Regularity for the fractional logarithmic $p$-Laplacian

Abstract

We prove the Harnack inequality (with tails) and local H\"older regularity for the fractional logarithmic $p$-Laplace operator, which is derived by differentiating the fractional $p$-Laplace operator with respect to its order. To be more precise, for a suitable function $u,$ the operator reads as the first order derivative \begin{align*} (-\Delta_p)^{s+\log} u:= \frac{{\rm d}}{{\rm d}t}(-\Delta_p)^t u \Big|_{t=s} \end{align*} at any arbitrary order $s\in (0, 1).$ The kernel of this operator involves a logarithmic factor. As a consequence, it changes sign at large scales and, near the diagonal, is more singular than the kernel of the fractional $p$-Laplacian. To achieve our regularity estimates, we adopt the classical De Giorgi-Nash-Moser techniques in this setting. We also construct an example showing that the Harnack inequality fails without tail terms. Our results are new even in the linear setup $p=2$.