Nonradial solutions of a semilinear elliptic equation in two dimensions (Q1895102)

The goal is to study the semilinear elliptic equation \(\Delta u+ f(u)= 0\), where the nonlinearity \(f: \mathbb{C}\to \mathbb{C}\) has the property that \(f(se^{i\psi})= f(s)\cdot e^{i\psi}\) for all real \(s\) and \(\psi\). The authors look for \(C^2\)-solutions \(u: \mathbb{R}^N\to \mathbb{C}\) such that \(u(x)\to 0\) as \(|x|\to 0\). These solutions can be interpreted as the spatial profiles of localized standing-wave solutions to some nonlinear evolution equations, including the nonlinear Schrödinger and nonlinear wave equations. The solution is sought in the form \(u(r, \vartheta)= e^{im\vartheta}\cdot w(r)\), where \(r\) and \(\vartheta\) are polar coordinates, and \(m\) is a nonzero integer. Using ordinary-differential- equation arguments, the authors establish the existence of an infinite family of exponentially decaying non-radial solutions. Moreover, it is proven that there is a solution with each prescribed number of zeros.