Front Tracking for Hyperbolic Conservation Laws

Hyperbolic conservation laws are central in the theory of nonlinear partial differential equations, and in many applications in science and technology. In this book the reader is given a detailed, rigorous, and self-contained presentation of the theory of hyperbolic conservation laws from the basic theory up to the research front. The approach is constructive, and the mathematical approach using front tracking can be applied directly as a numerical method. After a short introduction on the fundamental properties of conservation laws, the theory of scalar conservation laws in one dimension is treated in detail, showing the stability of the Cauchy problem using front tracking. The extension to multidimensional scalar conservation laws is obtained using dimensional splitting. Inhomogeneous equations and equations with diffusive terms are included as well as a discussion of convergence rates. The classical theory of Kruzkov and Kuznetsov is covered. Systems of conservation laws in one dimension are treated in detail, starting with the solution of the Riemann problem. Solutions of the Cauchy problem are proved to exist in a constructive manner using front tracking, amenable to numerical computations. The book includes a detailed discussion of the very recent proof of wellposedness of the Cauchy problem for one-dimensional hyperbolic conservation laws. The book includes a chapter on traditional finite difference methods for hyperbolic conservation laws with error estimates and a section on measure valued solutions. Extensive examples are given, and many exercises are included with hints and answers. Additional background material not easily available elsewhere is given in appendices.