Singularities of a Variational Wave Equation

We analyze several aspects of the singular behavior of solutions of a variational nonlinear wave equation which models orientation waves in a massive nematic liquid crystal director field. We prove that smooth solutions develop singularities in finite time. We construct exact travelling wave solutions with cusp singularities, and use them to illustrate a phenomena of accumulation and annihilation of oscillations in sequences of solutions with bounded energy. We also prove that constant solutions of the equation are nonlinearly unstable.