The Cauchy problem for tenth-order thin film equation I. Bifurcation of oscillatory fundamental solutions

Fundamental global similarity solutions of the tenth-order thin film equation u_{t} = \nabla \cdot(|u|^{n} \n \D^4 u) in R^N \times R_+, where n>0 are studied. The main approach consists in passing to the limit n \to 0^+ by using Hermitian non-self-adjoint spectral theory corresponding to the rescaled linear poly-harmonic equation u_t= \D^5 u in R^N \times \re_+.