Sharp decay estimates for hyperbolic balance laws

We consider strictly hyperbolic and genuinely nonlinear systems of hyperbolic balance laws in one-space dimension. Sharp decay estimates are derived for the positive waves in an entropy weak solution. The result is obtained by introducing a partial ordering within the family of positive Radon measures, using symmetric rearrangements and a comparison with a solution of Burgers's equation with impulsive sources as well as lower semicontinuity properties of continuous Glimm-type functionals.