Asymptotic Formula of the Lifespan of Classical Solutions to 1D Quasilinear Wave Equations

Abstract

We study the lifespan \(T^*(\varepsilon)\) of classical solutions to the Cauchy problem for the one-dimensional quasilinear wave equation $u_{tt}-(c(u)^2u_x)_x=0$, with initial data of size $\varepsilon>0$. We assume that $c'(θ)\sim a|θ|^{p-2}$ as $θ\to 0$, where \(a>0\) and \(p>3\) or $p=2$. We obtain explicit asymptotic formulas for $T^*(\varepsilon)$ as $\varepsilon\downarrow0$. We treat both the case $ψ\in L^1(\mathbb R)$ and the case $ψ=ψ_1+\Braket{x}^{-α}$, where \(ψ_1\in L^1(\mathbb R)\) and \(0<α\le1\). Our results identify the dependence of the lifespan scale on the decay exponent, including the borderline case $α=1$. The proof combines Riccati equations along characteristics with a scaling argument inspired by Lindblad.