On the structure of solutions to elliptic problems with strong anisotropy (Q1586978)

The author studies solutions to two-dimensional singularly perturbed elliptic problems with strong anisotropy in the case when the coefficients of the equations are essentially different in magnitude. In a two-dimensional model problem this circumstance reveals itself in the presence of a small parameter at only one of the higher-order derivatives. The aim is, using a model equation, to clarify the structure of a solution when the initial data have rather poor smoothness. Here the author does not pose the problem of constructing a formal asymptotic solution, for instance, by the method of fused asymptotic expansions which requires, in particular, infinite differentiability of the right-hand side of the equation under consideration. Instead, the zero approximation is examined in detail and estimates are obtained that are exact with respect to the order of the small parameter. In this context, it is quite natural to use the apparatus of energy inequalities and Fourier series. The author also exposes an approach which allows us to extend the results obtained to the case of equations with variable coefficients.