$H^{\frac{11}{4}}({\mathbb{R}}^2)$ ill-posedness for 2D Elastic Wave system

Abstract

In this paper, we prove that for the 2D elastic wave equations, a physical system with multiple wave-speeds, its Cauchy problem fails to be locally well-posed in $H^{\frac{11}{4}}({\mathbb{R}}^2)$. The ill-posedness here is driven by instantaneous shock formation. In 2D Smith-Tataru showed that the Cauchy problem for a single quasilinear wave equation is locally well-posed in $H^s$ with $s>\frac{11}{4}$. Hence our $H^{\frac{11}{4}}$ ill-posedness obtained here is a desired result. Our proof relies on combining a geometric method and an algebraic wave-decomposition approach, equipped with detailed analysis of the corresponding hyperbolic system.

25 pages, invited article