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This paper proves that the motion of small-slope vorticity fronts in the two-dimensional incompressible Euler equations is approximated on cubically nonlinear timescales by a Burgers-Hilbert equation derived by Biello and Hunter (2010) using formal asymptotic expansions. The proof uses a modified energy method to show that the contour dynamics equations for vorticity fronts in the Euler equations and the Burgers-Hilbert equation are both approximated by the same cubically nonlinear asymptotic equation. The contour dynamics equations for Euler vorticity fronts are also derived., Comment: 29 pages, 1 figure

We prove the global existence of solutions with small and smooth initial data of a nonlinear dispersive equation for the motion of generalized surface quasi-geostrophic (GSQG) fronts in a parameter regime $1<\alpha<2$, where $\alpha=1$ corresponds to the SQG equation and $\alpha=2$ corresponds to the incompressible Euler equations. This result completes previous global well-posedness results for $0<\alpha \le 1$. We also use contour dynamics to derive the GSQG front equations for $1<\alpha<2$.

We use contour dynamics to derive equations of motion for infinite planar surface quasi-geostrophic (SQG) fronts, and show that it leads to the same result as a regularization procedure introduced previously by Hunter and Shu (2018)., Comment: 12 pages, 2 figures

The generalized surface quasi-geostrophic (GSQG) equations are transport equations for an active scalar that depend on a parameter $0<\alpha \le 2$. Special cases are the two-dimensional incompressible Euler equations ($\alpha = 2$) and the surface quasi-geostrophic (SQG) equations ($\alpha = 1$). We derive contour-dynamics equations for a class of two-front solutions of the GSQG equations when the fronts are a graph. Scalar reductions of these equations include ones that describe a single front in the presence of a rigid, flat boundary. We use the contour dynamics equations to determine the linearized stability of the GSQG shear flows that correspond to two flat fronts. We also prove local-in-time existence and uniqueness for large, smooth solutions of the two-front equations in the parameter regime $1<\alpha\le 2$, and small, smooth solutions in the parameter regime $0<\alpha\le 1$., Comment: Theorem 1.1-1.3 are restated. The paper is accepted by Commun. Math. Sci

We derive a degenerate quasilinear Schr\"odinger equation that describes the resonant reflection of very weak, nonlinear sound waves off a weak sawtooth entropy wave.

We consider a nonlinear, spatially-nonlocal initial value problem in one space dimension on $\mathbb{R}$ that describes the motion of surface quasi-geostrophic (SQG) fronts. We prove that the initial value problem has a unique local smooth solution under a convergence condition on the multilinear expansion of the nonlinear term in the equation, and, for sufficiently smooth and small initial data, we prove that the solution is global., Comment: 55 pages

We prove local well-posedness in the Sobolev spaces $\dot H^s(\mathbb{T})$, with $s>7/2$, for an initial value problem for a nonlocal, cubically nonlinear, dispersive equation that provides an approximate description of the evolution of surface quasi-geostrophic (SQG) fronts with small slopes., Comment: 18 pages, 1 figure

We derive regularized contour dynamics equations for the motion of infinite sharp fronts in the two-dimensional incompressible Euler, surface quasi-geostrophic (SQG), and generalized surface quasi-geostrophic (gSQG) equations. We derive a cubic approximation of the contour dynamics equation and prove the short-time well-posedness of the approximate equations for generalized surface quasi-geostrophic fronts and weak well-posedness for surface quasi-geostrophic fronts.

We derive an asymptotic equation for quasi-static, nonlinear surface plasmons propagating on a planar interface between isotropic media. The plasmons are nondispersive with a constant linearized frequency that is independent of their wavenumber. The spatial profile of a weakly nonlinear plasmon satisfies a nonlocal, cubically nonlinear evolution equation that couples its left-moving and right-moving Fourier components. We prove short-time existence of smooth solutions of the asymptotic equation and describe its Hamiltonian structure. We also prove global existence of weak solutions of a unidirectional reduction of the asymptotic equation. Numerical solutions show that nonlinear effects can lead to the strong spatial focusing of plasmons. Solutions of the unidirectional equation appear to remain smooth when they focus, but it is unclear whether or not focusing can lead to singularity formation in solutions of the bidirectional equation.

We study a nonlocal equation, analogous to the Kuramoto-Sivashinsky equation, in which short waves are stabilized by a possibly fractional diffusion of order less than or equal to two, and long waves are destabilized by a backward fractional diffusion of lower order. We prove the global existence, uniqueness, and analyticity of solutions of the nonlocal equation and the existence of a compact attractor. Numerical results show that the equation has chaotic solutions whose spatial structure consists of interacting traveling waves resembling viscous shock profiles.

We consider an initial value problem for a quadratically nonlinear inviscid Burgers-Hilbert equation that models the motion of vorticity discontinuities. We use a modified energy method to prove the existence of small, smooth solutions over cubically nonlinear time-scales.

We study the propagation of orientation waves in a director field with rotational inertia and potential energy given by the Oseen-Frank energy functional from the continuum theory of nematic liquid crystals. There are two types of waves, which we call splay and twist waves. Weakly nonlinear splay waves are described by the quadratically nonlinear Hunter-Saxton equation. Here, we show that weakly nonlinear twist waves are described by a new cubically nonlinear, completely integrable asymptotic equation. This equation provides a surprising representation of the Hunter-Saxton equation as an advection equation. There is an analogous representation of the Camassa-Holm equation. We use the asymptotic equation to analyze a one-dimensional initial value problem for the director-field equations with twist-wave initial data.

We prove short-time existence of smooth solutions for a class of nonlinear, and in general spatially nonlocal, Hamiltonian evolution equations that describe the self-interaction of weakly nonlinear scale-invariant waves. These equations include ones that describe weakly nonlinear hyperbolic surface waves, such as nonlinear Rayleigh waves

We derive an asymptotic solution of the vacuum Einstein equations that describes the propagation and diffraction of a localized, large-amplitude, rapidly-varying gravitational wave. We compare and contrast the resulting theory of strongly nonlinear geometrical optics for the Einstein equations with nonlinear geometrical optics theories for variational wave equations.