Stability of a Hot Smoluchowski Fluid

We study coupled nonlinear parabolic equations for a fluid described by a material density ρ and a temperature Θ, both functions of space and time. In one dimension, we find some stationary solutions corresponding to fixing the temperature on the boundary, with no-escape boundary conditions for the material. For the special case, where the temperature on the boundary is the same at both ends, the linearized equations for small perturbations about a stationary solution at uniform temperature and density are derived; they are subject to boundary conditions, Dirichlet for Θ and no-flow conditions for the material. The spectrum of the generator L of time evolution, regarded as an operator on L[0, 1], is shown to be real, discrete and non-positive, even though L is not self-adjoint. This result is necessary for the stability of the stationary state, but might not be sufficient. The problem lies in the fact that L is not a sectorial operator, since its numerical range is C.