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Parabolic Partial Differential Equation


A partial differential equation of second-order, i.e., one of the form

 Au_(xx)+2Bu_(xy)+Cu_(yy)+Du_x+Eu_y+F=0,
(1)

is called parabolic if the matrix

 Z=[A B; B C]
(2)

satisfies det(Z)=0. The heat conduction equation and other diffusion equations are examples. Initial-boundary conditions are used to give

 u(x,t)=g(x,t)  for x in partialOmega,t>0
(3)
 u(x,0)=v(x)  for x in Omega,
(4)

where

 u_(xx)=f(u_x,u_y,u,x,y)
(5)

holds in Omega.


See also

Boundary Conditions, Boundary Value Problem, Elliptic Partial Differential Equation, Hyperbolic Partial Differential Equation, Initial Value Problem, Partial Differential Equation

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Cite this as:

Weisstein, Eric W. "Parabolic Partial Differential Equation." From MathWorld--A Wolfram Web Resource. https://mathworld.wolfram.com/ParabolicPartialDifferentialEquation.html

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