Regularity of variational maximal surfaces (Q1117482)

Extending earlier work of the author [cf. the author, Commun. Math. Phys. 94, 155--175 (1984; Zbl 0548.53054), and the author and \textit{L. Simon}, ibid. 87, 131--152 (1982; Zbl 0512.53055)], this paper deals with the Dirichlet problem for prescribed mean curvature hypersurfaces and the corresponding variational problem in Lorentzian space time manifolds. Let \(V\) be a Lorentzian manifold and \(T\) a timelike unit vector field on \(V\). Let \(S\) be a weakly spacelike (Lipschitz) hypersurface with boundary \(\partial S\) whose Cauchy domain is contained in a compact globally hyperbolic subset \(K\subseteq V\), and let \(F\) be a sufficiently nice function on the set of timelike unit vectors. Then there exists a hypersurface \(M\subset K\) with \(\partial M=\partial S\) (``rough boundary data'') such that \(M\) can be deformed into \(S\) by pushing along the integral curves of \(T\), and \(M\) is a regular spacelike hypersurface with unit normal vector \(N\) and mean curvature \(H(x)=F(N(x))\) outside a singular set \(\Sigma\) \(\subset M\cap S\) which consists of null geodesics connecting two boundary points. A main ingredience of the proof is an estimate for the \(T\)-component of the normal vector of any regular spacelike hypersurface in terms of a suitable time function (``interior gradient estimate''). Then the solution outside \(\Sigma\) is obtained as a limit of solutions of the Dirichlet problem for smooth boundary values approximating \(\partial S\). If \(F\) depends only on the base point, the partial differential equation \(H=F\) is the Euler-Lagrange equation of a variational functional \(L(M)\). An implicit function theorem argument shows that any regular solution \(M\) of \(H=F\) locally belongs to a foliation all of whose leaves are solutions, and as a consequence, \(M\) is locally a maximum of \(L\). Vice versa, if \(M\) is a weakly spacelike hypersurface which is a maximum of \(L\), then \(M\) is regular outside some subset \(\Sigma\) consisting of null geodesics, and \(M\setminus \Sigma\) solves \(H=F\). The results are also extended to immersed hypersurfaces and to certain non-smooth Lorentzian metrics.