On the initial-value problem in the Lifshitz-Slyozov-Wagner theory of Ostwald ripening

Abstract

The LSW theory of Ostwald ripening concerns the time evolution of the size distribution of a dilute system of particles that evolve by diffusional mass transfer with a common mean field. We prove global existence, uniqueness and continuous dependence on initial data for measure-valued solutions with compact support in particle size. These results are established with respect to a natural topology on the space of size distributions, one given by the Wasserstein metric which measures the smallest maximum volume change required to rearrange one distribution into another.