Existence and uniqueness of solutions for nonlocal Cahn-Hilliard equations with degenerate potential is shown. The nonlocality is described by means of a symmetric singular kernel not falling within the framework of any previous existence theory. A convection term is also taken into account. Building upon this novel existence result, we prove convergence of solutions for this class of nonlocal Cahn-Hilliard equations to their local counterparts, as the nonlocal convolution kernels approximate a Dirac delta. Eventually, we show that, under suitable assumptions on the data, the solutions to the nonlocal Cahn-Hilliard equations exhibit further regularity, and the nonlocal-to-local convergence is verified in a stronger topology.2010 Mathematics Subject Classification. 45K05, 35K25, 35K55, 35B40, 76R05.

The equality between dissipation and energy drop is a structural property of gradient-flow dynamics. The classical implicit Euler scheme fails to reproduce this equality at the discrete level. We discuss two modifications of the Euler scheme satisfying an exact energy equality at the discrete level. Existence of discrete solutions and their convergence as the fineness of the partition goes to zero are discussed. Eventually, we address extensions to generalized gradient flows, GENERIC flows, and curves of maximal slope in metric spaces.

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We consider a class of nonlocal viscous Cahn–Hilliard equations with Neumann boundary conditions for the chemical potential. The double-well potential is allowed to be singular (e.g. of logarithmic type), while the singularity of the convolution kernel does not fall in any available existence theory under Neumann boundary conditions. We prove well-posedness for the nonlocal equation in a suitable variational sense. Secondly, we show that the solutions to the nonlocal equation converge to the corresponding solutions to the local equation, as the convolution kernels approximate a Dirac delta. The asymptotic behaviour is analyzed by means of monotone analysis and Gamma convergence results, both when the limiting local Cahn–Hilliard equation is of viscous type and of pure type.

A kinetic inhomogeneous Boltzmann-type equation is proposed to model the dynamics of the number of agents in a large market depending on the estimated value of an asset and the rationality of the agents. The interaction rules take into account the interplay of the agents with sources of public information, herding phenomena, and irrationality of the individuals. In the formal grazing collision limit, a nonlinear nonlocal Fokker-Planck equation with anisotropic (or incomplete) diffusion is derived. The existence of global-in-time weak solutions to the Fokker-Planck initial-boundary-value problem is proved. Numerical experiments for the Boltzmann equation highlight the importance of the reliability of public information in the formation of bubbles and crashes. The use of Bollinger bands in the simulations shows how herding may lead to strong trends with low volatility of the asset prices, but eventually also to abrupt corrections.