The multiphase Muskat problem with equal viscosities in two dimensions

Abstract

We study the two-dimensional multiphase Muskat problem describing the motion of three immiscible fluids with equal viscosities in a vertical homogeneous porous medium identified with ${\mathbb{R}}^2$ under the effect of gravity. We first formulate the governing equations as a strongly coupled evolution problem for the functions that parameterize the sharp interfaces between the fluids. Afterwards we prove that the problem is of parabolic type and establish its well-posedness together with two parabolic smoothing properties. For solutions that are not global we exclude, in a certain regime, that the interfaces come into contact along a curve segment.