Homogenization of certain PDEs and associated optimal control problems on various rough domains

Abstract: Several critical physical properties of a material are controlled by its geometric construction. Therefore, analyzing the effect of a material's geometric structure can help to improve some of its beneficial physical properties and reduce unwanted behavior. This leads to the study of boundary value problems in complex domains such as perforated domain, thin domain, junctions of the thin domain of different configuration, domain with rapidly oscillating boundary, networks domain, etc.

In this talk, we will discuss various homogenization problems posed on high oscillating domains. 

In the first part of this talk, we will homogenize an optimal control problem in a high oscillating domain where the oscillatory part is made of two materials with high contrasting conductivities. Thus the low contrast material acts as near insulation in-between the conducting materials. Mathematically this leads to the study of degenerate elliptic PDE at the limiting scale. The interesting result is the difference in the limit behavior of the optimal control problem, which depends on the control's action, whether it is on the conductive part or insulating part. In both cases, we derive the two-scale limit controls problems which are quite similar as far as analysis is concerned. But, if the controls are acting on the conductive region, a complete-scale separation is available.

In contrast, complete separation is not visible in the insulating case due to the intrinsic nature of the problem. In this case, to obtain the limit optimal control problem in the macro scale, two cross-sectional cell problems are introduced. We obtain the homogenized equation for the state, but the two-scale separation of the cost functional remains an open question.

Our second part of the talk briefly discusses the homogenization results of another optimal control problem with energy type cost functional posed on a high oscillating domain where the oscillations are on the curved interface.