Convergence of the Scalar- and Vector-Valued Allen-Cahn Equation to Mean Curvature Flow with $90$°-Contact Angle in Higher Dimensions

Abstract

We consider the sharp interface limit for the scalar-valued and vector-valued Allen-Cahn equation with homogeneous Neumann boundary condition in a bounded smooth domain $\Omega$ of arbitrary dimension $N\ge 2$ in the situation when a two-phase diffuse interface has developed and intersects the boundary $\partial \Omega$. The limit problem is mean curvature flow with $90$°-contact angle and we show convergence in strong norms for well-prepared initial data as long as a smooth solution to the limit problem exists. To this end we assume that the limit problem has a smooth solution on $[0,T]$ for some time $T>0$. Based on the latter we construct suitable curvilinear coordinates and set up an asymptotic expansion for the scalar-valued and the vector-valued Allen-Cahn equation. Finally, we prove a spectral estimate for the linearized Allen-Cahn operator in both cases in order to estimate the difference of the exact and approximate solutions with a Gronwall-type argument.

132 pages