Catherine A. Roberts (College of the Holy Cross)-Thermal Blow-up in Superdiffusive Media

Mathematics - Colloquium

Friday, January 29, 2010
11:00 AM-12:00 PM

Stratton Hall
203

ABSTRACT: The problem of thermal blow-up in a superdiffusive media will be examined within the framework of a fractional diffusion equation. The possibility of a blow-up is created by placing a localized, high-energy source in a diffusive medium. This source term is intended to model a small hot spot with a thermal output that grows non-linearly with increasing temperature. It will be shown that the occurrence of a thermal blow-up depends upon the spatial dimension of the superdiffusive medium, which provides insight into the effectiveness of superdiffusion. Some discussion to place these results within our understanding of classical diffusion will be presented.

Suggested Audiences: Adult, College

E-mail: ma-chair@wpi.edu

Last Modified: January 7, 2010 at 11:57 AM