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.     

Elliptic systems with measurable coefficients of the type of Lamé system in three dimensions

We study the 3×3 elliptic systems ∇(a(x)∇×u)−∇(b(x)∇⋅u)=f, where the coefficients a(x) and b(x) are positive scalar functions that are measurable and bounded away from zero and infinity. We prove that weak solutions of the above system are Hölder continuous under some minimal conditions on the inhomogeneous term f. We also present some applications and discuss several related topics including estimates of the Green?s functions and the heat kernels of the above systems.     

Concentration phenomena for a fourth-order equation with exponential growth: The radial case

We let Ω be a smooth bounded domain of R⁴ and a sequence of functions (Vk)_k∈N∈C⁰(Ω) such that limk→+∞Vk=1 in . We consider a sequence of functions (uk)_k∈N∈C⁴(Ω) such that Δ²uk=Vke4uk in Ω for all k∈N. We address in this paper the question of the asymptotic behavior of the (uk)'s when k→+∞. The corresponding problem in dimension 2 was considered by Brézis and Merle, and Li and Shafrir (among others), where a blow-up phenomenon was described and where a quantization of this blow-up was proved. Surprisingly, as shown by Adimurthi, Struwe and the author in [Adimurthi, F. Robert and M. Struwe, Concentration phenomena for Liouville equations in dimension four, J. Eur. Math. Soc., in press, available on http://www-math.unice.fr/~frobert], a similar quantization phenomenon does not hold for this fourth-order problem. Assuming that the uk's are radially symmetrical, we push further the analysis of the mentioned work. We prove that there are exactly three types of blow-up and we describe each type in a very detailed way.     

The proof of the Lane-Emden conjecture in four space dimensions

We partially solve a well-known conjecture about the nonexistence of positive entire solutions to elliptic systems of Lane-Emden type when the pair of exponents lies below the critical Sobolev hyperbola. Up to now, the conjecture had been proved for radial solutions, or in n?3 space dimensions, or in certain subregions below the critical hyperbola for n?4. We here establish the conjecture in four space dimensions and we obtain a new region of nonexistence for n?5. Our proof is based on a delicate combination involving Rellich-Pohozaev type identities, a comparison property between components via the maximum principle, Sobolev and interpolation inequalities on Sn−1, and feedback and measure arguments. Such Liouville-type nonexistence results have many applications in the study of nonvariational elliptic systems.     

On uniqueness for nonlinear elliptic equation involving the Pucci's extremal operator

In this article we study uniqueness of positive solutions for the nonlinear uniformly elliptic equation in RN, limr→∞u(r)=0, where denotes the Pucci's extremal operator with parameters 0<λ?Λ and p>1. It is known that all positive solutions of this equation are radially symmetric with respect to a point in RN, so the problem reduces to the study of a radial version of this equation. However, this is still a nontrivial question even in the case of the Laplacian (λ=Λ). The Pucci's operator is a prototype of a nonlinear operator in no-divergence form. This feature makes the uniqueness question specially challenging, since two standard tools like Pohozaev identity and global integration by parts are no longer available. The corresponding equation involving is also considered.     

Representation theorems for Sobolev spaces on intervals and multiplicity results for nonlinear ODEs

We present some topological isomorphisms between Wm,p((0,1)) and Lp((0,1))×Rm. Combined with some arguments from Fourier analysis, we obtain explicit Schauder bases for Wm,p((0,1)) and some of its subspaces. In addition, we apply such results to treat some boundary value problems involving nonlinear elliptic differential equations.     

New solutions for nonlinear Schrödinger equations with critical nonlinearity

We consider the following nonlinear Schrödinger equations in Rn

     

On the mean oscillation of the Hessian of solutions to the Monge-Ampère equation

We give interior a priori estimates for the mean oscillation of second derivatives of solutions to the Monge-Ampère equation detD²u=f(x) with zero boundary values, where f(x) is a non-Dini continuous function. If the modulus of continuity of f(x) is φ(r) such that limr→0φ(r)log(1/r)=0, then D²u∈VMO.     

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.     

Multiplicity results for interfaces of Ginzburg-Landau-Allen-Cahn equations in periodic media

The Ginzburg-Landau-Allen-Cahn equation is a variational model for phase coexistence and for other physical problems. It contains a term given by a kinetic part of elliptic type plus a double-well potential. We assume that the functional depends on the space variables in a periodic way.We show that given a plane with rational normal, there are minimal solutions, satisfying the following properties. These solutions are asymptotic to the pure phases and are separated by an interface. The convergence to the pure phases is exponentially fast. The interface lies at a finite distance M from the chosen plane, where M is a universal constant. Furthermore, these solutions satisfy some monotonicity properties with respect to integer translations (namely, integer translations are always comparable to the function).We then show that all the interfaces of the global periodic minimizers satisfy similar monotonicity and plane-like properties.We also consider the case of possibly irrationally oriented planes. We show that either there is a one parameter family of minimizers whose graphs provide a field of extremals or there are at least two solutions, one which is a minimizer and another one which is not. These solutions also have interfaces bounded by a universal constant, they enjoy monotonicity properties with respect to integer translations and the nonminimal solutions are trapped inside a gap of the lamination induced by the minimizers.     

“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

     

On the Cauchy problem for a reaction-diffusion equation with a singular nonlinearity

We consider the following Cauchy problem with a singular nonlinearity

(P)

     

Positive clustered layered solutions for the Gierer-Meinhardt system

We consider the stationary Gierer-Meinhardt system in a ball of RN:

     

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.     

Existence and nonexistence of ground state solutions for elliptic equations with a convection term

We deal with the existence of positive solutions u decaying to zero at infinity, for a class of equations of Lane-Emden-Fowler type involving a gradient term. One of the main points is that the differential equation contains a semilinear term σ(u) where σ:(0,∞)→(0,∞) is a smooth function which can be both unbounded at infinity and singular at zero. Our technique explores symmetry arguments as well as lower and upper solutions.     

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.     

Layered solutions for a semilinear elliptic system in a ball

We consider the following system of Schrödinger-Poisson equations in the unit ball B₁ of R³:

     

Multiple constant sign and nodal solutions for nonlinear elliptic equations with the p-Laplacian

We consider a nonlinear elliptic equation driven by the p-Laplacian with Dirichlet boundary conditions. Using variational techniques combined with the method of upper-lower solutions and suitable truncation arguments, we establish the existence of at least five nontrivial solutions. Two positive, two negative and a nodal (sign-changing) solution. Our framework of analysis incorporates both coercive and p-superlinear problems. Also the result on multiple constant sign solutions incorporates the case of concave-convex nonlinearities.     

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.