Conformal metrics on the ball with zero scalar curvature and prescribed mean curvature on the boundary (Q1827554): Difference between revisions

In the paper under review, the authors consider the prescribed zero scalar curvature and mean curvature problem on the \(n\)-dimensional Euclidean ball for \(n \geq 3\). Let \((B^n,\delta_{ij})\) be the unit ball in the \(n\)-dimensional Euclidean space with \(n\geq 3\). Given a function \(h : \partial B^n \to {\mathbb R}\), one can ask whether there exists a scalar flat metric \(g\) conformal to the flat metric \(g_0\) such that \(h\) is the mean curvature of \(\partial B^n\) with respect to the metric \(g\). This is equivalent to the problem of finding a positive smooth function \(u : B^n \to {\mathbb R}\) satisfying \[ \left\{\begin{aligned} &\Delta u = 0 \quad \text{in} \quad B^n \\ &\frac{\partial u}{\partial \eta} + \frac{n-2}{2} u = \frac{n-2}{2} h u^{\frac{n}{n-2}} \quad \text{on} \quad \partial B^n \end{aligned} \right.\tag{1} \] Trying to find solutions, the authors consider a general exponent \(q\) instead of the critical exponent \(n/n-2\). Namely, multiplying the function \(u\) by a suitable constant, equation \((1)\) above can be rewritten as \[ \left\{\begin{aligned} &\Delta u = 0 \quad \text{in}\quad B^n \\ &\frac{\partial u}{\partial \eta} + \frac{n-2}{2} u = \frac{n-2}{2} \sigma_{n-1} \left(J_q(u)\right)^{-1} h u^q \quad \text{on} \quad \partial B^n, \end{aligned} \right.\tag{2} \] where \(\sigma_{n-1} =\text{vol}(S^{n-1}), q \in (0, \frac{n}{n-2}]\) and \[ J_q(u) = \int_{\partial B^n}\, h u^{q-1}\, d \sigma. \] Observe that every solution for equation \((2)\) satisfies \[ E(u) = \int_{B^n} | \nabla u| ^2\, dx + \frac{n-2}{2} \int_{\partial B^n}\, u^2\, d \sigma = E(1). \] The authors obtain a priori estimates concerning the blow-up of solutions of equation \((2)\) and from it, they prove any smooth nonnegative function on \(\partial B^n\) can be approximated in the \(C^{0, \beta}\)-norm, where \(0 < \beta < 1\), by a sequence of smooth positive functions which are the mean curvature functions of smooth conformal metrics of the form \(u^{\frac{4}{n-2}} \delta_{ij}\) with zero scalar curvature. Using these properties, the authors study the limits of solutions of the regularization obtained by decreasing the critical exponent and characterize those subcritical solutions which blow-up at the least possible energy level, determining the points at which they can concentrate. Finally, they prove that, for \(n = 3\), equation has at least one solution and, for \(n \geq 4\), they give conditions on the function \(h\) to guarantee there is only one simple blow-up point.