Towards an \(L^p\)-potential theory for sub-Markovian semigroups: variational inequalities and balayage theory (Q1880376)

The \(L^ {p}\)-energy functional is defined as the \(p\)-th power of the norm on the space of Bessel potentials associated with a \(L^ {p}\)-sub-Markovian semigroup. The Gâteaux derivative of this energy functional is found to be a (nonlinear) monotone operator. The well established theory of Browder and Minty (on monotone operators) is thus applied by the authors to nonlinear problems in \(L^ {p}\)-potential theory. For example, the continuous inverse of this monotone operator permits the representation of (nonlinear) potentials by nonnegative measures. A variational approach to the \(L^ {p}\)-theory for sub-Markovian semigroups is established. It is thus possible to derive results similar to the theory of Dirichlet forms, avoiding any symmetry assumptions on the semigroup.