Exponential and algebraic decay in Euler--alignment system with nonlocal interaction forces

Abstract

We investigate the large-time behavior of the pressureless Euler system with nonlocal velocity alignment and interaction forces, with the aim of characterizing the asymptotic convergence of classical solutions under general interaction potentials $W$ and communication weights. We establish quantitative convergence in three settings. In one dimension with $(λ,Λ)$-convex potentials, i.e., potentials satisfying uniform lower and upper quadratic bounds, bounded communication weights yield exponential decay, while weakly singular ones lead to sharp algebraic rates. For the Coulomb--quadratic potential $W(x)=-|x|+\frac12 |x|^2$, we prove exponential convergence for bounded communication weights and algebraic upper bounds for singular communication weights. In a multi-dimensional setting with uniformly $(λ,Λ)$-convex potentials, we show exponential decay for bounded weights and improved algebraic decay for singular ones. In all cases, the density converges (up to translation) to the minimizer of the interaction energy, while the velocity aligns to a uniform constant. A unifying feature is that the convergence rate depends only on the local behavior of communication weights: bounded kernels yield exponential convergence, while weakly singular ones produce algebraic rates. Our results thus provide a comprehensive description of the asymptotic behavior of Euler--alignment dynamics with general interaction potentials.