Graphical solutions to one-phase free boundary problems

DOI10.1515/CRELLE-2023-0067MaRDI QIDQ6060811zbMATH OpenOpenAlexFDO

Authors Max Engelstein, Xavier Fernández-Real, Hui Yu

Publication date 6 November 2023

Published in Journal für die Reine und Angewandte Mathematik (Search for Journal in Brave)

Full work available at URL https://arxiv.org/abs/2212.08847

Alt-Caffarelli functional Bernoulli free boundary problem viscosity solutions

Viscosity solutions to PDEs (35D40) Laplace operator, Helmholtz equation (reduced wave equation), Poisson equation (35J05)

Abstract: We study viscosity solutions to the classical one-phase problem and its thin counterpart. In low dimensions, we show that when the free boundary is the graph of a continuous function, the solution is the half-plane solution. This answers, in the salient dimensions, a one-phase free boundary analogue of Bernstein's problem for minimal surfaces. As an application, we also classify monotone solutions of semilinear equations with a bump-type nonlinearity.

Review text

In this interesting paper, the authors consider viscosity solutions to the classical one-phase Bernoulli free boundary problem, and also its thin analogue. More precisely, let \(\Omega\subset\mathbb{R}^n\) be a domain. The classical Bernoulli one-phase problem consists of solving \[ \begin{cases} u\ge 0 & \text{ in } \Omega,\\ \Delta u=0 & \text{ in } \{u>0\}\cap\Omega,\\ |\nabla u|=1 & \text{ on } \partial \{u>0\}\cap\Omega. \end{cases} \] For the thin-counterpart, let \(\Omega\subset \mathbb{R}^{n+1}\) be a domain, and solve \[ \begin{cases} u\ge 0 & \text{ in } \Omega,\\ \Delta u=0 & \text{ in } \{u>0\}\cap\Omega,\\ \partial_{\nu}^{1/2}u=1 & \text{ on } \partial\{u>0\}\cap\{x_{n+1}=0\}\cap\Omega, \end{cases} \] where \(\partial_{\nu}^{1/2}u(z)=\lim\limits_{t\rightarrow 0+}t^{-1/2}u(z+t\nu(z))\), and \(\nu\) is the inner unit normal vector along the free boundary, which is the set \[ \partial_{\mathbb{R}^n}(\{u>0\}\cap\{x_{n+1}=0\}). \] Recall that the classical Bernoulli problem arises as the Euler-Lagrange equation for the Alt-Caffarelli (AC) functional: \[ \mathcal{J}_{\Omega}(v)=\int_{\Omega}|\nabla v|^2+|\{v>0\}|, \] where \(v\ge 0\) and \(v\in H^1(\Omega)\). Assuming \(u\) is a viscosity solution to the classical Bernoulli-problem and the free boundary is the graph of a continuous function, the authors prove that, in low dimensions, the solution \(u\) must be half-plane solution, that is, up to rotation and translation, \(u=x_n^+\). To be precise, here low dimension means \(n\le n_{\text{local}}^*+1\), where \[ n_{\text{local}}^*=\max\{n \ : \ \text{minimizing cones of AC } \text{ are rotations of } x_n^+\}, \] where it is known by \textit{L. A. Caffarelli} et al. [Contemp. Math. 350, 83--97 (2004; Zbl 1330.35545)], \textit{D. Jerison} and \textit{O. Savin} [Geom. Funct. Anal. 25, No. 4, 1240--1257 (2015; Zbl 1326.49078)] and \textit{D. De Silva} and \textit{D. Jerison} [J. Reine Angew. Math. 635, 1--21 (2009; Zbl 1185.35050)] that \(4\le n_{\text{local}}^*\le 6.\) The key ingredient in their proof is a result of independent interest: the authors are able to prove that if \(u\) is a viscosity solution to the classical Bernoulli-problem and the free boundary is the graph of a continuous function, then \(u\) must be a global minimizer of the Alt-Caffarelli functional. Using this result, the authors do a blow-down analysis of \(u\), obtaining a minimizing cone \(u_{\infty}\). The assumption on the dimension allows one to conclude that the free boundary has smooth trace on \(\mathbb{S}^{n-1}\). Since \(u_{\infty}\) is the limit of graphical solutions, it is also graphical. An application of a maximum principle allows one to conclude \(u_{\infty}\) is a half-plane solution, and an improvement of flatness leads to the flatness of the original function \(u\). As a consequence of their main result, the authors classify monotone solutions of semilinear equations with bump-type linearity.

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