We consider, for m ∈ (0, 1) and q > 1, the porous media equation with absorption We are interested in those solutions, which we call singular solutions, that are non-negative, non-trivial, continuous in ℝn × [0, ∞)\{(0, 0)}, and satisfy u(x, 0) = 0 for all x ≠ = 0. We prove the following results. When q ≥ m + 2/n, there does not exist any such singular solution. When q < m + 2/n, there exists, for every c > 0, a unique singular solution u = u(c), called the fundamental solution with initial mass c, which satisfies ∫Rnu(·, t) → c as t ↘ 0. Also, there exists a unique singular solution u = u∞, called the very singular solution, which satisfies ∫Rnu∞(·, t) → ∞ as t ↘ 0.

In addition, any singular solution is either u∞ or u(c) for some finite positive c, u(c1) < u(c2) when c1 < c2, and u(c) ↗ u∞ as c ↗ ∞.

Furthermore, u∞ is self-similar in the sense that u∞(x, t) = t−αw(|x| t−αβ) for α = 1/(q − 1), β = ½(q − m), and some smooth function w defined on [0, ∞), so that is a finite positive constant independent of t > 0.