arXiv subjects
Publications and source records attributed to Andrea Cianchi.
Boundary value problems for a class of quasilinear elliptic equations, with an Orlicz type growth and L^1 right-hand side are considered. Both Dirichlet and Neumann problems are contemplated. Existence and uniqueness of generalized solutions, as well as their regularity, are established. The case of measure right-hand sides is also analyzed.
We deal with Orlicz-Sobolev embeddings in open subsets of $\mathbb{R}^n$. A necessary and sufficient condition is established for the existence of an optimal, i.e. largest possible, Orlicz-Sobolev space continuously embedded into a given Orlicz space. Moreover, the optimal Orlicz-Sobolev space is exhibited whenever it exists. Parallel questions are addressed for Orlicz-Sobolev embeddings into Orlicz spaces with respect to a Frostman measure, and, in particular, for trace embeddings on the boundary.
A second-order regularity theory is developed for solutions to a class of quasilinear elliptic equations in divergence form, including the $p$-Laplace equation, with merely square-integrable right-hand side. Our results amount to the existence and square integrability of the weak derivatives of the nonlinear expression of the gradient under the divergence operator. This provides a nonlinear counterpart of the classical $L^2$-coercivity theory for linear problems, which is missing in the existing literature. Both local and global estimates are established. The latter apply to solutions to either Dirichlet or Neumann boundary value problems. Minimal regularity on the boundary of the domain is required. If the domain is convex, no regularity of its boundary is needed at all.
Necessary and sufficient conditions are exhibited for a Korn type inequality to hold between (possibly different) Orlicz norms of the gradient of vector-valued functions and of the deviatoric part of their symmetric gradients. As a byproduct of our approach, a positive answer is given to the question of the necessity of the same sufficient conditions in related Korn type inequalities for the full symmetric gradient, for negative Orlicz-Sobolev norms, and for the gradient of the Bogovskii operator.
A classical first-order Hardy-Sobolev inequality in Euclidean domains, involving weighted norms depending on powers of the distance function from their boundary, is known to hold for every, but one, value of the power. We show that, by contrast, the missing power is admissible in a suitable counterpart for higher-order Sobolev norms. Our result complements and extends contributions by Castro and Wang [CW], and Castro, Dávila and Wang [CDW1, CDW2], where a surprising canceling phenomenon underling the relevant inequalities was discovered in the special case of functions with derivatives in $L^1$.
Extremal functions are exhibited in Poincaré trace inequalities for functions of bounded variation in the unit ball ${\mathbb B}^n$ of the $n$-dimensional Euclidean space ${\mathbb R}^n$. Trial functions are subject to either a vanishing mean value condition, or a vanishing median condition in the whole of ${\mathbb B}^n$, instead of just on $\partial {\mathbb B}^n$, as customary. The extremals in question take a different form, depending on the constraint imposed. In particular, under the latter constraint, unusually shaped extremal functions appear. A key step in our approach is a characterization of the sharp constant in the relevant trace inequalities in any admissible domain $Ω\subset {\mathbb R}^n$, in terms of an isoperimetric inequality for subsets of $Ω$.
The question is addressed of when a Sobolev type space, built upon a general rearrangement-invariant norm, on an $n$-dimensional domain, is a Banach algebra under pointwise multiplication of functions. A sharp balance condition among the order of the Sobolev space, the strength of the norm, and the (ir)regularity of the domain is provided for the relevant Sobolev space to be a Banach algebra. The regularity of the domain is described in terms of its isoperimetric function. Related results on the boundedness of the multiplication operator into lower-order Sobolev type spaces are also established. The special cases of Orlicz-Sobolev and Lorentz-Sobolev spaces are discussed in detail. New results for classical Sobolev spaces on possibly irregular domains follow as well.
A version of the Lebesgue differentiation theorem is offered, where the $L^p$ norm is replaced with any rearrangement-invariant norm. Necessary and sufficient conditions for a norm of this kind to support the Lebesgue differentiation theorem are established. In particular, Lorentz, Orlicz and other customary norms for which Lebesgue's theorem holds are characterized.
Pointwise estimates for the gradient of solutions to the $p$-Laplace system with right-hand side in divergence form are established. They enable us to develop a nonlinear counterpart of the classical Calderón-Zygmund theory in terms of Calderón-Zygmund singular integrals, for the Laplacian. As a consequence, a flexible, comprehensive approach to gradient bounds for the $p$-Laplace system for a broad class of norms is derived. In particular, new gradient estimates are exhibited, and well-known results in customary function spaces are easily recovered.
A theory of Sobolev inequalities in arbitrary open sets of Euclidean space is established. Boundary regularity of domains is replaced with information on boundary traces of trial functions and of their derivatives up to some explicit minimal order. The relevant Sobolev inequalities involve constants independent of the geometry of the domain, and exhibit the same critical exponents as in the classical inequalities on regular domains. Our approach relies upon new representation formulas for Sobolev functions, and on ensuing pointwise estimates which hold in any open set.
We prove a version of the negative norm theorem in Orlicz-Sobolev spaces. A study of continuity properties of the Bogovskii -operator between Orlicz spaces is a crucial step, of independent interest, in our approach. Applications to the problem of pressure reconstruction for Non-Newtonian fluids governed by constitutive laws, which are not necessarily power type, are presented. A key inequality for a numerical analysis of the underlying elliptic system is also derived.
Optimal higher-order Sobolev type embeddings are shown to follow via isoperimetric inequalities. This establishes a higher-order analogue of a well-known link between first-order Sobolev embeddings and isoperimetric inequalities. Sobolev type inequalities of any order, involving arbitrary rearrangement-invariant norms, on open sets in $\rn$, possibly endowed with a measure density, are reduced to much simpler one-dimensional inequalities for suitable integral operators depending on the isoperimetric function of the relevant sets. As a consequence, the optimal target space in the relevant Sobolev embeddings can be determined both in standard and in non-standard classes of function spaces and underlying measure spaces. In particular, our results are applied to any-order Sobolev embeddings in regular (John) domains of the Euclidean space, in Maz'ya classes of (possibly irregular) Euclidean domains described in terms of their isoperimetric function, and in families of product probability spaces, of which the Gauss space is a classical instance.
Balls are shown to have the smallest optimal constant, among all admissible Euclidean domains, in Poincaré type boundary trace inequalities for functions of bounded variation with vanishing median or mean value.
Gradient boundedness up to the boundary for solutions to Dirichlet and Neumann problems for elliptic systems with Uhlenbeck type structure is established. Nonlinearities of possibly non-polynomial type are allowed, and minimal regularity on the data and on the boundary of the domain is assumed. The case of arbitrary bounded convex domains is also included.
We deal with eigenvalue problems for the Laplacian on noncompact Riemannian manifolds $M$ of finite volume. Sharp conditions ensuring $L^q(M)$ and $L^\infty (M)$ bounds for eigenfunctions are exhibited in terms of either the isoperimetric function or the isocapacitary function of $M$.