Initial boundary value problems for quasilinear symmetric hyperbolic systems with characteristic boundary

Abstract

This paper is devoted to initial boundary value problems for quasilinear symmetric hyperbolic systems in a domain with characteristic boundary. It extends the theory on linear symmetric hyperbolic systems established by Friedrichs to the nonlinear case. The concept on regular characteristics and dissipative boundary conditions are given for quasilinear hyperbolic systems. Under some assumptions, an existence theorem for such initial boundary value problems is obtained. The theorem can also be applied to the Euler system of compressible flow.