Analytic regularity of a free boundary problem

In this paper, we consider a free boundary problem with volume constraint. We show that positive minimizer is locally Lipschitz and the free boundary is analytic away from a singular set with Hausdorff dimension at most n − 8.     

Uniform partial regularity of quasi minimizers for the perimeter

Quasi minimizers for the perimeter are measurable subsets G of such that for all variations of G with and for a given increasing function such that . We prove here that, given , G a reduced quasi minimizer, and , there are , with , and , homeomorphic to a closed ball with radius t in , such that for some absolute constant . The constant above depends only on n, and . If moreover for some , we prove that we can find such a ball such that is a dimensional graph of class . This will be obtained proving that a quasi minimizer is equivalent to some set which satisfies the condition B. This condition gives some kind of uniform control on the flatness of the boundary and then criterions proven by Ambrosio-Paolini and Tamanini can be applied to get the required regularity properties. Received: July 12, 1999 / Accepted: October 1, 1999     

Autonomous Integral Functionals with Discontinuous Nonconvex Integrands: Lipschitz Regularity of Minimizers,DuBois—Reymond Necessary Conditions,and Hamilton—Jacobi Equations

This paper is devoted to the autonomous Lagrange problem of the calculus of variations with a discontinuous Lagrangian. We prove that every minimizer is Lipschitz continuous if the Lagrangian is coercive and locally bounded. The main difference with respect to the previous works in the literature is that we do not assume that the Lagrangian is convex in the velocity. We also show that, under some additional assumptions, the DuBois—Reymond necessary condition still holds in the discontinuous case. Finally, we apply these results to deduce that the value function of the Bolza problem is locally Lipschitz and satisfies (in a generalized sense) a Hamilton—Jacobi equation.     

The relative isoperimetric inequality outside convex domains in R<Superscript><Emphasis Type="Italic">n</Emphasis></Superscript>

We prove that the area of a hypersurface Σ which traps a given volume outside a convex domain C in Euclidean space R ⁿ is bigger than or equal to the area of a hemisphere which traps the same volume on one side of a hyperplane. Further, when C has smooth boundary ∂C, we show that equality holds if and only if Σ is a hemisphere which meets ∂C orthogonally.     

Rotationally symmetric 1-harmonic maps from D 2 to S 2

We consider rotationally symmetric 1-harmonic maps from D ² to S ² subject to Dirichlet boundary conditions. We prove that the corresponding energy—a degenerate non-convex functional with linear growth—admits a unique minimizer, and that the minimizer is smooth in the bulk and continuously differentiable up to the boundary. We also show that, in contrast with 2-harmonic maps, a range of boundary data exists such that the energy admits more than one smooth critical point: more precisely, we prove that the corresponding Euler–Lagrange equation admits a unique (up to scaling and symmetries) global solution, which turns out to be oscillating, and we characterize the minimizer and the smooth critical points of the energy as the monotone, respectively non-monotone, branches of such solution. R. Dal Passo passed away on 8th August 2007. Endowed with great strength, creativity and humanity, Roberta has been an outstanding mathematician, an extraordinary teacher and a wonderful friend. Farewell, Roberta.     

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.

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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.

     

Boundaries of singularity sets, removable singularities, and CR-invariant subsets of CR-manifolds

Let Ω be a bounded strictly pseudoconvex domain in ℂⁿ, n ≥ 3, with boundary ∂Ω, of class C². A compact subset K is called removable if any analytic function in a suitable small neighborhood of ∂Ω K extends to an analytic function in Ω. We obtain sufficient conditions for removability in geometric terms under the condition that K is contained in a generic C² -submanifold M of co-dimension one in ∂Ω. The result uses information on the global geometry of the decomposition of a CR-manifold into CR-orbits, which may be of some independent interest. The minimal obstructions for removability contained in M are compact sets K of two kinds. Either K is the boundary of a complex variety of co-dimension one in Ω or it is an exceptional minimal CR-invariant subset of M, which is a certain analog of exceptional minimal sets in co-dimension one foliations. It is shown by an example that the latter possibility may occur as a nonremovable singularity set. Further examples show that the germ of envelopes of holomorphy of neighborhoods of ∞Ω K for K ⊂ M may be multisheeted. A couple of open problems are discussed.     

On action minimizing measures for the Monge-Kantorovich problem

In recent years different authors ([4, 16, 17]) have noticed and investigated some analogy between Mather’s theory of minimal measures in Lagrangian dynamic and the mass transportation (or Monge-Kantorovich) problem. We replace the closure and homological constraints of Mather’s problem by boundary terms and we investigate the equivalence with the mass transportation problem. An Hamiltonian duality formula for the mass transportation and the equivalence with Brenier’s formulation are also established.     

On lower semicontinuity in BH and 2-quasiconvexification

It is proved that if , with p > 1, if is bounded in , , and if in then provided is 2-quasiconvex and satisfies some appropriate growth and continuity condition. Characterizations of the 2-quasiconvex envelope when admissible test functions belong to BH^p are provided. Received: 10 October 2001 / Accepted: 8 May 2002 / Published online: 17 December 2002     

On two-dimensional parametric variational problems

Let be a two-dimensional parametric variational integral the Lagrangian F(x,z) of which is positive definite and elliptic, and suppose that is a closed rectifiable Jordan curve in . We then prove that there is a conformally parametrized minimizer of in the class of surfaces of the type of the disk B which are bounded by . An immediate consequence of this theorem is that the Dirichlet integral and the area functional have the same infima, a result whose proof usually requires a Lichtenstein-type mapping theorem or else Morrey's lemma on -conformal mappings. In addition we show that the minimizer of is H?lder continuous in B, and even in if satisfies a chord-arc condition. In Section 1 it is described how our results are related to classical investigations, in particular to the work of Morrey. Without difficulty our approach can be carried over to two-dimensional surfaces of codimension greater than one. Received July 20, 1998 / Accepted October 23, 1998     

Codimension one minimal cycles with coefficients inZ orZ p , and variational functionals on fibered spaces

Given a compact, oriented Riemannian manifold M, without boundary, and a codimension-one homology class in H_* (M, Z) (or, respectively, in H_* (M, Z_p) with p an odd prime), we consider the problem of finding a cycle of least area in the given class: this is known as the homological Plateau’s problem. We propose an elliptic regularization of this problem, by constructing suitable fiber bundles ξ (resp. ζ) on M, and one-parameter families of functionals defined on the regular sections of ξ, (resp. ζ), depending on a small parameter ε. As ε → 0, the minimizers of these functionals are shown to converge to some limiting section, whose discontinuity set is exactly the minimal cycle desired.     

Convergence of Sobolev spaces on varying manifolds

We deal with variational problems on varying manifolds in ℝⁿ. We represent each manifold by a positive measure μ, to which we associate a suitable notion of tangent space Tμ, of mean curvature H(μ), and of Sobolev spaces with respect to μ on an open subset Ω ⊆ ℝⁿ. We introduce the notions of weak and strong convergence for functions defined on varying manifolds, that is defined μ_h -a.e., being {μ_h} a weakly convergent sequence of measures. In this setting, we prove a strong-weak type compactness theorem for the pairs (P_{μ h} H(μ_h)), where P_{μ h} are the projectors onto the tangent spaces T_{μ h}. When μ_h belong to a suitable class of k-dimensional measures, having in particular a prescribed (k−1)-manifold as a boundary, we enforce this result to study the convergence of energy functionals, possibly with a Dirichlet condition on ∂Ω. We also address a perspective for optimization problems where the control variable is represented by a manifold with a prescribed boundary.     

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.     

Splitting and pinching for convex sets

We consider noncompact, closed and convex sets with nonvoid interior in Euclidean space. It is shown that if such a set has one curvature measure sufficiently close to the boundary measure, then it is congruent to a product of a vector space and a compact convex body. Related stability and characterization theorems for orthogonal disc cylinders are proved. Our arguments are based on the Steiner-Schwarz symmetrization processes and generalized Minkowski integral formulas.     

Relative isoperimetric inequality for minimal surfaces outside a convex set

Let C be a closed convex set in a complete simply connected Riemannian manifold M with sectional curvature bounded above by a nonpositive constant K. Assume that Σ is a compact minimal surface outside C such that Σ is orthogonal to ∂C along ∂Σ ∩ ∂C. If ∂Σ ∼ ∂C is radially connected from a point , then we prove a sharp relative isoperimetric inequality

Overdetermined problems with possibly degenerate ellipticity, a geometric approach

Given an open bounded connected subset Ω of ℝⁿ, we consider the overdetermined boundary value problem obtained by adding both zero Dirichlet and constant Neumann boundary data to the elliptic equation −div(A(|∇u|)∇u)=1 in Ω. We prove that, if this problem admits a solution in a suitable weak sense, then Ω is a ball. This is obtained under fairly general assumptions on Ω and A. In particular, A may be degenerate and no growth condition is required. Our method of proof is quite simple. It relies on a maximum principle for a suitable P-function, combined with some geometric arguments involving the mean curvature of ∂Ω.     

The Singularities of the Distance Function Near Convex Boundary Points

In an open bounded set Ω, we consider the distance function from ∂Ω associated to a Riemannian metric with C ^1,1 coefficients. Assuming that Ω is convex near a boundary point x ₀, we show that the distance function is differentiable at x ₀ if and only if there exists the tangent space to ∂Ω at x ₀. Furthermore, if the distance function is not differentiable at x ₀ then there exists a Lipschitz continuous curve, with initial point at x ₀, such that the distance function is not differentiable along such a curve.      

Some remarks on the Dirichlet problem in plane exterior domains

Abstract  In this paper we deal with the Dirichlet problem for the Laplace equation in a plane exterior domain Ω with a Lipschitz boundary. We prove that, if the boundary datum a is square summable, then the problem admits a solution which tends to a in the sense of nontangential convergence, is unique in a suitable function class and vanishes at infinity as r^–k if and only if a satisfies k compatibility conditions, which we are able to explicit when Ω is the exterior of an ellipse. Keywords: Dirichlet problem, Asymptotic behavior, Potential theory Mathematics Subject Classification (2000): 31A05, 31A10     

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.