arXiv subjects
Publications and source records attributed to Andrea Malchiodi.
We consider the SU(3) Toda system on a compact surface. We give both existence and non-existence results under some conditions on the parameters. Existence results are obtained using variational methods, which involve a geometric inequality of new type; non-existence results are obtained using blow-up analysis and localized Pohozaev identities.
In this paper we consider the Toda system of equations on a compact surface, which is motivated by the study of models in non-abelian Chern-Simons theory. We prove a general existence result using variational methods. The same analysis applies to a mean field equation which arises in fluid dynamics.
Critical points of approximations of the Dirichlet energy à la Sacks-Uhlenbeck are known to converge to harmonic maps in a suitable sense. However, we show that not every harmonic map can be approximated by critical points of such perturbed energies. Indeed, we prove that constant maps and the rotations of $S^2$ are the only critical points of $E_α$ for maps from $S^2$ to $S^2$ whose $α$-energy lies below some threshold. In particular, nontrivial dilations (which are harmonic) cannot arise as strong limits of $α$-harmonic maps.
We consider a Toda system of Liouville equations defined on a compact surface which arises as a model for non-abelian Chern-Simons vortices. For the first time the range of parameters $ρ_1 \in (4kπ, 4(k+1)π)$, $k \in \mathbb{N}$, $ρ_2 \in (4π, 8π)$ is studied with a variational approach on surfaces with arbitrary genus. We provide a general existence result by means of a new improved Moser-Trudinger type inequality and introducing a topological join construction in order to describe the interaction of the two components.
In this paper we prove that isoperimetric sets in three-dimensional homogeneous spaces diffeomorphic to $\mathbb{R}^3$ are topological balls. We also prove that in three-dimensional homogeneous spheres isopermetric sets are either two-spheres or symmetric genus-one tori. We then apply our first result to the three-dimensional Heisenberg group $\mathsf{H}^1$, characterizing the isoperimetric sets and constants for a family of Riemannian adapted metrics. Using $Γ$-convergence of the perimeter functionals, we also settle an isoperimetric conjecture in $\mathsf{H}^1$ posed by P.Pansu.
In this paper we prove some symmetry results for entire solutions to the semilinear equation $-Δu=f(u)$, with $f$ nonincreasing in a right neighbourhood of the origin. We consider solutions decaying only in some directions and we give some sufficient conditions for them to be radially symmetric with respect to those variables, such as periodicity or the pointwise decay of some derivatives.
In this paper we consider Riemannian manifolds $(M^n,g)$ of dimension $n \geq 5$, with semi-positive $Q$-curvature and non-negative scalar curvature. Under these assumptions we prove $(i)$ the Paneitz operator satisfies a strong maximum principle; $(ii)$ the Paneitz operator is a positive operator; and $(iii)$ its Green's function is strictly positive. We then introduce a non-local flow whose stationary points are metrics of constant positive $Q$-curvature. Modifying the test function construction of Esposito-Robert, we show that it is possible to choose an initial conformal metric so that the flow has a sequential limit which is smooth and positive, and defines a conformal metric of constant positive $Q$-curvature.
We define an ADM-like mass, called p-mass, for an asymptotically flat pseudohermitian manifold. The p-mass for the blow-up of a compact pseudohermitian manifold (with no boundary) is identified with the first nontrivial coefficient in the expansion of the Green function for the CR Laplacian. We deduce an integral formula for the p-mass, and we reduce its positivity to a solution of Kohn's equation. We prove that the p-mass is non-negative for (blow-ups of) compact 3-manifolds of positive Tanaka-Webster class and with non-negative CR Paneitz operator. Under these assumptions, we also characterize the zero mass case as the standard three dimensional CR sphere. We then show the existence of (non-embeddable) CR 3-manifolds having nonpositive Paneitz operator or negative p-mass through a second variation formula. Finally, we apply our main result to find solutions of the CR Yamabe problem with minimal energy.
In this paper we consider the so-called Toda system of equations on a compact surface. In particular, we discuss the parity of the Leray-Schauder degree of that problem. Our main tool is a theorem of Krasnoselskii and Zabreiko on the degree of maps symmetric with respect to a subspace. This result yields new existence results as well as a new proof of previous results in literature.
In this paper we prove a sharp version of the Moser-Trudinger inequality for the Euler-Lagrange functional of a singular Toda system, motivated by the study of models in Chern-Simons theory. Our result extends those for the scalar case, as well as for the regular Toda system. We expect this inequality to be a basic tool to attack variationally the existence problem under general assumptions.
The regularized determinant of the Paneitz operator arises in quantum gravity (see Connes 1994, IV.4.$γ$). An explicit formula for the relative determinant of two conformally related metrics was computed by Branson in Branson (1996). A similar formula holds for Cheeger's half-torsion, which plays a role in self-dual field theory (see Juhl, 2009), and is defined in terms of regularized determinants of the Hodge laplacian on $p$-forms ($p < n/2$). In this article we show that the corresponding actions are unbounded (above and below) on any conformal four-manifold. We also show that the conformal class of the round sphere admits a second solution which is not given by the pull-back of the round metric by a conformal map, thus violating uniqueness up to gauge equivalence. These results differ from the properties of the determinant of the conformal Laplacian established in Chang and Yang (1995), Branson, Chang, and Yang (1992), and Gursky (1997). We also study entire solutions of the Euler-Lagrange equation of $\log \det P$ and the half-torsion $τ_h$ on $\mathbb{R}^4 \setminus {0}$, and show the existence of two families of periodic solutions. One of these families includes Delaunay-type solutions.
We consider a class of singular Liouville equations on compact surfaces motivated by the study of Electroweak and Self-Dual Chern-Simons theories, the Gaussian curvature prescription with conical singularities and Onsager's description of turbulence. We analyse the problem of existence variationally, and show how the angular distribution of the conformal volume near the singularities may lead to improvements in the Moser-Trudinger inequality, and in turn to lower bounds on the Euler-Lagrange functional. We then discuss existence and non-existence results.
On the 2-dimensional unit disk $B_1$ we study the Moser-Trudinger functional $$E(u)=\int_{B_1}(e^{u^2}-1)dx, u\in H^1_0(B_1)$$ and its restrictions to $M_Λ:=\{u \in H^1_0(B_1):\|u\|^2_{H^1_0}=Λ\}$ for $Λ>0$. We prove that if a sequence $u_k$ of positive critical points of $E|_{M_{Λ_k}}$ (for some $Λ_k>0$) blows up as $k\to\infty$, then $Λ_k\to 4π$, and $u_k\to 0$ weakly in $H^1_0(B_1)$ and strongly in $C^1_{\loc}(\bar B_1\setminus\{0\})$. Using this we also prove that when $Λ$ is large enough, then $E|_{M_Λ}$ has no positive critical point, complementing previous existence results by Carleson-Chang, M. Struwe and Lamm-Robert-Struwe.
In this paper we consider the Toda system of equations on a compact surface. We will give existence results by using variational methods in a non coercive case. A key tool in our analysis is a new Moser-Trudinger type inequality under suitable conditions on the center of mass and the scale of concentration of the two components u_1, u_2.
Given a closed two dimensional manifold, we prove a general existence result for a class of elliptic PDEs with exponential nonlinearities and negative Dirac deltas on the right-hand side, extending a theory recently obtained for the regular case. This is done by global methods: since the associated Euler functional is in general unbounded from below, we need to define a new model space, generalizing the so-called space of formal barycenters and characterizing (up to homotopy equivalence) its very low sublevels. As a result, the analytic problem is reduced to a topological one concerning the contractibility of this model space. To this aim, we prove a new functional inequality in the spirit of [16] and then we employ a min-max scheme based on a cone-style construction, jointly with the blow-up analysis given in [5] (after [6] and [8]). This study is motivated by abelian Chern- Simons theory in self-dual regime, or from the problem of prescribing the Gaussian curvature in presence of conical singularities (hence generalizing a problem raised by Kazdan and Warner in [26]).
On a smooth bounded 2-dimensional domain $Ω$ we study the heat flow $u_t=Δu +λ(t)ue^{u^2}$ ($λ(t)$ is such that $d/dt ||u(t,\cdot)||_{H^1_0}=0$) introduced by T. Lamm, F. Robert and M. Struwe to investigate the Moser-Trudinger functional $E(v)=\int_Ω (e^{v^2}-1)dx, v\in H^1_0(Ω).$ We prove that if $u$ blows-up as $t\to\infty$ and if $E(u(t,\cdot))$ remains bounded, then for a sequence $t_k\to\infty$ we have $u(t_k,\cdot)\rightharpoonup 0$ in $H^1_0$ and $\|u(t_k,\cdot)\|_{H^1_0}^2\to 4πL$ for an integer $L\ge 1$. We couple these results with a topological technique to prove that if $Ω$ is not contractible, then for every $0<Λ\in \mathbb{R} \setminus 4 π\mathbb{N}$ the functional $E$ constrained to $M_Λ=\{v\in H^1_0(Ω):||v||_{H^1_0}^2=Λ\}$ has a positive critical point. We prove that when $Ω$ is the unit ball and $Λ$ is large enough, then $E|_{M_Λ}$ has no positive critical points, hence showing that the topological assumption on $Ω$ is natural.
We consider a singular Liouville equation on a compact surface, arising from the study of Chern-Simons vortices in a self dual regime. Using new improved versions of the Moser-Trudinger inequalities (whose main feature is to be scaling invariant) and a variational scheme, we prove new existence results.
In this paper, we study the structure of the singular set for a $C^{1}$ smooth surface in the $3$-dimensional Heisenberg group $\boldsymbol{H}_{1}$. We discover a Codazzi-like equation for the $p$-area element along the characteristic curves on the surface. Information obtained from this ordinary differential equation helps us to analyze the local configuration of the singular set and the characteristic curves. In particular, we can estimate the size and obtain the regularity of the singular set. We understand the global structure of the singular set through a Hopf-type index theorem. We also justify that Codazzi-like equation by proving a fundamental theorem for local surfaces in $\boldsymbol{H}_{1}$.