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Weak geodesic flow and global solutions of the Hunter-Saxton equation. (English) Zbl 1140.35388

Summary: We show how global weak solutions of the Hunter-Saxton equation can be naturally constructed using the geometric interpretation of the equation as the Euler equation for the geodesic flow on an \(L^2\)-sphere. The approach involves forming a weak extension of the geodesic flow and relating it to a corresponding weak formulation of the Hunter-Saxton equation.

MSC:

35G25 Initial value problems for nonlinear higher-order PDEs
58B20 Riemannian, Finsler and other geometric structures on infinite-dimensional manifolds
53C22 Geodesics in global differential geometry
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