We investigate perturbations of traveling-wave solutions to a thin-film equation with quadratic mobility and a zero contact angle at the triple junction, where the three phases liquid, gas and solid meet. This equation can be obtained in lubrication approximation from the Navier–Stokes system of a liquid droplet with a Navier-slip condition at the substrate. Existence and uniqueness have been established by the author together with Giacomelli, Knüpfer and Otto in previous work. As solutions are generically non-smooth, the approach relied on suitably subtracting the leading-order singular expansion at the free boundary. In the present work, we substantially improve this result by showing the regularizing effect of the degenerate-parabolic equation to arbitrary orders of the singular expansion. In comparison to related previous work, our method does not require additional compatibility assumptions on the initial data. The result turns out to be natural in view of the properties of the source-type self-similar profile.

We are interested in a complete characterization of the contact-line singularity of thin-film flows for zero and nonzero contact angles. By treating the model problem of source-type self-similar solutions, we demonstrate that this singularity can be understood by the study of invariant manifolds of a suitable dynamical system. In particular, we prove regularity results for singular expansions near the contact line for a wide class of mobility exponents and for zero and nonzero dynamic contact angles. Key points are the reduction to center manifolds and identifying resonance conditions at equilibrium points. The results are extended to radially-symmetric source-type solutions in higher dimensions. Furthermore, we give dynamical systems proofs for the existence and uniqueness of self-similar droplet solutions in the nonzero dynamic contact-angle case.

We investigate compactly supported solutions for a thin-film equation with linear mobility in the regime of perfect wetting. This problem has already been addressed by Carrillo and Toscani, proving that the source-type self-similar profile is a global attractor of entropy solutions with compactly supported initial data. Here we study small perturbations of source-type self-similar solutions for the corresponding classical free boundary problem and set up a global existence and uniqueness theory within weighted L²-spaces under minimal assumptions. Furthermore, we derive asymptotics for the evolution of the solution, the free boundary, and the center of mass. As spatial translations are scaled out in our reference frame, the rate of convergence is higher than the one obtained by Carrillo and Toscani.

We derive generalized Langevin equations for the translational and rotational motion of a heated Brownian particle from the fluctuating hydrodynamics of its nonisothermal solvent. The temperature gradient around the particle couples to the hydrodynamic modes excited by the particle itself so that the resulting noise spectrum is governed by a frequency-dependent temperature. We show how the effective temperatures at which the particle coordinates and (angular) velocities appear to be thermalized emerge from this central quantity.

We are interested in the thin-film equation with zero-contact angle and quadratic mobility, modeling the spreading of a thin liquid film, driven by capillarity and limited by viscosity in conjunction with a Navier-slip condition at the substrate. This degenerate fourth-order parabolic equation has the contact line as a free boundary. From the analysis of the self-similar source-type solution, one expects that the solution is smooth only as a function of two variables (x, x^β) (where x denotes the distance from the contact line) with β=13-14≈0.6514 irrational. Therefore, the well-posedness theory is more subtle than in case of linear mobility (coming from Darcy dynamics) or in case of the second-order counterpart (the porous medium equation).Here, we prove global existence and uniqueness for one-dimensional initial data that are close to traveling waves. The main ingredients are maximal regularity estimates in weighted L²-spaces for the linearized evolution, after suitable subtraction of a(t)+b(t)x^β-terms.

In one space dimension, we consider source-type (self-similar) solutions to the thin-film equation with vanishing slope at the edge of their support (zero contact-angle condition) in the range of mobility exponents n\in\left(\frac 3 2,3\right). This range contains the physically relevant case n=2 (Navier slip). The existence and (up to a spatial scaling) uniqueness of these solutions has been established in [3] (Bernis, F., Peletier, L. A. & Williams, S. M. (1992) Source type solutions of a fourth-order nonlinear degenerate parabolic equation. Nonlinear Anal. 18, 217-234). It is also shown there that the leading-order expansion near the edge of the support coincides with that of a travelling-wave solution. In this paper we substantially sharpen this result, proving that the higher order correction is analytic with respect to two variables: the first one is just the spatial variable whereas the second one is a (generically irrational, in particular for n=2) power of it, which naturally emerges from a linearisation of the operator around the travelling-wave solution. This result shows that - as opposed to the case of n=1 (Darcy) or to the case of the porous medium equation (the second-order analogue of the thin-film equation) - in this range of mobility exponents, source-type solutions are not smooth at the edge of their support even when the behaviour of the travelling wave is factored off. We expect the same singular behaviour for a generic solution to the thin-film equation near its moving contact line. As a consequence, we expect a (short-time or small-data) well-posedness theory - of which this paper is a natural prerequisite - to be more involved than in the case n=1.