Convergence of the Allen-Cahn equation with a nonlinear Robin Boundary Condition to Mean Curvature Flow with Contact Angle close to $90${\deg}

TL;DR

This paper proves that the Allen-Cahn equation with a nonlinear Robin boundary condition converges to mean curvature flow with a contact angle near 90 degrees, using asymptotic analysis and spectral estimates.

Contribution

It provides a rigorous convergence proof for the Allen-Cahn equation with nonlinear boundary conditions to mean curvature flow with a specific contact angle, including detailed asymptotic expansions.

Findings

Convergence established for initial data close to the limit interface.

Constructed a curvilinear coordinate system for analysis.

Derived spectral estimates for the linearized operator.

Abstract

This paper is concerned with the sharp interface limit for the Allen-Cahn equation with a nonlinear Robin boundary condition in a bounded smooth domain $\Omega\subset\mathbb{R}^2$. We assume that a diffuse interface already has developed and that it is in contact with the boundary $\partial\Omega$. The boundary condition is designed in such a way that the limit problem is given by the mean curvature flow with constant $\alpha$-contact angle. For $\alpha$ close to $90${\deg} we prove a local in time convergence result for well-prepared initial data for times when a smooth solution to the limit problem exists. Based on the latter we construct a suitable curvilinear coordinate system and carry out a rigorous asymptotic expansion for the Allen-Cahn equation with the nonlinear Robin boundary condition. Moreover, we show a spectral estimate for the corresponding linearized Allen-Cahn operator and with its aid we derive strong norm estimates for the difference of the exact and approximate solutions using a Gronwall-type argument.