Perturbative Cauchy theory for a flux-incompressible Maxwell-Stefan system

Abstract

Recently, the authors proved [2] that the Maxwell-Stefan system with an incompressibility-like condition on the total flux can be rigorously derived from the multi-species Boltzmann equation. Similar cross-diffusion models have been widely investigated, but the particular case of a perturbative incompressible setting around a non constant equilibrium state of the mixture (needed in [2]) seems absent of the literature. We thus establish a quantitative perturbative Cauchy theory in Sobolev spaces for it. More precisely, by reducing the analysis of the Maxwell-Stefan system to the study of a quasilinear parabolic equation on the sole concentrations and with the use of a suitable anisotropic norm, we prove global existence and uniqueness of strong solutions and their exponential trend to equilibrium in a perturbative regime around any macroscopic equilibrium state of the mixture. As a by-product, we show that the equimolar diffusion condition naturally appears from this perturbative incompressible setting.