Interface dynamics in semilinear wave equations

Abstract

We consider the wave equation $\varepsilon^2(-\partial_t^2 + \Delta)u + f(u) = 0$ for $0<\varepsilon\ll 1$, where $f$ is the derivative of a balanced, double-well potential, the model case being $f(u) = u-u^3$. For equations of this form, we construct solutions that exhibit an interface of thickness $O(\varepsilon )$ that separates regions where the solution is $O(\varepsilon^k)$ close to $\pm 1$, and that is close to a timelike hypersurface of vanishing {\em Minkowskian} mean curvature. This provides a Minkowskian analog of the numerous results that connect the Euclidean Allen-Cahn equation and minimal surfaces or the parabolic Allen-Cahn equation and motion by mean curvature. Compared to earlier results of the same character, we develop a new constructive approach that applies to a larger class of nonlinearities and yields much more precise information about the solutions under consideration.