Regularity of minimizers of W1,p -quasiconvex variational integrals with (p,q)-growth

We consider autonomous integrals

Wellposed convex integral functionals

Sufficient conditions are obtained for wellposedness of convex minimum problems of the calculus of variations for multiple integrals under strong or weak perturbations of the boundary data. Problems with a unique minimizer as well as problems with several solutions are treated. Wellposedness under weak convergence of the boundary data in W^{1 p}

ω is proved if p

>2 and a counterexample is exhibited if p

=2.     

Twodimensional anisotropic variational problems

We consider local minimizers a domain in , of the variational integral with integrand f of upper (lower) growth rate q (s). We show using a lemma due to Frehse and Seregin that u has H?lder continuous first derivatives provided that . Received: 2 October 2001 / Accepted: 25 October 2001 / Published online: 28 February 2002     

Sharp metastability threshold for two-dimensional bootstrap percolation

 In the bootstrap percolation model, sites in an L by L square are initially independently declared active with probability p. At each time step, an inactive site becomes active if at least two of its four neighbours are active. We study the behaviour as p→0 and L→∞ simultaneously of the probability I(L,p) that the entire square is eventually active. We prove that I(L,p)→1 if , and I(L,p)→0 if , where λ=π²/18. We prove the same behaviour, with the same threshold λ, for the probability J(L,p) that a site is active by time L in the process on the infinite lattice. The same results hold for the so-called modified bootstrap percolation model, but with threshold λ^′=π²/6. The existence of the thresholds λ,λ^′ settles a conjecture of Aizenman and Lebowitz [3], while the determination of their values corrects numerical predictions of Adler, Stauffer and Aharony [2]. Received: 12 May 2002 / Revised version: 12 August 2002 / Published online: 14 November 2002 Research funded in part by NSF Grant DMS-0072398 Mathematics Subject Classification (2000): Primary 60K35; Secondary 82B43 Key words or phrases: Bootstrap percolation – Cellular automaton – Metastability – Finite-size scaling     

Strong approximation ofGSBV functions by piecewise smooth functions

Let Ω be an open and bounded subset ofR ⁿ with locally Lipschitz boundary. We prove that the functionsv∈SBV(Ω,R ^m ) whose jump setS _vis essentially closed and polyhedral and which are of classW ^{k, ∞} (S _v,R ^m) for every integerk are strongly dense inGSBV ^p(Ω,R ^m ), in the sense that every functionu inGSBV ^p(Ω,R ^m ) is approximated inL ^p(Ω,R ^m ) by a sequence of functions {v _k{_j∈N with the described regularity such that the approximate gradients ∇v _jconverge inL ^p(Ω,R ^nm ) to the approximate gradient ∇u and the (n−1)-dimensional measure of the jump setsS _{v j} converges to the (n−1)-dimensional measure ofS _u. The structure ofS _v can be further improved in casep≤2.

---

Sunto Sia Ω un aperto limitato diR ⁿ con frontiera localmente Lipschitziana. In questo lavoro si dimostra che le funzioniv∈SBV(Ω,R ^m ) con insieme di saltoS _v essenzialmente chiuso e poliedrale che sono di classeW ^{k, ∞} (S _v,R ^m ) per ogni interok sono fortemente dense inGSBV ^p(Ω,R ^m ), nel senso che ogni funzioneu∈GSBV ^p(Ω,R ^m ) è approssimata inL ^p(Ω,R ^m ) da una successione di funzioni {v _j}_j∈N con la regolaritá descritta tali che i gradienti approssimati ∇v _jconvergono inL ^p(Ω,R ^nm ) al gradiente approssimato ∇u e la misura (n−1)-dimensionale degli insiemi di saltoS _{v j}converge alla misura (n−1)-dimensionale diS _u. La struttura diS _vpuó essere migliorata nel caso in cuip≤2.

     

Quasi-convex Functions in Carnot Groups

In this paper, the authors introduce the concept of h-quasiconvex functions on Carnot groups G. It is shown that the notions of h-quasiconvex functions and h-convex sets are equivalent and the L∞estimates of first derivatives of h-quasiconvex functions are given. For a Carnot group G of step two, it is proved that h-quasiconvex functions are locally bounded from above. Furthermore, the authors obtain that h-convex functions are locally Lipschitz continuous and that an h-convex function is twice differentiable almost everywhere.     

Approximation Properties and Some Classes of Operators

The following questions and close problems are studied.(i) Is it true that T is p-nuclear provided that T ^** is p-nuclear? (ii) Is it true that Tis dually p-nuclear provided that T ^* is p-nuclear? (iii) Is it true that if T ^*is compactly factorable in the space l _p, then T is (strictly) factorable in the space l _p'? Here, T ^* is the adjoint operator of a bounded operator T:X Yin Banach spaces X and Y. Bibliography: 30 titles.     

On viscosity solutions of irregular Hamilton-Jacobi equations

It is proved that the initial-value problem for admits a unique continuous viscosity solution under certain conditions which do not exclude that H(x, p) is discontinuous in x. Particular attention is devoted to the linear transport equation , where a may be discontinuous. Received: 21 October 2002     

A characterization of graphs which can be approximated in area by smooth graphs

For vector valued maps, convergence in W ^1,1 and of all minors of the Jacobian matrix in L ¹ is equivalent to convergence weakly in the sense of currents and in area for graphs. We show that maps defined on domains of dimension n≥ 3 can be approximated strongly in this sense by smooth maps if and only if the same property holds for the restriction to a.e. 2-dimensional plane intersecting the domain. Received April 29, 1999 / final version received July 21, 2000?Published online September 25, 2000     

Analytic continuation of holomorphic correspondences and equivalence of domains in ℂ<Superscript><Emphasis Type="Italic">n</Emphasis></Superscript>

The following result is proved: Let D and D′ be bounded domains in ℂ ⁿ , ∂D is smooth, real-analytic, simply connected, and ∂D′ is connected, smooth, real-algebraic. Then there exists a proper holomorphic correspondence f:D→D′ if and only if there exist points p∈∂D and p′∈∂D′, such that ∂D and ∂D′ are locally CR-equivalent near p and p′. This leads to a characterization of the equivalence relationship between bounded domains in ℂ ⁿ modulo proper holomorphic correspondences in terms of local CR-equivalence of their boundaries. Oblatum 23-I-2002 & 18-XI-2002?Published online: 17 February 2003     

Regularity results and optimal control problems for the perturbation of boussinesq equations of the ocean

We study in this article a method which computes the variability of current, density and pressure in an oceanic domain. The equations are of Navier-Stokes type for the velocity and pressure, of transport-diffusion type for the density. They are linearized around a given mean circulation and modified by the Boussinesq approximation: density variations are neglected except in the terms of gravity acceleration. The existence and uniqueness of a solution are proved for two sets of equations: first the three-dimensional problem and then the two-dimensional cyclic problem derived by assuming a sinusoidal x-dependence for the perturbation of mean flow. The latter corresponds to a modelization of tropical instability waves which are illustrated by the El Nino phenomenon.

The value of the pressure p on the surface of ocean is of great interest for physical interpretation. To define that quantity, it is necessary to have the regularity p ? H ¹. We have proved that the perturbation (u,ρ,p) of mean circulation is such that: u ? L ²(0T,H ²), ρ ? L ²(0,T H ²) and p ? L ² L ²(0,T H ¹), provided the perturbation of the windstress is sufficiently regular and satisfies compatibility relations. It is proved by means of an extension method, with even-odd reflection. We then develop a problem of control. The observation is the Variability of pressure on the surface of ocean. The control is the variability of windstress f, which acts as to forcing of the perturbation. We prove the existence and uniqueness of an optimal control, which is characterized by a set of equations including the direct problem and the adjoint problem. These results are valid for the three-dimensional problem and the two-dimensional cyclic problem.     

Γ-convergence for incompressible elastic plates

We derive a two-dimensional model for elastic plates as a Γ-limit of three-dimensional nonlinear elasticity with the constraint of incompressibility. The resulting model describes plate bending, and is determined from the isochoric elastic moduli of the three-dimensional problem. Without the constraint of incompressibility, a plate theory was first derived by Friesecke et al. (Comm Pure Appl Math 55:1461–1506, 2002). We extend their result to the case of p growth at infinity with p ϵ [1, 2), and to the case of incompressible materials. The main difficulty is the construction of a recovery sequence which satisfies the nonlinear constraint pointwise. One main ingredient is the density of smooth isometries in W ^2,2 isometries, which was obtained by Pakzad (J Differ Geom 66:47–69, 2004) for convex domains and by Hornung (Comptes Rendus Mathematique 346:189–192, 2008) for piecewise C ¹ domains.     

Homotopy types for tamely approximable Sobolev maps between manifolds

We define a class ^p (M,N) of Sobolev maps from a manifoldM into a manifoldN, in such a way that each mapu ^p (M, N) has a well defined [p]-homotopy type, providedN satisfies a topological hypothesis. Using this, we prove the existence of minimizers in [p]-homotopy classes for some polyconvex variational problems.     

On coercivity and irregularity for some nonlinear degenerate elliptic systems

We study the ‘universal’ strong coercivity problem for variational integrals of degenerate p-Laplacian type by mixing finitely many homogenous systems. We establish the equivalence between universal p-coercivity and a generalized notion of p-quasiconvex extreme points. We then give sufficient conditions and counterexamples for universal coercivity. In the case of noncoercive systems we give examples showing that the corresponding variational integral may have infinitely many non-trivial minimizers in W ₀^1,p which are nowhere C ¹ on their supports. We also give examples of universally p-coercive variational integrals in W ₀^1,p for p ⩾ with L ^∞ coefficients for which uniqueminimizers under affine boundary conditions are nowhere C ¹.      

On the role of energy convexity in the web function approximation

For a given p > 1 and an open bounded convex set we consider the minimization problem for the functional over Since the energy of the unique minimizer u_p may not be computed explicitly, we restrict the minimization problem to the subspace of web functions, which depend only on the distance from the boundary δΩ. In this case, a representation formula for the unique minimizer v_p is available. Hence the problem of estimating the error one makes when approximating J_p(u_p) by J_p(v_p) arises. When Ω varies among convex bounded sets in the plane, we find an optimal estimate for such error, and we show that it is decreasing and infinitesimal with p. As p → ∞, we also prove that u_p − v_p converges to zero in for all m < ∞. These results reveal that the approximation of minima by means of web functions gains more and more precision as convexity in J_p increases.     

New partial difference sets in p‐groups

Latin square type partial difference sets (PDS) are known to exist in R × R for various abelian p‐groups R and in ?^t. We construct a family of Latin square type PDS in ?^t × ?^2nt_p using finite commutative chain rings. When t is odd, the ambient group of the PDS is not covered by any previous construction. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Combin Designs 10: 394–402, 2002; Published online in Wiley InterScience ( www.interscience.wiley.com ). DOI 10.1002/jcd.10029     

Differentiable functions defined in closed sets. A problem of Whitney

In 1934, Whitney raised the question of how to recognize whether a function f defined on a closed subset X of ℝ ⁿ is the restriction of a function of class 𝒞 ^p . A necessary and sufficient criterion was given in the case n=1 by Whitney, using limits of finite differences, and in the case p=1 by Glaeser (1958), using limits of secants. We introduce a necessary geometric criterion, for general n and p, involving limits of finite differences, that we conjecture is sufficient at least if X has a “tame topology”. We prove that, if X is a compact subanalytic set, then there exists q=q _X (p) such that the criterion of order q implies that f is 𝒞 ^p . The result gives a new approach to higher-order tangent bundles (or bundles of differential operators) on singular spaces. Oblatum 21-XI-2001 & 3-VII-2002?Published online: 8 November 2002 RID="*" ID="*"Research partially supported by the following grants: E.B. – NSERC OGP0009070, P.M. – NSERC OGP0008949 and the Killam Foundation, W.P. – KBN 5 PO3A 005 21.     

Semiconvexity of invariant functions of rectangular matrices

The paper deals with the semiconvexity properties (i.e., the rank 1 convexity, quasiconvexity, polyconvexity, and convexity) of rotationally invariant functions f of matrices. For the invariance with respect to the proper orthogonal group and the invariance with respect to the full orthogonal group coincide. With each invariant f one can associate a fully invariant function of a square matrix of type where It is shown that f has the semi convexity of a given type if and only if has the semiconvexity of that type. Consequently the semiconvex hulls of f can be determined by evaluating the corresponding hulls of and then extending them to matrices by rotational invariance. Received: 10 October 2001 / Accepted: 23 January 2002 // Published online: 6 August 2002 RID="*" ID="*" This research was supported by Grant 201/00/1516 of the Czech Republic.     

An isoperimetric estimate and W^{1,p}-quasiconvexity in nonlinear elasticity

A class of stored energy densities that includes functions of the form with , g and h convex and smooth, and is considered. The main result shows that for each such W in this class there is a such that, if a 3 by 3 matrix satisfies , then W is -quasiconvex at on the restricted set of deformations that satisfy condition (INV) and a.e. (and hence that are one-to-one a.e.). Condition (INV) is (essentially) the requirement that be monotone in the sense of Lebesgue and that holes created in one part of the material not be filled by material from other parts. The key ingredient in the proof is an isoperimetric estimate that bounds the integral of the difference of the Jacobians of and by the -norm of the difference of their gradients. These results have application to the determination of lower bounds on critical cavitation loads in elastic solids. Received January 5, 1998 / Accepted March 13, 1998