Heat flow for \(p\)-harmonic maps with small initial data. (Q1809943)

A \(C^1\)-map \(u : (M,g)\to (N,h)\) between two Riemannian manifolds is a \(p\)-harmonic map if it is a critical point of the \(p\)-energy \(E(u)=\frac{1}{p}\int_{M}\, | du| ^p\,v_g\) or, equivalently, if it is a solution of the Euler-Lagrange equation associated to the \(p\)-energy functional given by \(\tau_p(u)=\text{Trace}(\nabla(| du| ^{p-2}du))=0\). The celebrated Theorem of \textit{J. Eells} and \textit{J. H. Sampson} [Am. J. Math. 86, 109--160 (1964; Zbl 0122.40102)] states that if \(N\) has non-positive sectional curvature, then there exists a harmonic (\(p=2\)) representative in each homotopy class. This is done by proving the existence (for \(p=2\)) of a global solution of the associated heat flow problem \[ \partial_t u = \tau_p(u), \qquad u(0,x)=u_0(x) \tag{*} \] which converges to a harmonic map. In a previous paper the authors generalized the Eells-Sampson theorem to the case that \(p>1\). If one removes the curvature restriction on the codomain a blow up phenomenon can occur. However, with extra assumptions on the initial data and for \(p=2\), \textit{M. Struwe} [J. Differ. Geom. 28, 485--502 (1988; Zbl 0631.58004)] proved the existence of a global smooth solution of the associated heat flow problem without any curvature assumption on the codomain. In the present paper the authors prove, without restrictions on the target manifolds and for \(p>1\), the existence of a regular global weak solution of (*) with initial data having small \(p\)-energy. Moreover, the authors prove that the solution converges at infinity to a weakly \(p\)-harmonic map.