Distances between classes in \(W^{1,1}(\Omega ;{\mathbb {S}}^{1})\) (Q1703137)

For any smooth bounded domain \(\Omega\subseteq{\mathbb R}^N\), where \(N\geq 2\), consider the Sobolev space \(W^{1,1}(\Omega,{\mathbb C})\) with its subset \(W^{1,1}(\Omega,{\mathbb S}^1):=\{u\in W^{1,1}(\Omega,{\mathbb C})\mid u(\Omega)\subseteq {\mathbb S}^1\}\). Here \({\mathbb S}^1\) is the unit circle in the complex plane. It is easily seen that \(W^{1,1}(\Omega,{\mathbb S}^1)\) is an abelian group with respect to its pointwise multiplication, and one carefully explains in the paper under review that the equivalence relation defined by the subgroup \(\{e^{i\varphi}\mid \varphi\in W^{1,1}(\Omega,{\mathbb R})\}\) is quite significant from the perspective of topological singularities of functions. The main result of this paper gives precise formulas for the distance between the equivalence classes of \(W^{1,1}(\Omega,{\mathbb S}^1)\) modulo its subgroup mentioned above. One also obtains estimates of the similar distances in the space \(W^{1,p}(\Omega,{\mathbb S}^1)\) if \(p\in(1,\infty)\).