Pointwise Estimates and Regularity in Geometric Optics and Other Generated Jacobian Equations

The study of reflector surfaces in geometric optics necessitates the analysis of certain nonlinear equations of Monge‐Ampère type known as generated Jacobian equations. This class of equations, whose general existence theory has been recently developed by Trudinger, goes beyond the framework of optimal transport. We obtain pointwise estimates for weak solutions of such equations under minimal structural and regularity assumptions, covering situations analogous to those of costs satisfying the A3‐weak condition introduced by Ma, Trudinger, and Wang in optimal transport. These estimates are used to develop a C^1,α regularity theory for weak solutions of Aleksandrov type. The results are new even for all known near‐field reflector/refractor models, including the point source and parallel beam reflectors, and are applicable to problems in other areas of geometry, such as the generalized Minkowski problem.© 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.