Uniqueness of bubbling solutions of mean field equations (Q1726944)

The authors consider the mean field problem \[ \Delta_Mu_n +\rho_n\left(\frac{h e^{u_n }}{\int_Mhe^{u_n}\,d\mu}-1\right)=0,\qquad\int_Mu_n\,d\mu=0, \] in a compact Riemann surface \(M\) of unitary volume. Here \(\Delta_M\) is the Laplace-Beltrami operator, \(\{\rho_n\}\) is a sequence of positive numbers that converges to \(8\pi m\) for some nonzero natural number \(m\), \(h\) is a positive function on \(M\) that depends on some assigned pairwise distinct points \(p_1\),\dots, \(p_N\) of \(M\). The authors prove that under suitable assumptions, if \(\{u_{n,1}\}\), \(\{u_{n,2}\}\) are two sequences of solutions that correspond to \(\rho_n\) for each \(n\) and blow up at certain points \(q_1\), \dots, \(q_m\) of \(M\setminus\{p_1,\dots,p_N\}\), then for \(n\) sufficiently large \(u_{n,1}=u_{n,2}\). The proof is based on estimates for bubbling solutions and on suitable Pohozaev-type identities. Then the same type of argument is adopted to prove a corresponding uniqueness result for the above equation with Dirichlet boundary conditions in a bounded open subset of \({\mathbb{R}}^2\) with piecewise \(C^2\) boundary.