Stable viscosity matrices for systems of conservation laws

AbstractA natural class of appropriate viscosity matrices for strictly hyperbolic systems of conservation laws in one space dimension, u1 + f(u)x = 0, uϵRm, is studied. These matrices are admissible in the sense that small-amplitude shock wave solutions of the hyperbolic system are shown to be limits of smooth traveling wave solutions of the parabolic system ut + f(u)x = v(Dux)x as ifv → 0 if D is in this class. The class is determined by a linearized stability requirement: The Cauchy problem for the equation u1 + f′(u0) ux = vDuxx should be well posed in L2 uniformly in v as v → 0. Previous examples of inadmissible viscosity matrices are accounted for through violation of the stability criterion