Blow-up behavior of ground states of semilinear elliptic equations in \(R^ n\) involving critical Sobolev exponents (Q1194499)

The authors are concerned with entire solutions of \(\Delta u-u+u^ q=0\) and, more generally, \(\Delta u-K(x)u+u^ q=0\) on \(\mathbb{R}^ n\), where \(n\geq 3\) and \(1<q<(n+2)/(n-2)\). They investigate the behavior of ground states, i.e. positive solutions vanishing at infinity when the parameter \(\varepsilon=(n+2)/(n-2)-q\) tends to zero. Under certain conditions on \(K\) (allowing \(K\equiv 1)\) it is shown that the \(L^ \infty\)-norm of the ground states \(u_ \varepsilon\), which are known to be unique, must blow up when \(\varepsilon\to 0\) and the precise growth rate of \(\| u_ \varepsilon\|_{L^ \infty}\) is determined. Moreover, it is proved that \(|\nabla u_ \varepsilon(x)|^ 2\to\text{const} \delta(x- x_ 0)\) and \(\| u_ \varepsilon\|_{L^ \infty}u_ \varepsilon(x)\to\text{const} \Gamma_ K(x,x_ 0)\) for some \(x_ 0\in\mathbb{R}^ n\) and where \(\delta\) and \(\Gamma_ K\) denote the Dirac measure and the Green's function of \(-\Delta+K\) on \(\mathbb{R}^ n\), respectively. Concerning the more general equation involving the variable coefficient \(K\) the authors exclude however the case \(n=4\). According to a remark at the end of the paper this case seems to have been solved by Zenchao Han.