On some variational problems (Q1267460)

The author establishes a Meyers type estimate for solutions of variational problems with the integrand \[ f(x,\nabla u)=|\nabla u+ g(x)|^{p(x)}/p(x) \] provided that \[ \begin{aligned} p(x) & \geq \alpha\geq 1,\\ | p(x) & - p(y)|\leq C/|\ln| x-y| |,\quad | x-y|\leq 1/2.\end{aligned}\tag{1} \] This estimate enables the author to prove the existence of a solution for the thermistor problem \[ \text{div}(|\nabla u|^{p(x)-2}\nabla u)= 0\quad\text{in }\Omega,\quad\Delta p+\lambda|\nabla u|^{p(x)}= 0\quad\text{in }\Omega, \] \[ u= h\quad\text{on }\partial\Omega,\quad h\in W^{1,\infty}(\Omega);\quad p= \alpha\quad\text{on }\partial\Omega,\quad \alpha\in R,\quad \alpha>1, \] with \(\lambda>0\) small enough. There are given various examples which illustrate the role of the condition (1) for the regularity of solutions of variational problems and the connections with the Lavrentiev phenomenon.