Compact embeddings in the generalized Sobolev space \(W_0^{1,p(\cdot)}(G)\) and existence of solutions for nonlinear elliptic problems (Q1030040)

The author shows that the embedding of the generalized Sobolev space \(W_{0}^{1, p(\cdot)} (\Omega)\) to \(L^{\Phi_A( \cdot, \cdot)} (\Omega)\) is compact for \(A>N\), under the assumption that \(\lim_{r \rightarrow \infty} \varphi(r) = \infty \), where \[ L^{\Phi_A( \cdot, \cdot)} (\Omega) = \Biggl \{ u \, | \, \| u\|_{L^{\Phi_A( \cdot, \cdot)} (\Omega)} := \inf \left\{ \lambda > 0 \, | \, \int_{\Omega} \Phi_A(x, |u(x)|/ \lambda) dx \leq 1 \right \} < \infty \Biggr \} \] with \(\Phi_A(x, t) = \{t \varphi (t)^{-A/p(x)^2} \}^{p^*(x)} \), \(p^*(x) = ( 1/p(x) - 1/N)^{-1} \), where \(\Omega \subset {\mathbb R}^N\) is an open bounded set, and where the variable exponent \(p( \cdot) \) and the function \(\varphi\) satisfy convenient assumptions. This embedding has already been proven to be bounded for \(A > N\) by \textit{Y. Mizuta} and \textit{T. Shimomura} in [Potential theory in Matsue. Selected papers of the international workshop on potential theory, Matsue, Japan, August 23--28, 2004. Tokyo: Mathematical Society of Japan. Advanced Studies in Pure Mathematics 44, 255--281 (2006; Zbl 1125.31001)]. As a consequence of the compactness of the previous embedding, the author derives the existence of a nontrivial weak solution for the nonlinear elliptic problem \[ -{\text{div}} \left( | \nabla u(x)|^{p(x)-2} \nabla u(x) \right) = f(x, \, u(x) ) \quad \text{in }\Omega, \quad u(x) =0 \quad \text{on }\partial \Omega, \] where \(f \, : \, \Omega \times {\mathbb R} \rightarrow {\mathbb R}\) is a Carathéodory function satisfying natural growth conditions.