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Existence, iteration procedures and directional differentiability for parabolic QVIs
We study parabolic quasi-variational inequalities (QVIs) of obstacle type. Under appropriate assumptions on the obstacle mapping, we prove the existence of solutions of such QVIs by two methods: one by time discretisation through elliptic QVIs and the second by iteration through parabolic variational inequalities. Using these results, we show the directional differentiability (in a certain sense) of the solution map which takes the source term of a parabolic QVI into the set of solutions, and we relate this result to the contingent derivative of the aforementioned map. We finish with an example where the obstacle mapping is given by the inverse of a parabolic differential operator.
Sobolev spaces with non-Muckenhoupt weights, fractional elliptic operators, and applications
We propose a new variational model in weighted Sobolev spaces with non-standard weights and applications to image processing. We show that these weights are, in general, not of Muckenhoupt type and therefore the classical analysis tools may not apply. For special cases of the weights, the resulting variational problem is known to be equivalent to the fractional Poisson problem. The trace space for the weighted Sobolev space is identified to be embedded in a weighted L2 space. We propose a finite element scheme to solve the Euler-Lagrange equations, and for the image denoising application we propose an algorithm to identify the unknown weights. The approach is illustrated on several test problems and it yields better results when compared to the existing total variation techniques.
On the uniqueness and numerical approximation of solutions to certain parabolic quasi-variational inequalities
We provide a series of rigidity results for a nonlocal phase transition equation. The results that we obtain are an improvement of flatness theorem and a series of theorems concerning the one-dimensional symmetry for monotone and minimal solutions, in the research line dictaded by a classical conjecture of E. De Giorgi. Here, we collect a series of pivotal results, of geometric type, which are exploited in the proofs of the main results in a companion paper.
Directional differentiability for elliptic quasi-variational inequalities of obstacle type
The directional differentiability of the solution map of obstacle type quasi-variational inequalities (QVIs) with respect to perturbations on the forcing term is studied. The classical result of Mignot is then extended to the quasi-variational case under assumptions that allow multiple solutions of the QVI. The proof involves selection procedures for the solution set and represents the directional derivative as the limit of a monotonic sequence of directional derivatives associated to specific variational inequalities. Additionally, estimates on the coincidence set and several simplifications under higher regularity are studied. The theory is illustrated by a detailed study of an application to thermoforming comprising of modelling, analysis and some numerical experiments.
Variable Step Mollifiers and Applications
We consider a mollifying operator with variable step that, in contrast to the standard mollification, is able to preserve the boundary values of functions. We prove boundedness of the operator in all basic Lebesgue, Sobolev and BV spaces as well as corresponding approximation results. The results are then applied to extend recently developed theory concerning the density of convex intersections. © 2020, The Author(s).
Analytical aspects of spatially adapted total variation regularisation
In this paper we study the structure of solutions of the one dimensional weighted total variation regularisation problem, motivated by its application in signal recovery tasks. We study in depth the relationship between the weight function and the creation of new discontinuities in the solution. A partial semigroup property relating the weight function and the solution is shown and analytic solutions for simply data functions are computed. We prove that the weighted total variation minimisation problem is well-posed even in the case of vanishing weight function, despite the lack of coercivity. This is based on the fact that the total variation of the solution is bounded by the total variation of the data, a result that it also shown here. Finally the relationship to the corresponding weighted fidelity problem is explored, showing that the two problems can produce completely different solutions even for very simple data functions.
Optimal control and directional differentiability for elliptic quasi-variational inequalities
We focus on elliptic quasi-variational inequalities (QVIs) of obstacle type and prove a number of results on the existence of solutions, directional differentiability and optimal control of such QVIs. We give three existence theorems based on an order approach, an iteration scheme and a sequential regularisation through partial differential equations. We show that the solution map taking the source term into the set of solutions of the QVI is directionally differentiable for general unsigned data, thereby extending the results of our previous work which provided a first differentiability result for QVIs in infinite dimensions. Optimal control problems with QVI constraints are also considered and we derive various forms of stationarity conditions for control problems, thus supplying among the first such results in this area.
Analysis of a quasi-variational contact problem arising in thermoelasticity
We formulate and study two mathematical models of a thermoforming process involving a membrane and a mould as implicit obstacle problems. In particular, the membrane-mould coupling is determined by the thermal displacement of the mould that depends in turn on the membrane through the contact region. The two models considered are a stationary (or elliptic) model and an evolutionary (or quasistatic) one. For the first model, we prove the existence of weak solutions by solving an elliptic quasi-variational inequality coupled to elliptic equations. By exploring the fine properties of the variation of the contact set under non-degenerate data, we give sufficient conditions for the existence of regular solutions, and under certain contraction conditions, also a uniqueness result. We apply these results to a series of semi-discretised problems that arise as approximations of regular solutions for the evolutionary or quasistatic problem. Here, under certain conditions, we are able to prove existence for the evolutionary problem and for a special case, also the uniqueness of time-dependent solutions.
Stability of the solution set of quasi-variational inequalities and optimal control
For a class of quasivariational inequalities (QVIs) of obstacle-type the stability of its solution set and associated optimal control problems are considered. These optimal control problems are non-standard in the sense that they involve an objective with set-valued arguments. The approach to study the solution stability is based on perturbations of minimal and maximal elements to the solution set of the QVI with respect to monotonic perturbations of the forcing term. It is shown that different assumptions are required for studying decreasing and increasing perturbations and that the optimization problem of interest is well-posed.
Variable step mollifiers and applications
We consider a mollifying operator with variable step that, in contrast to the standard mollification, is able to preserve the boundary values of functions. We prove boundedness of the operator in all basic Lebesgue, Sobolev and BV spaces as well as corresponding approximation results. The results are then applied to extend recently developed theory concerning the density of convex intersections.