\(C^1\) regularity of orthotropic \(p\)-harmonic functions in the plane (Q1692135)

The Euler-Lagrange equation for the variational integral \[ \iint_\Omega (|u_x|^p+ |u_y|^p)\,dx\,dy \] takes the form \[ {\partial\over\partial x}(|u_x|^{p-2} u_x)+{\partial\over\partial y}(|u_y|^{p-2} u_y)= 0 \] in the plane. The authors call it the orthotropic \(p\)-Laplace equation. This has a much worse structure than the better known \(p\)-Laplace equation. For example, \(u_x- iu_y\) is not a quasiconformal mapping. However, a key property observed by the authors is that the derivatives \(u_x\) and \(u_y\) obey the maximum principle. The main result is that the gradient \(\nabla u\) is continuous. The proof of this regularity begins with a regularization of the equation. The demanding proof treats the cases \(1<p<2\) and \(2<p<\infty\) separately. Many of the devices and auxiliary estimates in this interesting work are valid even in several dimensions, but the final result is restricted to the plane. The authors say that their proof can be adapted to cover the case with a function \(f(x,y)\) in the right-hand member.