A minimum problem with free boundary in Orlicz spaces

We consider the optimization problem of minimizing in the class of functions W1,G(Ω) with , for a given φ₀?0 and bounded. W1,G(Ω) is the class of weakly differentiable functions with . The conditions on the function G allow for a different behavior at 0 and at ∞. We prove that every solution u is locally Lipschitz continuous, that it is a solution to a free boundary problem and that the free boundary, Ω∩∂{u>0}, is a regular surface. Also, we introduce the notion of weak solution to the free boundary problem solved by the minimizers and prove the Lipschitz regularity of the weak solutions and the C1,α regularity of their free boundaries near “flat” free boundary points.     

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.     

The Brezis-Nirenberg problem near criticality in dimension 3

We consider the problem of finding positive solutions of Δu+λu+u^q=0 in a bounded, smooth domain Ω in , under zero Dirichlet boundary conditions. Here q is a number close to the critical exponent 5 and 0<λ<λ₁. We analyze the role of Green's function of Δ+λ in the presence of solutions exhibiting single and multiple bubbling behavior at one point of the domain when either q or λ are regarded as parameters. As a special case of our results, we find that if , where λ∗ is the Brezis-Nirenberg number, i.e., the smallest value of λ for which least energy solutions for q=5 exist, then this problem is solvable if q>5 and q−5 is sufficiently small.     

Regularity, monotonicity and symmetry of positive solutions of m-Laplace equations

We consider the Dirichlet problem for positive solutions of the equation −Δ_m(u)=f(u) in a bounded smooth domain Ω, with f locally Lipschitz continuous, and prove some regularity results for weak solutions. In particular when f(s)>0 for s>0 we prove summability properties of , and Sobolev's and Poincaré type inequalities in weighted Sobolev spaces with weight |Du|^m−2. The point of view of considering |Du|^m−2 as a weight is particularly useful when studying qualitative properties of a fixed solution. In particular, exploiting these new regularity results we can prove a weak comparison principle for the solutions and, using the well known Alexandrov-Serrin moving plane method, we then prove a general monotonicity (and symmetry) theorem for positive solutions u of the Dirichlet problem in bounded (and symmetric in one direction) domains when f(s)>0 for s>0 and m>2. Previously, results of this type in general bounded (and symmetric) domains had been proved only in the case 1<m<2.     

An optimization problem with volume constraint in Orlicz spaces

We consider the optimization problem of minimizing in the class of functions W^1,G(Ω), with a constraint on the volume of {u>0}. The conditions on the function G allow for a different behavior at 0 and at ∞. We consider a penalization problem, and we prove that for small values of the penalization parameter, the constrained volume is attained. In this way we prove that every solution u is locally Lipschitz continuous and that the free boundary, ∂{u>0}∩Ω is smooth.     

Semilinear elliptic variational inequalities with dependence on the gradient via Mountain Pass techniques

In this paper we consider a semilinear variational inequality with a gradient-dependent nonlinear term. Obviously the nature of this problem is non-variational. Nevertheless we study that problem associating a suitable semilinear variational inequality, variational in nature, with it, and performing an iterative technique used in De Figueiredo et al. (2004) [6] in order to treat semilinear elliptic equations when there is a gradient dependence on the nonlinearity. We prove the existence of a non-trivial non-negative weak solution u for our problem using essentially variational methods, a penalization technique and an iterative scheme. Via Lewy-Stampacchia’s estimates and regularity theory for elliptic equation we also show that u is differentiable and its gradient is α-H?lder continuous on for any α∈(0,1).     

Boundary blow-up solutions with a spike layer

We prove that for large λ>0, the boundary blow-up problem

     

Existence of solutions to nonlinear, subcritical higher order elliptic Dirichlet problems

We consider the 2m-th order elliptic boundary value problem Lu=f(x,u) on a bounded smooth domain Ω⊂RN with Dirichlet boundary conditions on ∂Ω. The operator L is a uniformly elliptic linear operator of order 2m whose principle part is of the form . We assume that f is superlinear at the origin and satisfies , , where are positive functions and q>1 is subcritical. By combining degree theory with new and recently established a priori estimates, we prove the existence of a nontrivial solution.     

Local real analyticity of solutions for sums of squares of non-linear vector fields

We consider quasilinear partial differential equations whose linearizations have a symplectic characteristic variety of codimension 2. We consider in detail a model case of a sum of squares of (non-linear) vector fields: with a positive definite, real analytic function h(.,.,.) and prove that moderately smooth solutions u must be real analytic locally where the right-hand side is. The techniques even in this case are new and we consider only this model in this first paper in order to avoid detailed consideration of the first author's complicated localization of high powers of ∂/∂t introduced in Proc. Nat. Acad. Sci. USA 75 (1980) 3027; Acta Mathematica 145, 177.     

Long-time extinction of solutions of some semilinear parabolic equations

We study the long-time behavior of solutions of semilinear parabolic equation of the following type t_∂u−Δu+a₀(x)uq=0 where , d₀>0, 1>q>0, and ω is a positive continuous radial function. We give a Dini-like condition on the function ω by two different methods which implies that any solution of the above equation vanishes in a finite time. The first one is a variant of a local energy method and the second one is derived from semi-classical limits of some Schrödinger operators.     

Pullback attractors for a class of non-autonomous nonclassical diffusion equations

We consider the first initial boundary value problem for the non-autonomous nonclassical diffusion equation u_t−εΔu_t−Δu+f(u)=g(t), ε∈[0,1], in a bounded domain in R^N. Under a Sobolev growth rate of the nonlinearity f and a suitable exponential growth of the external force g, using the asymptotic a priori estimate method, we prove the existence of pullback D-attractors in the space and the upper semicontinuity of at ε=0.     

Blow-up of solutions to a degenerate parabolic equation not in divergence form

We study nonglobal positive solutions to the Dirichlet problem for u_t=u^p(Δu+u) in bounded domains, where 0<p<2. It is proved that the set of points at which u blows up has positive measure and the blow-up rate is exactly . If either the space dimension is one or p<1, the ω-limit set of consists of continuous functions solving . In one space dimension it is shown that actually as t→T, where w coincides with an element of a one-parameter family of functions inside each component of its positivity set; furthermore, we study the size of the components of {w>0} with the result that this size is uniquely determined by Ω in the case p<1, while for p>1, the positivity set can have the maximum possible size for certain initial data, but it may also be arbitrarily close to the minimal length π.     

Perturbation from Dirichlet problem involving oscillating nonlinearities

In this paper we prove that if the potential has a suitable oscillating behavior in any neighborhood of the origin (respectively +∞), then under very mild conditions on the perturbation term g, for every k∈N there exists bk>0 such that

     

Lipschitz metric for the periodic Camassa-Holm equation

We study the stability of conservative solutions of the Cauchy problem for the Camassa-Holm equation ut−uxxt+κux+3uux−2uxuxx−uuxxx=0 with periodic initial data u₀. In particular, we derive a new Lipschitz metric dD with the property that for two solutions u and v of the equation we have dD(u(t),v(t))?eCtdD(u₀,v₀). The relationship between this metric and usual norms in and is clarified.     

“Bubble-tower” radial solutions in the slightly supercritical Brezis-Nirenberg problem

In this paper, we consider the Brezis-Nirenberg problem in dimension N?4, in the supercritical case. We prove that if the exponent gets close to and if, simultaneously, the bifurcation parameter tends to zero at the appropriate rate, then there are radial solutions which behave like a superposition of bubbles, namely solutions of the form