The heterogeneous Allen-Cahn equation in a ball: Solutions with layers and spikes

Let u? be a single layered radially symmetric unstable solution of the Allen-Cahn equation −?²Δu=u(u−a(|x|))(1−u) over the unit ball with Neumann boundary conditions. Based on our estimate of the small eigenvalues of the linearized eigenvalue problem at u? when ? is small, we construct solutions of the form u?+v?, with v? non-radially symmetric and close to zero in the unit ball except near one point x₀ such that |x₀| is close to a nondegenerate critical point of a(r). Such a solution has a sharp layer as well as a spike.     

Concentrating solutions for a planar elliptic problem involving nonlinearities with large exponent

We consider the boundary value problem Δu+up=0 in a bounded, smooth domain Ω in R² with homogeneous Dirichlet boundary condition and p a large exponent. We find topological conditions on Ω which ensure the existence of a positive solution up concentrating at exactly m points as p→∞. In particular, for a nonsimply connected domain such a solution exists for any given m?1.     

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.     

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 Monge–Ampère equation with boundary blow-up: existence,uniqueness and asymptotics

We consider the Monge–Ampère equation det D ² u = b(x)f(u) > 0 in Ω, subject to the singular boundary condition u = ∞ on ?Ω. We assume that \(b\in C^\infty(\overline{\Omega})\) is positive in Ω and non-negative on ?Ω. Under suitable conditions on f, we establish the existence of positive strictly convex solutions if Ω is a smooth strictly convex, bounded domain in \({\mathbb R}^N\) with N ≥ 2. We give asymptotic estimates of the behaviour of such solutions near ?Ω and a uniqueness result when the variation of f at ∞ is regular of index q greater than N (that is, \(\lim_{u\to \infty} f(\lambda u)/f(u)=\lambda^q\) , for every λ > 0). Using regular variation theory, we treat both cases: b > 0 on ?Ω and \(b\equiv 0\) on ?Ω.     

Asymptotics of the porous media equation via Sobolev inequalities

Let M be a compact Riemannian manifold without boundary. Consider the porous media equation , u(0)=u₀∈L^q, ? being the Laplace-Beltrami operator. Then, if q?2∨(m-1), the associated evolution is L^q-L^∞ regularizing at any time t>0 and the bound ‖u(t)‖_∞?C(u₀)/t^β holds for t<1 for suitable explicit C(u₀),γ. For large t it is shown that, for general initial data, u(t) approaches its time-independent mean with quantitative bounds on the rate of convergence. Similar bounds are valid when the manifold is not compact, but u(t) approaches u≡0 with different asymptotics. The case of manifolds with boundary and homogeneous Dirichlet, or Neumann, boundary conditions, is treated as well. The proof stems from a new connection between logarithmic Sobolev inequalities and the contractivity properties of the nonlinear evolutions considered, and is therefore applicable to a more abstract setting.     

Multiplicity of solutions for the plasma problem in two dimensions

Let Ω be a bounded domain in R², u₊=u if u?0, u₊=0 if u<0, u₋=u₊−u. In this paper we study the existence of solutions to the following problem arising in the study of a simple model of a confined plasma

     

The Liouville equation in a half-plane

We classify the solutions of the equation Δu+aeu=0 in the half-plane that satisfy the Neumann boundary condition ∂u/∂t=ceu/2 on . An analogous problem in the once punctured disc D^∗⊂R² is also solved.     

Sublinear singular elliptic problems with two parameters

We establish several existence and nonexistence results for the boundary value problem −Δu+K(x)g(u)=λf(x,u)+μh(x) in Ω, u=0 on ∂Ω, where Ω is a smooth bounded domain in , λ and μ are positive parameters, h is a positive function, while f has a sublinear growth. The main feature of this paper is that the nonlinearity g is assumed to be unbounded around the origin. Our analysis shows the importance of the role played by the decay rate of g combined with the signs of the extremal values of the potential K(x) on . The proofs are based on various techniques related to the maximum principle for elliptic equations.     

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.     

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.     

Boundary value problems in spaces of distributions on smooth and polygonal domains

We study boundary value problems of the form -Δu=f$-\mathrm{\Delta }u=f$ on Ω$\Omega$ and Bu=g$\mathit{Bu}=g$ on the boundary ∂Ω$\mathrm{\partial }\Omega$, with either Dirichlet or Neumann boundary conditions, where Ω$\Omega$ is a smooth bounded domain in Rⁿ${\mathbb{R}}^n$ and the data f,g$f,g$ are distributions  . This problem has to be first properly reformulated and, for practical applications, it is of crucial importance to obtain the continuity of the solution u$u$ in terms of f and g  . For f=0$f=0$, taking advantage of the fact that u$u$ is harmonic on Ω$\Omega$, we provide four formulations of this boundary value problem (one using nontangential limits of harmonic functions, one using Green functions, one using the Dirichlet-to-Neumann map, and a variational one); we show that these four formulations are equivalent. We provide a similar analysis for f≠0$f\ne 0$ and discuss the roles of f and g, which turn to be somewhat interchangeable in the low regularity case. The weak formulation is more convenient for numerical approximation, whereas the nontangential limits definition is closer to the intuition and easier to check in concrete situations. We extend the weak formulation to polygonal domains using weighted Sobolev spaces. We also point out some new phenomena for the “concentrated loads” at the vertices in the polygonal case.     

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.     

Scattering for the quartic generalised Korteweg-de Vries equation

We show that the quartic generalised KdV equation

ut+uxxx+(u⁴x₎=0     

Some estimates of the norm of solutions of nonlinear elliptic eigenvalue problems

We obtain estimates on the possible growth or decay rates as λ → 0 of sup |u^λ|, where uλ ? O satisfies the nonlinear elliptic boundary value problen Lu_λ = λ f(x,u_λ) in a bounded domain subject to homogensous Dirichlet boundary conditions. The estimates generalize existing results by allowing f(x,O) ≠ 0. The analysis is based on integration by parts and Sobolev inequalitie.     

Oscillatory radial solutions for subcritical biharmonic equations

It is well known that the biharmonic equation Δ²u=u|u|^p−1 with p∈(1,∞) has positive solutions on Rn if and only if the growth of the nonlinearity is critical or supercritical. We close a gap in the existing literature by proving the existence and uniqueness, up to scaling and symmetry, of oscillatory radial solutions on Rn in the subcritical case. Analyzing the nodal properties of these solutions, we also obtain precise information about sign-changing large radial solutions and radial solutions of the Dirichlet problem on a ball.     

Critical sobolev exponent problem in ℝ n (n ≥ 4) with neumann boundary condition

In this paper we study the existence and non existence of positive solution for the critical Sobolev exponent problem ? Δu =u(n + 2)/(n ? 2) +λα(x)u) in Ω \(\frac{{\partial u}}{{\partial v}} = 0 on \partial B\) , where Ω is a bounded domain in ? ⁿ (n ≥ 4).     

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 of radial solutions with prescribed number of zeros for elliptic equations and their Morse index

In this paper we consider radially symmetric solutions of the nonlinear Dirichlet problem Δu+f(|x|,u)=0 in Ω, where Ω is a ball in RN, N?3 and f satisfies some appropriate assumptions. We prove existence of radially symmetric solutions with k prescribed number of zeros. Moreover, when f(|x|,u)=K(|x|)|u|^p−1u, using the uniqueness result due to Tanaka (2008) [21], we verify that these solutions are non-degenerate and we prove that their radial Morse index is exactly k.