In the article an optimal control problem subject to a stationary variational inequalityis investigated. The optimal control problem is complemented with pointwise controlconstraints. The convergence of a smoothing scheme is analyzed. There, the variationalinequality is replaced by a semilinear elliptic equation. It is shown that solutions ofthe regularized optimal control problem converge to solutions of the original one. Passingto the limit in the optimality system of the regularized problem allows to proveC-stationarity of local solutions of the original problem. Moreover, convergence rateswith respect to the regularization parameter for the error in the control are obtained,which turn out to be sharp. These rates coincide with rates obtained by numericalexperiments, which are included in the paper.

We consider the Euler equation for an incompressible fluid on a three dimensional torus,and the construction of its solution as a power series in time. We point out some generalfacts on this subject, from convergence issues for the power series to the role ofsymmetries of the initial datum. We then turn the attention to a paper by Behr, Nečas andWu, ESAIM: M2AN 35 (2001) 229–238; here, the authors chose avery simple Fourier polynomial as an initial datum for the Euler equation and analyzed thepower series in time for the solution, determining the first 35 terms by computer algebra.Their calculations suggested for the series a finite convergence radiusτ3 in the H3 Sobolev space, with0.32 < τ3 < 0.35; they regarded this as an indicationthat the solution of the Euler equation blows up. We have repeated the calculations of E.Behr, J. Nečas and H. Wu, ESAIM: M2AN 35 (2001) 229–238,using again computer algebra; the order has been increased from 35 to 52, using thesymmetries of the initial datum to speed up computations. As forτ3, our results agree with the original computations of E.Behr, J. Nečas and H. Wu, ESAIM: M2AN 35 (2001) 229–238(yielding in fact to conjecture that 0.32 < τ3 < 0.33).Moreover, our analysis supports the following conclusions: (a) The finiteness ofτ3 is not at all an indication of a possible blow-up. (b)There is a strong indication that the solution of the Euler equation does not blow up at atime close to τ3. In fact, the solution is likely to exist, atleast, up to a time θ3 > 0.47. (c) There is a weakindication, based on Padé analysis, that the solution might blow up at a later time.

We introduce a piecewise P2-nonconforming quadrilateralfinite element. First, we decompose a convex quadrilateral into the union of fourtriangles divided by its diagonals. Then the finite element space is defined by the set ofall piecewise P2-polynomials that are quadratic in eachtriangle and continuously differentiable on the quadrilateral. The degrees of freedom(DOFs) are defined by the eight values at the two Gauss points on each of the four edgesplus the value at the intersection of the diagonals. Due to the existence of one linearrelation among the above DOFs, it turns out the DOFs are eight. Global basis functions aredefined in three types: vertex-wise, edge-wise, and element-wise types. The correspondingdimensions are counted for both Dirichlet and Neumann types of elliptic problems. Forsecond-order elliptic problems and the Stokes problem, the local and global interpolationoperators are defined. Also error estimates of optimal order are given in both brokenenergy and L2(Ω) norms. The proposed elementis also suitable to solve Stokes equations. The element is applied to approximate eachcomponent of velocity fields while the discontinuousP1-nonconforming quadrilateral element is adopted toapproximate the pressure. An optimal error estimate in energy norm is derived. Numericalresults are shown to confirm the optimality of the presented piecewiseP2-nonconforming element on quadrilaterals.

The parareal in time algorithm allows for efficient parallel numerical simulations oftime-dependent problems. It is based on a decomposition of the time interval intosubintervals, and on a predictor-corrector strategy, where the propagations over eachsubinterval for the corrector stage are concurrently performed on the different processorsthat are available. In this article, we are concerned with the long time integration ofHamiltonian systems. Geometric, structure-preserving integrators are preferably employedfor such systems because they show interesting numerical properties, in particularexcellent preservation of the total energy of the system. Using a symmetrization procedureand/or a (possibly also symmetric) projection step, we introduce here several variants ofthe original plain parareal in time algorithm [L. Baffico, et al. Phys. Rev. E66 (2002) 057701; G. Bal and Y. Maday, A parareal timediscretization for nonlinear PDE’s with application to the pricing of an American put, inRecent developments in domain decomposition methods, Lect.Notes Comput. Sci. Eng. 23 (2002) 189–202; J.-L. Lions, Y. Madayand G. Turinici, C. R. Acad. Sci. Paris, Série I 332 (2001)661–668.] that are better adapted to the Hamiltonian context. These variants arecompatible with the geometric structure of the exact dynamics, and are easy to implement.Numerical tests on several model systems illustrate the remarkable properties of theproposed parareal integrators over long integration times. Some formal elements ofunderstanding are also provided.

We study an optimal boundary control problem for the two dimensional unsteady linearized compressible Navier–Stokes equations in a rectangle. The control acts through the Dirichlet boundary condition. We first establish the existence and uniqueness of the solution for the two-dimensional unsteady linearized compressible Navier–Stokes equations in a rectangle with inhomogeneous Dirichlet boundary data, not necessarily smooth. Then, we prove the existence and uniqueness of the optimal solution over the control set. Finally we derive an optimality system from which the optimal solution can be determined.

In a recent article [B. Bonnard, J.-B. Caillau, R. Sinclair and M. Tanaka, Ann. Inst. Henri Poincaré, Anal. Non Linéaire 26 (2009) 1081–1098], we relate the computation of the conjugate and cut loci of a family of metrics on two-spheres of revolution whose polar form is g = dϕ2 + m(ϕ)dθ2 to the period mapping of the ϕ-variable. One purpose of this article is to use this relation to evaluate the cut and conjugate loci for a family of metrics arising as a deformation of the round sphere and to determine the convexity properties of the injectivity domains of such metrics. These properties have applications in optimal control of space and quantum mechanics, and in optimal transport.

Annual epidemics of influenza A typically involve two subtypes, with a degree of cross-immunity. We present a model of an epidemic of two interacting viruses, where the degree of cross-immunity may be unknown. We treat the unknown as a second independent variable, and expand the dependent variables in orthogonal functions of this variable. The resulting set of differential equations is solved numerically. We show that if the population is initially more susceptible to one variant, if that variant invades earlier, or if it has a higher basic reproduction number than the other variant, then its dynamics are largely unaffected by cross-immunity. In contrast, the dynamics of the other variant may be considerably restricted.

We apply four different methods to study an intrinsically bang-bang optimal control problem. We study first a relaxed problem that we solve with a naive nonlinear programming approach. Since these preliminary results reveal singular arcs, we then use Pontryagin’s Minimum Principle and apply multiple indirect shooting methods combined with homotopy approach to obtain an accurate solution of the relaxed problem. Finally, in order to recover a purely bang-bang solution for the original problem, we use once again a nonlinear programming approach.

Temperature distributions recorded by thermocouples in a solid body (slab) subject to surface heating are used in a mathematical model of two-dimensional heat conduction. The corresponding Dirichlet problem for a holomorphic function (complex potential), involving temperature and a heat stream function, is solved in a strip. The Zhukovskii function is reconstructed through singular integrals, involving an auxiliary complex variable. The complex potential is mapped onto an auxiliary half-plane. The flow net (orthogonal isotherms and heat lines) of heat conduction is compared with the known Carslaw–Jaeger solution and shows a puzzling topology of three regimes of energy fluxes for temperature boundary conditions common in passive thermal insulation. The simplest regime is realized if cooling of a shaded zone is mild and heat flows in a slightly distorted “resistor model” flow tube. The second regime emerges when cooling is stronger and two disconnected separatrices demarcate the back-flow of heat from a relatively hot segment of the slab surface to the atmosphere through relatively cold parts of this surface. The third topological regime is characterized by a single separatrix with a critical point inside the slab, where the thermal gradient is nil. In this regime the back-suction of heat into the atmosphere is most intensive. The closed-form solutions obtained can be used in assessment of efficiency of thermal protection of buildings.