Analytic structure of two 1D-transport equations with nonlocal fluxes

Abstract We replace the flux term in Burger's equation by two simple alternates that contain contributions depending globally on the solution. In one case, the term is in the form of a hyperbolic equation where the characteristic speed is nonlocal, and in the other the term is in conservation form. In both cases, the nonanalytic is due to the presence of the Hilbert transform. The equations have a loose analogy to the motion of vortex sheets. In particular, they both form singularities in finite time in the absence of viscous effects. Our motivation then is to study the influence of viscosity. In one case, viscosity does not prevent singularity formation. In the other, we can prove solutions exist for all time, and determine the likely weak solution as viscosity vanishes. An interesting aspect of our work is that singularity formation can be viewed as the motion of singularities in the complex physical plane that reach the real axis in finite time. In one case, the singularity is a pole and causes the solution to blow up when it reaches the real axis. In the other, numerical solutions and an asymptotic analysis suggest that the weak solution contains a square root singularity that reaches the real axis in finite time, and then propagates along it. We hope our results will spur further interest in the role of singularities in the complex spatial plane in solutions to transport equations.