55
when
x
..
4
but
and so U
x
is
given
in
L by
the
expression
U UIII + (V
~(4»
Ut'}.
X X u 0 x
(25)
Thus U
x
becomes unbounded
if
the
denominator
vanishes
for
some t
c
> O.
If
(Vu~(4»o
=0
it
follows
directly
from
equation
(21)
that
X
is
a
constant
and so t
c
is
infinite.
The
discontinuity
in
this
case
is
propagated
but
remains
finite
for
all
time.
Systems
for
which
this
property
is
true
are
a
special
case
of
those
which
are
exceptional
with
respect
to
the
~(4)
characteristic
field.
The
general
case
when A, B depend on U and
also
explicitly
on
x,
t
has
been
discussed
in
detail
in
[1].
A
different
approach
to
the
problem
that
involves
three
space
dimensions
and time
has
been
described
by
Boillat
[2] and Chen
[3).
References
[1] A.
Jeffrey,
Quasilinear
Hyperbolic
Systems and Waves.
Research
Note
in
Mathematics
No
.5,
Pitman
Publishing,
London,
1976.
[2] G.
Boillat,
La
Propagation
des
Ondes.
Gauthier-Villars,
Paris,1965.
[3] P.
J.
Chen,
Selected
Topics
in
Wave
Prop~gation.
Noordhoff, Leyden, 1974.