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In the theory of partial differential equations, elliptic operators are differential operators that generalize the Laplace operator. They are defined by the condition that the coefficients of the highest-order derivatives be positive, which implies the key property that the principal symbol is invertible, or equivalently that there are no real characteristic directions. Elliptic operators are typical of potential theory, and they appear frequently in electrostatics and continuum mechanics. Elliptic regularity implies that their solutions tend to be smooth functions (if the coefficients in the operator are smooth). Steady-state solutions to hyperbolic and parabolic equations generally solve elliptic equations. ==Definitions== A linear differential operator ''L'' of order ''m'' on a domain in R''d'' given by : (where is a multi-index, and ) is called ''elliptic'' if for every ''x'' in and every non-zero in R''d'', : where . In many applications, this condition is not strong enough, and instead a ''uniform ellipticity condition'' may be imposed for operators of degree ''m = 2k'': : where ''C'' is a positive constant. Note that ellipticity only depends on the highest-order terms.〔Note that this is sometimes called ''strict ellipticity'', with ''uniform ellipticity'' being used to mean that an upper bound exists on the symbol of the operator as well. It is important to check the definitions the author is using, as conventions may differ. See, e.g., Evans, Chapter 6, for a use of the first definition, and Gilbarg and Trudinger, Chapter 6, for a use of the second.〕 A nonlinear operator : is elliptic if its first-order Taylor expansion with respect to ''u'' and its derivatives about any point is a linear elliptic operator. ;Example 1 :The negative of the Laplacian in R''d'' given by :: :is a uniformly elliptic operator. The Laplace operator occurs frequently in electrostatics. If ρ is the charge density within some region Ω, the potential Φ must satisfy the equation :: ;Example 2 :Given a matrix-valued function ''A(x)'' which is symmetric and positive definite for every ''x'', having components ''a''''ij'', the operator :: :is elliptic. This is the most general form of a second-order divergence form linear elliptic differential operator. The Laplace operator is obtained by taking ''A = I''. These operators also occur in electrostatics in polarized media. ;Example 3 :For ''p'' a non-negative number, the p-Laplacian is a nonlinear elliptic operator defined by :: :A similar nonlinear operator occurs in glacier mechanics. The Cauchy stress tensor of ice, according to Glen's flow law, is given by :: :for some constant ''B''. The velocity of an ice sheet in steady state will then solve the nonlinear elliptic system :: :where ρ is the ice density, ''g'' is the gravitational acceleration vector, ''p'' is the pressure and ''Q'' is a forcing term. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア(Wikipedia)』 ■ウィキペディアで「Elliptic operator」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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