Singular limits for a parabolic-elliptic regularization of scalar conservation laws

Abstract

We consider scalar hyperbolic conservation laws with a nonconvex flux, in one space dimension. Then, weak solutions of the associated initial value problems can contain undercompressive shock waves. We regularize the hyperbolic equation by a parabolic-elliptic system that produces undercompressive waves in the hyperbolic limit regime. Moreover we show that in another limit regime, called capillarity limit, we recover solutions of a diffusive-dispersive regularization, which is the standard regularization used to approximate undercompressive waves. In fact the new parabolic-elliptic system can be understood as a low-order approximation of the third-order diffusive-dispersive regularization, thus sharing some similarities with the relaxation approximations. A study of the traveling waves for the parabolic-elliptic system completes the paper. © 2012 Elsevier Inc..