Regularity of quasi-minimizers on metric spaces

Using the theory of Sobolev spaces on a metric measure space we are able to apply calculus of variations and define p-harmonic functions as minimizers of the p-Dirichlet integral. More generally, we study regularity properties of quasi-minimizers of p-Dirichlet integrals in a metric measure space. Applying the De Giorgi method we show that quasi-minimizers, and in particular p-harmonic functions, satisfy Harnack's inequality, the strong maximum principle, and are locally H?lder continuous, if the space is doubling and supports a Poincaré inequality. Received: 12 May 2000 / Revised version: 20 April 2001     

Necessity of a Wiener type condition for boundary regularity of quasiminimizers and nonlinear elliptic equations

We use variational methods to obtain a pointwise estimate near a boundary point for quasisubminimizers of the p-energy integral and other integral functionals in doubling metric measure spaces admitting a p-Poincaré inequality. It implies a Wiener type condition necessary for boundary regularity for p-harmonic functions on metric spaces, as well as for (quasi)minimizers of various integral functionals and solutions of nonlinear elliptic equations on R ⁿ .     

Harnack's inequality for a nonlinear eigenvalue problem on metric spaces

We prove Harnack's inequality for first eigenfunctions of the p-Laplacian in metric measure spaces. The proof is based on the famous Moser iteration method, which has the advantage that it only requires a weak (1,p)-Poincaré inequality. As a by-product we obtain the continuity and the fact that first eigenfunctions do not change signs in bounded domains.     

Hyperbolic Harmonic Functions: Weak Approach with Applications in Function Spaces

Harmonic functions with respect to the Poincare metric on the unit ball are called hyperbolic harmonic functions. We establish the weak formulation of hyperbolic harmonic functions and use it in the study of hyperbolic harmonic function spaces. In particular, we give the Carleson measure characterization for the whole spectrum of spaces, whose analytic counterparts include among else Bloch spaces, Bergman-spaces, Besov-spaces, and Q_p-spaces. The second author was supported by the Finnish Cultural Foundation.     

An upper gradient approach to weakly differentiable cochains

The aim of the present paper is to define a notion of weakly differentiable cochain in the generality of metric measure spaces and to study basic properties of such cochains. Our cochains are (sub)additive functionals on a subspace of chains, and a suitable notion of chains in metric spaces is given by Ambrosio–Kirchheim?s theory of metric currents. The notion of weak differentiability we introduce is in analogy with Heinonen–Koskela?s concept of upper gradients of functions. In one of the main results of our paper, we prove continuity estimates for cochains with p-integrable upper gradient in n-dimensional Lie groups endowed with a left-invariant Finsler metric. Our result generalizes the well-known Morrey–Sobolev inequality for Sobolev functions. Finally, we prove several results relating capacity and modulus to Hausdorff dimension.     

Geometric Implications of the Poincaré Inequality

The purpose of this work is to prove the following result: If a doubling metric measure space supports a weak (1, p)–Poincaré inequality with p sufficiently small, then annuli are almost quasiconvex. We also obtain estimates for the Hausdorff s-content and the diameter of the spheres. Submitted: April 18, 2006.     

A Poincar�� Inequality for Orlicz�CSobolev Functions with Zero Boundary Values on Metric Spaces

We prove a Poincaré inequality for Orlicz–Sobolev functions with zero boundary values in bounded open subsets of a metric measure space. This result generalizes the (p, p)-Poincaré inequality for Newtonian functions with zero boundary values in metric measure spaces, as well as a Poincaré inequality for Orlicz–Sobolev functions on a Euclidean space, proved by Fuchs and Osmolovski (J Anal Appl (Z.A.A.) 17(2):393–415, 1998). Using the Poincaré inequality for Orlicz–Sobolev functions with zero boundary values we prove the existence and uniqueness of a solution to an obstacle problem for a variational integral with nonstandard growth.     

Local higher integrability for parabolic quasiminimizers in metric spaces

Using purely variational methods, we prove in metric measure spaces local higher integrability for minimal p-weak upper gradients of parabolic quasiminimizers related to the heat equation. We assume the measure to be doubling and the underlying space to be such that a weak Poincaré inequality is supported. We define parabolic quasiminimizers in the general metric measure space context, and prove an energy type estimate. Using the energy estimate and properties of the underlying metric measure space, we prove a reverse Hölder inequality type estimate for minimal $p$ -weak upper gradients of parabolic quasiminimizers. Local higher integrability is then established based on the reverse Hölder inequality, by using a modification of Gehring’s lemma.     

Hölder regularity for parabolic De Giorgi classes in metric measure spaces

We give a proof for the Hölder continuity of functions in the parabolic De Giorgi classes in metric measure spaces. We assume the measure to be doubling, to support a weak (1, p)-Poincaré inequality and to satisfy the annular decay property.     

Local Behavior of <Emphasis Type="Italic">p</Emphasis>-harmonic Green’s Functions in Metric Spaces

We describe the behavior of p-harmonic Green’s functions near a singularity in metric measure spaces equipped with a doubling measure and supporting a Poincaré inequality.     

Regularity for Certain Nonlinear Parabolic Systems

Abstract

By means of an inequality of Poincaré type, a weak Harnack inequality for the gradient of a solution and an integral inequality of Campanato type, it is shown that a solution to certain degenerate parabolic system is locally Hölder continuous. The system is a generalization of p-Laplacian system. Using a difference quotient method and Moser type iteration it is then proved that the gradient of a solution is locally bounded. Finally using the iteration and scaling it is shown that the gradient of the solution satisfies a Campanato type integral inequality and is locally Hölder continuous.     

p-Poincaré inequality versus ∞-Poincaré inequality: some counterexamples

We point out some of the differences between the consequences of p-Poincaré inequality and that of ∞-Poincaré inequality in the setting of doubling metric measure spaces. Based on the geometric characterization of ∞-Poincaré inequality given in Durand-Cartagena et al. (Mich Math J 60, 2011), we obtain a geometric property implied by the support of a p-Poincaré inequality, and demonstrate by examples that an analogous geometric characterization for finite p is not possible. The examples we give are metric measure spaces which are doubling and support an ∞-Poincaré inequality, but support no finite p-Poincaré inequality. In particular, these examples show that one cannot expect a self-improving property for ∞-Poincaré inequality in the spirit of Keith–Zhong (Ann Math 167(2):575–599, 2008). We also show that the persistence of Poincaré inequality under measured Gromov–Hausdorff limits fails for ∞-Poincaré inequality.     

Poincaré inequalities and Newtonian Sobolev functions on noncomplete metric spaces

Let X be a noncomplete metric measure space satisfying the usual (local) assumptions of a doubling property and a Poincaré inequality. We study extensions of Newtonian Sobolev functions to the completion $\stackrel{?}{X}$ of X and use them to obtain several results on X itself, in particular concerning minimal weak upper gradients, Lebesgue points, quasicontinuity, regularity properties of the capacity and better Poincaré inequalities. We also provide a discussion about possible applications of the completions and extension results to p-harmonic functions on noncomplete spaces and show by examples that this is a rather delicate issue opening for various interpretations and new investigations.     

Differentiability of p-Harmonic Functions on Metric Measure Spaces

We study p-harmonic functions on metric measure spaces, which are formulated as minimizers to certain energy functionals. For spaces supporting a p-Poincaré inequality, we show that such functions satisfy an infinitesmal Lipschitz condition almost everywhere. This result is essentially sharp, since there are examples of metric spaces and p-harmonic functions that fail to be locally Lipschitz continuous on them. As a consequence of our main theorem, we show that p-harmonic functions also satisfy a generalized differentiability property almost everywhere, in the sense of Cheeger’s measurable differentiable structures.     

Continuous dependence on obstacles for the double obstacle problem on metric spaces

Let X be a complete metric space equipped with a doubling Borel measure supporting a p-Poincaré inequality. We obtain various convergence results for solutions of double obstacle problems on open subsets of X. In particular, we consider a sequence of double obstacle problems with converging obstacles and show that the corresponding solutions converge as well. We use the convergence properties to define and study a generalized solution of the double obstacle problem.     

Neumann p-Laplacian problems with a reaction term on metric spaces

We use a variational approach to study existence and regularity of solutions for a Neumann p-Laplacian problem with a reaction term on metric spaces equipped with a doubling measure and supporting a Poincaré inequality. Trace theorems for functions with bounded variation are applied in the definition of the variational functional and minimizers are shown to satisfy De Giorgi type conditions.

     

Weak uncertainty principle for fractals, graphs and metric measure spaces

We develop a new approach to formulate and prove the weak uncertainty inequality, which was recently introduced by Okoudjou and Strichartz. We assume either an appropriate measure growth condition with respect to the effective resistance metric, or, in the absence of such a metric, we assume the Poincaré inequality and reverse volume doubling property. We also consider the weak uncertainty inequality in the context of Nash-type inequalities. Our results can be applied to a wide variety of metric measure spaces, including graphs, fractals and manifolds.

     

Potential Theory of Geometric Stable Processes

In this paper we study the potential theory of symmetric geometric stable processes by realizing them as subordinate Brownian motions with geometric stable subordinators. More precisely, we establish the asymptotic behaviors of the Green function and the Lévy density of symmetric geometric stable processes. The asymptotics of these functions near zero exhibit features that are very different from the ones for stable processes. The Green function behaves near zero as 1/(|x|^d log ²|x|), while the Lévy density behaves like 1/|x|^d. We also study the asymptotic behaviors of the Green function and Lévy density of subordinate Brownian motions with iterated geometric stable subordinators. As an application, we establish estimates on the capacity of small balls for these processes, as well as mean exit time estimates from small balls and a Harnack inequality for these processes. The research of this author is supported in part by MZT grant 0037118 of the Republic of Croatia and in part by a joint US-Croatia grant INT 0302167. The research of this author is supported in part by a joint US-Croatia grant INT 0302167. The research of this author is supported in part by MZT grant 0037107 of the Republic of Croatia and in part by a joint US-Croatia grant INT 0302167.     

Hölder estimates of p-harmonic extension operators

It is now a well-known fact that for 1<p<∞ the p-harmonic functions on domains in metric measure spaces equipped with a doubling measure supporting a (1,p)-Poincaré inequality are locally Hölder continuous. In this note we provide a characterization of domains in such metric spaces for which p-harmonic extensions of Hölder continuous boundary data are globally Hölder continuous. We also provide a link between this regularity property of the domain and the uniform p-fatness of the complement of the domain.     

Extending the Wong-Zakai theorem to reversible Markov processes

We show how to construct a canonical choice of stochastic area for paths of reversible Markov processes satisfying a weak H?lder condition, and hence demonstrate that the sample paths of such processes are rough paths in the sense of Lyons. We further prove that certain polygonal approximations to these paths and their areas converge in p-variation norm. As a corollary of this result and standard properties of rough paths, we are able to provide a significant generalization of the classical result of Wong-Zakai on the approximation of solutions to stochastic differential equations. Our results allow us to construct solutions to differential equations driven by reversible Markov processes of finite p-variation with p<4. Received May 18, 2001 / final version received April 3, 2001?Published online April 8, 2002