Solutions concentrating on higher dimensional subsets for singularly perturbed elliptic equations II

We construct spike layered solutions for the semilinear elliptic equation −ε²Δu+V(x)u=K(x)up−1 on a domain Ω⊂RN which may be bounded or unbounded. The solutions concentrate simultaneously on a finite number of m-dimensional spheres in Ω. These spheres accumulate as ε→0 at a prescribed sphere in Ω whose location is determined by the potential functions V,K.     

Concentration on minimal submanifolds for a singularly perturbed Neumann problem

We consider the equation −ε²Δu+u=up in Ω⊆RN, where Ω is open, smooth and bounded, and we prove concentration of solutions along k-dimensional minimal submanifolds of ∂Ω, for N?3 and for k∈{1,…,N−2}. We impose Neumann boundary conditions, assuming 1<p<(N−k+2)/(N−k−2) and ε→⁰⁺. This result settles in full generality a phenomenon previously considered only in the particular case N=3 and k=1.     

Existence and non-existence of solutions for a class of Monge-Ampère equations

We study the boundary value problems for Monge-Ampère equations: detD²u=e−u in Ω⊂Rn, n?1, u_|∂Ω=0. First we prove that any solution on the ball is radially symmetric by the argument of moving plane. Then we show there exists a critical radius such that if the radius of a ball is smaller than this critical value there exists a solution, and vice versa. Using the comparison between domains we can prove that this phenomenon occurs for every domain. Finally we consider an equivalent problem with a parameter detD²u=e−tu in Ω, u_|∂Ω=0, t?0. By using Lyapunov-Schmidt reduction method we get the local structure of the solutions near a degenerate point; by Leray-Schauder degree theory, a priori estimate and bifurcation theory we get the global structure.     

On the stability of the Serrin problem

We investigate stability issues concerning the radial symmetry of solutions to Serrin's overdetermined problems. In particular, we show that, if u is a solution to Δu=n in a smooth domain Ω⊂Rn, u=0 on ∂Ω and |Du| is “close” to 1 on ∂Ω, then Ω is “close” to the union of a certain number of disjoint unitary balls.     

Lane-Emden-Fowler equations with convection and singular potential

We are concerned with singular elliptic problems of the form −Δu±p(d(x))g(u)=λf(x,u)+μa|∇u| in Ω, where Ω is a smooth bounded domain in RN, d(x)=dist(x,∂Ω), λ>0, μ∈R, 0<a?2, and f is a nondecreasing function. We assume that p(d(x)) is a positive weight with possible singular behavior on the boundary of Ω and that the nonlinearity g is unbounded around the origin. Taking into account the competition between the anisotropic potential p(d(x)), the convection term a|∇u|, and the singular nonlinearity g, we establish various existence and nonexistence results.     

Nodal solutions for singularly perturbed equations with critical exponential growth

The existence and concentration behavior of nodal solutions are established for the equation −?²Δu+V(z)u=f(u) in Ω, where Ω is a domain in R², not necessarily bounded, V is a positive Hölder continuous function and f∈C¹ is an odd function having critical exponential growth.     

Structure of boundary blow-up solutions for quasi-linear elliptic problems II: small and intermediate solutions

The structure of positive boundary blow-up solutions to quasi-linear elliptic problems of the form −Δ_pu=λf(u), u=∞ on ∂Ω, 1<p<∞, is studied in a bounded smooth domain , for a class of nonlinearities f∈C¹((0,∞)?{z₂})∩C⁰[0,∞) satisfying f(0)=f(z₁)=f(z₂)=0 with 0<z₁<z₂, f<0 in (0,z₁)∪(z₂,∞), f>0 in (z₁,z₂). Large, small and intermediate solutions are obtained for λ sufficiently large. It is known from Part I (see Structure of boundary blow-up solutions for quasilinear elliptic problems, part (I): large and small solutions, preprint), that the large solution is the unique large solution to the problem. We will see that the small solution is also the unique small solution to the problem while there are infinitely many intermediate solutions. Our results are new even for the case p=2.     

Regularity of the extremal solution for some elliptic problems with singular nonlinearity and advection

In this note, we investigate the regularity of the extremal solution u^? for the semilinear elliptic equation −△u+c(x)⋅∇u=λf(u) on a bounded smooth domain of Rn with Dirichlet boundary condition. Here f is a positive nondecreasing convex function, exploding at a finite value a∈(0,∞). We show that the extremal solution is regular in the low-dimensional case. In particular, we prove that for the radial case, all extremal solutions are regular in dimension two.     

On symmetry of nonnegative solutions of elliptic equations

We consider the Dirichlet problem for a class of fully nonlinear elliptic equations on a bounded domain Ω. We assume that Ω is symmetric about a hyperplane H and convex in the direction perpendicular to H. By a well-known result of Gidas, Ni and Nirenberg and its generalizations, all positive solutions are reflectionally symmetric about H and decreasing away from the hyperplane in the direction orthogonal to H. For nonnegative solutions, this result is not always true. We show that, nonetheless, the symmetry part of the result remains valid for nonnegative solutions: any nonnegative solution u is symmetric about H  . Moreover, we prove that if u?0$u?0$, then the nodal set of u divides the domain Ω into a finite number of reflectionally symmetric subdomains in which u has the usual Gidas–Ni–Nirenberg symmetry and monotonicity properties. We also show several examples of nonnegative solutions with a nonempty interior nodal set.     

Multiple positive and 2-nodal symmetric solutions of elliptic problems with critical nonlinearity

We consider the problem −Δu+a(x)u=f(x)|u|^2*−2u in Ω, u=0 on ∂Ω, where Ω is a bounded smooth domain in RN, N?4, is the critical Sobolev exponent, and a,f are continuous functions. We assume that Ω, a and f are invariant under the action of a group of orthogonal transformations. We obtain multiplicity results which contain information about the symmetry and symmetry-breaking properties of the solutions, and about their nodal domains. Our results include new multiplicity results for the Brezis-Nirenberg problem −Δu+λu=|u|^2*−2u in Ω, u=0 on ∂Ω.     

An energy-decreasing rearrangement of level sets preserving the domain and volume constraints

Let Ω⊂R² be a bounded and regular domain, u∈C³(Ω) and V⊂Ω a domain where the subset K₀ of points where the curvature of the t-level sets of u is zero admits a regular t-parameterization. We exhibit a local correction of u in a neighborhood of a particular point x^∗∈K₀⊂V such that the volume ∫f(u) is preserved and the Dirichlet integral ∫²|∇u| decreases. Consequently, a certain monotonic property is deduced for constrained minimizers in H¹(Ω). Our result can be applied to classical variational and free-boundary problems.     

A uniqueness result for a semilinear elliptic problem: A computer-assisted proof

Starting with the famous article [A. Gidas, W.M. Ni, L. Nirenberg, Symmetry and related properties via the maximum principle, Comm. Math. Phys. 68 (1979) 209-243], many papers have been devoted to the uniqueness question for positive solutions of −Δu=λu+up in Ω, u=0 on ∂Ω, where p>1 and λ ranges between 0 and the first Dirichlet eigenvalue λ₁(Ω) of −Δ. For the case when Ω is a ball, uniqueness could be proved, mainly by ODE techniques. But very little is known when Ω is not a ball, and then only for λ=0. In this article, we prove uniqueness, for all λ∈[0,λ₁(Ω)), in the case Ω=²(0,1) and p=2. This constitutes the first positive answer to the uniqueness question in a domain different from a ball. Our proof makes heavy use of computer assistance: we compute a branch of approximate solutions and prove existence of a true solution branch close to it, using fixed point techniques. By eigenvalue enclosure methods, and an additional analytical argument for λ close to λ₁(Ω), we deduce the non-degeneracy of all solutions along this branch, whence uniqueness follows from the known bifurcation structure of the problem.     

Removable singularity of the polyharmonic equation

Let x₀∈Ω⊂Rⁿ, n≥2, be a domain and let m≥2. We will prove that a solution u of the polyharmonic equation Δ^mu=0 in Ω?{x₀} has a removable singularity at x₀ if and only if as |x−x₀|→0 for n≥3 and as |x−x₀|→0 for n=2. For m≥2 we will also prove that u has a removable singularity at x₀ if |u(x)|=o(|x−x₀|^2m−n) as |x−x₀|→0 for n≥3 and |u(x)|=o(|x−x₀|^2m−2log(|x−x₀|⁻¹)) as |x−x₀|→0 for n=2.     

Coincidence sets in quasilinear elliptic problems of monostable type

This paper concerns the formation of a coincidence set for the positive solution of the boundary value problem: −εΔpu=uq−1f(a(x)−u) in Ω with u=0 on ∂Ω, where ε is a positive parameter, Δpu=div(|∇u|^p−2∇u), 1<q?p<∞, f(s)∼|s|^θ−1s(s→0) for some θ>0 and a(x) is a positive smooth function satisfying Δpa=0 in Ω with infΩ|∇a|>0. It is proved in this paper that if 0<θ<1 the coincidence set Oε={x∈Ω:uε(x)=a(x)} has a positive measure for small ε and converges to Ω with order O(ε1/p) as ε→0. Moreover, it is also shown that if θ?1, then Oε is empty for any ε>0. The proofs rely on comparison theorems and the energy method for obtaining local comparison functions.     

Nonresonance between the first two eigenvalues for a Steklov problem

In this paper, we study the solvability of the Steklov problem Δ_pu=|u|^p−2u in Ω, on ∂Ω, under assumptions on the asymptotic behaviour of the quotients f(x,s)/|s|^p−2s and pF(x,s)/|s|^p which extends the classical results with Dirichlet boundary conditions that for a.e. x∈∂Ω, the limits at the infinity of these quotients lie between the first two eigenvalues.     

Existence of solutions for degenerate quasilinear elliptic equations

This paper deals with a class of degenerate quasilinear elliptic equations of the form −div(a(x,u,∇u)=g−div(f), where a(x,u,∇u) is allowed to be degenerate with the unknown u. We prove existence of bounded solutions under some hypothesis on f and g. Moreover we prove that there exists a renormalized solution in the case where g∈L¹(Ω) and f∈(L^p′(Ω))^N.     

Existence and regularity to an elliptic equation with logarithmic nonlinearity

We study the nonlinear elliptic problem −Δu=χ{u>0}(logu+λf(x,u)) in Ω⊂Rn with u=0 on ∂Ω. The function is nondecreasing, sublinear and fu is continuous. For every λ>0, we obtain a maximal solution uλ?0 and prove its global regularity . There is a constant λ^∗ such that uλ vanishes on a set of positive measure for 0<λ<λ^∗, and uλ>0 for λ>λ^∗. If f is concave, for λ>λ^∗ we characterize uλ by its stability.