A nonlocal diffusion problem on manifolds

Abstract

In this paper we study a nonlocal diffusion problem on a manifold. These kinds of equations can model diffusions when there are long range effects and have been widely studied in Euclidean space. We first prove existence and uniqueness of solutions and a comparison principle. Then, for a convenient rescaling we prove that the operator under consideration converges to a multiple of the usual Heat-Beltrami operator on the manifold. Next, we look at the long time behavior on compact manifolds by studying the spectral properties of the operator. Finally, for the model case of hyperbolic space we study the long time asymptotics and find a different and interesting behavior.