The equation \(u_ xu_ y=0\) factors (Q1187271)

The authors study the solutions of the partial differential equation \(u_ x u_ y=0\), which are functions of one variable defined on \(\mathbb{R}^ 2\). For solutions in \(C^ 2(\mathbb{R}^ 2)\), the question is easily answered. Also, an affirmative answer has been obtained under the assumption that \(u\) is in \(C^ 1(\mathbb{R}^ 2)\). The main result is that if \(u\) is a function defined on \(\mathbb{R}^ 2\), \(u\) is continuous in each variable separately and for each point of \(\mathbb{R}^ 2\) at least one of the partials of \(u\) exists and vanishes, then \(u\) is a function of one variable, i.e., \(u_ x=0\) or \(u_ y=0\) identically. The proof of this result is based on four lemmas, interesting by themselves. For example, Lemma 3 asserts that if \(u\) is continuous on an open rectangle in \(\mathbb{R}^ 2\) and for each point of this rectangle at least one of the partials of \(u\) exists and vanishes, then \(u\) is a function of one variable. Using the Baire category theorem, the authors prove in Lemma 4, that if \(u\) is continuous in each variable separately and at each point of \(\mathbb{R}^ 2\) at least one of the partials of \(u\) exists, then every nonempty closed subset of \(\mathbb{R}^ 2\) includes a subset on which \(u\) is continuous. Finally, the authors remark that the assumption of separate continuity cannot be dropped, that one can replace \(\mathbb{R}^ 2\) by any rectangle in \(\mathbb{R}^ 2\) in the statement of the main result, and that there is no analogous result in dimensions higher than two.