A priori estimates and application to the symmetry of solutions for critical $p$-Laplace equations

Abstract

We establish pointwise a priori estimates for solutions in $D^{1,p}(\mathbb{R}^n)$ of equations of type $-\Delta_pu=f(x,u)$, where $p\in(1,n)$, $\Delta_p:=\mbox{div}\big(\left|\nabla u\right|^{p-2}\nabla u\big)$ is the $p$-Laplace operator, and $f$ is a Caratheodory function with critical Sobolev growth. In the case of positive solutions, our estimates allow us to extend previous radial symmetry results. In particular, by combining our results and a result of Damascelli-Ramaswamy, we are able to extend a recent result of Damascelli-Merch\'an-Montoro-Sciunzi on the symmetry of positive solutions in $D^{1,p}(\mathbb{R}^n)$ of the equation $-\Delta_pu=u^{p^*-1}$, where $p^*:=np/(n-p)$.