Finite time singularities for hyperbolic systems

Abstract

In this paper, we study the formation of finite time singularities in the form of super norm blowup for a spatially inhomogeneous hyperbolic system. The system is related to the variational wave equations as those in [18]. The system posses a unique $C^1$ solution before the emergence of vacuum in finite time, for given initial data that are smooth enough, bounded and uniformly away from vacuum. At the occurrence of blowup, the density becomes zero, while the momentum stays finite, however the velocity and the energy are both infinity.