Some regularity results for \(p\)-harmonic mappings between Riemannian manifolds (Q2007489)

In this paper, the authors consider some regulartiy for \(p\)-harmonic mappings between Riemannian manifolds with \(1< p< \infty\). Let \(M\) be an \(n\)-dimensional \(C^2\) Riemannian manifold with boundary \(\partial M\) and \(N\) a complete \(C^2\) Riemannian manifold which is isometrically embedded into some Euclidean space \(\mathbb{R}^k\). So far, there are so many known results on regularity for \(p\)-harmonic maps between Riemannian manifolds. In view of these known results, an interesting and basic question regarding the regularity theory of \(p\)-harmonic maps between Riemannian manifolds can be proposed. Namely, one can ask whether any \(p\)-harmonic map \(M \to N\), \(1< p < \infty\), necessarily locally \(C^{1, \alpha}\) if either \(N\) is simply connected and has nonpositive sectional curvature, or \(u(M)\) is contained in a regular geodesic ball of \(N\). Recall that a geodesic ball is regular if it is away from the cut locus of its center. In this paper, the authors provide partial affirmative answers to this question. First, the aothors prove that any stationary \(p\)-harmonic map \(u : \Omega \subset M \to N\), whose image is contained in a compact subset of \(N\), is locally \(C^{1, \alpha}\) for some \(\alpha \in (0, 1)\) if \(N\) is simply connected and has nonpositive sectional curvature. Second, the authors show that each minimizing \(p\)-harmonic map \(u : \Omega\subset M \to N\), whose imaga \(u(M)\) is contained in a regular geodesic ball in \(N\) is locally \(C^{1, \alpha}\) for some \(\alpha \in (0, 1)\). Finally the authors establish a quantitative gradient estimate for \(C^1\) weakly \(p\)-harmonic maps when \(M\) has nonnegative Ricci curvature and \(N\) is simply connected and has nonpositive sectional curvature. Using this result, the authors obtain a Liouville type thoerem for \(C^1\) weakly \(p\)-harmonic map \(u : M \to N\) with finite \((p-1)\) or \(p\)-energy.