Self-similar solutions to the porous medium equation

The porous medium equation $\dv{t}u=\dv{x}(k(u)\dv{x}u)$ is a non-linear degenerate parabolic partial differential equation. Consequently, existence and uniqueness of its solutions is not immediately evident.<br/>This bachelor thesis presents a detailed discussion of Atkinson's and Peletier's 1971 article ``Similarity profiles of flows through...