Una ecuación diferencial parcial (EDP) es una ecuación que impone relaciones entre las distintas derivadas parciales de una función multivariable. La función suele denominarse incógnita, y una EDP describe una relación entre esta función incógnita y sus derivadas. A diferencia de las ecuaciones diferenciales ordinarias (EDO), que implican funciones de una sola variable, las EDP son fundamentales para modelar sistemas multidimensionales.
A partial differential equation (PDE) for a function [latex]u(x_1, dots, x_n)[/latex] is an equation of the form [latex]F(x_1, dots, x_n, u, frac{partial u}{partial x_1}, dots, frac{partial u}{partial x_n}, frac{partial^2 u}{partial x_1 partial x_1}, dots) = 0[/latex]. This formulation expresses a relationship between an unknown function [latex]u[/latex] of several independent variables and its partial derivatives. The ‘order’ of the PDE is determined by the highest-order derivative present in the equation. For instance, an equation containing a second derivative but no higher is a second-order PDE.
PDEs are classified based on properties that help determine the nature of their solutions. A key classification is linearity. A PDE is ‘linear’ if it is linear in the unknown function and all its derivatives. For example, [latex]a(x,y)u_{xx} + b(x,y)u_{yy} = f(x,y)[/latex] is linear. If the coefficients depend on [latex]u[/latex] or its derivatives, the equation becomes nonlinear. Nonlinear PDEs are notoriously difficult to solve and often exhibit complex behaviors like shock waves or solitons.
The study of PDEs is a vast branch of mathematics, crucial for modeling phenomena across science and engineering. Finding a ‘solution’ means identifying a function that satisfies the equation, often subject to specific boundary or initial conditions that constrain the problem to a unique physical situation. The development of methods to find and analyze these solutions, both analytically and numerically, has been a central theme in mathematics since the 18th century.