Entropy and Convexity for Nonlinear Partial Differential Equations: Introduction

John M. Ball, Gui-Qiang G. Chen

Published 2013-10-29, updated 2013-11-06Version 3

Partial differential equations are ubiquitous in almost all applications of mathematics, where they provide a natural mathematical description of many phenomena involving change in physical, chemical, biological, and social processes. The concept of entropy originated in thermodynamics and statistical physics during the 19th century to describe the heat exchanges that occur in the thermal processes in a thermodynamic system, while the original notion of convexity is for sets and functions in mathematics. Since then, entropy and convexity have become two of the most important concepts in mathematics. In particular, nonlinear methods via entropy and convexity have been playing an increasingly important role in the analysis of nonlinear partial differential equations in recent decades. This opening article of the theme issue is intended to provide an introduction to entropy, convexity, and related nonlinear methods for the analysis of nonlinear partial differential equations. We also provide a brief discussion about the content and contributions of the papers that make up this theme issue.