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Exploring families of energy-dissipation landscapes via tilting: three types of EDP convergence
We introduce two new concepts of convergence of gradient systems (Q,Eε,Rε) to a limiting gradient system (Q,E0,R0). These new concepts are called ‘EDP convergence with tilting’ and ‘contact–EDP convergence with tilting.’ Both are based on the energy-dissipation-principle (EDP) formulation of solutions of gradient systems and can be seen as refinements of the Gamma-convergence for gradient flows first introduced by Sandier and Serfaty. The two new concepts are constructed in order to avoid the ‘unnatural’ limiting gradient structures that sometimes arise as limits in EDP convergence. EDP convergence with tilting is a strengthening of EDP convergence by requiring EDP convergence for a full family of ‘tilted’ copies of (Q,Eε,Rε). It avoids unnatural limiting gradient structures, but many interesting systems are non-convergent according to this concept. Contact–EDP convergence with tilting is a relaxation of EDP convergence with tilting and still avoids unnatural limits but applies to a broader class of sequences (Q,Eε,Rε). In this paper, we define these concepts, study their properties, and connect them with classical EDP convergence. We illustrate the different concepts on a number of test problems.
On evolutionary [Gamma]-convergence for gradient systems : in memory of Eduard, Waldemar, and Elli Mielke
In these notes we discuss general approaches for rigorously deriving limits of generalized gradient flows. Our point of view is that a generalized gradient system is defined in terms of two functionals, namely the energy functional E and the dissipation potential R or the associated dissipation distance. We assume that the functionals depend on a small parameter and that the associated gradient systems have solutions u. We investigate the question under which conditions the limits u of (subsequences of) the solutions u are solutions of the gradient system generated by the [Gamma]-limits E0 and R0. Here the choice of the right topology will be crucial awell as additional structural conditions. We cover classical gradient systems, where R is quadratic, and rate-independent systems as well as the passage from classical gradient to rate-independent systems. Various examples, such as periodic homogenization, are used to illustrate the abstract concepts and results.
A gradient system with a wiggly energy and relaxed EDP-convergence
If gradient systems depend on a microstructure, we want to derive a macroscopic gradient structure describing the effective behavior of the microscopic system. We introduce a notion of evolutionary Gamma-convergence that relates the microscopic energy and the microscopic dissipation potential with their macroscopic limits via Gammaconvergence. We call this notion relaxed EDP-convergence since the special structure of the dissipation functional may not be preserved under Gamma-convergence. However, by investigating the kinetic relation we derive the macroscopic dissipation potential.