On an inhomogeneous coagulation model with a differential sedimentation kernel

Abstract

We study an inhomogeneous coagulation equation that contains a transport term in the spatial variable modeling the sedimentation of clusters. We prove local existence of mass-conserving solutions for a class of coagulation kernels for which in the space homogeneous case instantaneous gelation (i.e., instantaneous loss of mass) occurs. Our result holds true in particular for sum-type kernels of homogeneity greater than one, for which solutions do not exist at all in the spatially homogeneous case. Moreover, our result covers kernels that in addition vanish on the diagonal, which have been used to model the onset of rain and the behavior of air bubbles in water.