Bubbling nodal solutions for a large perturbation of the Moser-Trudinger equation on planar domains (Q2035587)

Let \(\Omega\) be a bounded smooth domain in \(\mathbb{R}^2\), \(p\in (1,2)\), and \(\lambda>0\) small enough. When \(\Omega\) is a ball, it was proved in [\textit{M. Grossi} and \textit{D. Naimen}, Ann. Sc. Norm. Super. Pisa, Cl. Sci. (5) 20, No. 2, 797--825 (2020; Zbl 1467.35180)] that the problem \[\left\{\begin{array}{ll} -\Delta u=\lambda ue^{u^2+|u|^p} &\text{ in }\Omega,\\ u=0 & \text{ on }\partial \Omega, \end{array}\right. \tag{P}\] admits a nodal solution \(u_p\) which blows-up at several points as \(p\rightarrow 1^+\). Since it is known that problem \((P)\) does not admit any nodal solution for \(p\in (0,1)\), this means that the exponent \(p=1\) is critical for the existence of nodal solutions. In this paper, the authors extend the above result to the case of an arbitrary smooth bounded domain. Their main result is the following: Let \(\lambda_1(\Omega)\) be the first eigenvalue of the Laplacian on \(\Omega\) with zero boundary condition, let \(\lambda \in (0,\lambda_1(\Omega))\), and assume that a positive solution \(u_0\) of the problem \[\left\{\begin{array}{ll} -\Delta u=\lambda ue^{u^2+u} &\text{ in }\Omega,\\ u=0 &\text{ on }\partial \Omega, \end{array}\right. \] is non degenerate and admits a \(C^1\)-stable critical point \(\xi_0\in \Omega\), with \(u_0(\xi_0)>\frac{1}{2}\) (note that a positive solution of the above problem is known to exist). Then there is \(\varepsilon_0>0\) such that, for each \(\varepsilon \in (0,\varepsilon_0)\), problem \((P)\), with \(p=1+\varepsilon\), admits a solution \(u_\varepsilon\) such that \begin{itemize} \item[1)] \(\displaystyle{\lim_{\varepsilon\rightarrow 0^+}\max_{|x|\leq r} u_\varepsilon(\xi_0+x)=+\infty}\), \ \ for each \ \ \(r\in (0,d(\xi_0,\partial \Omega))\); \item[2)] \(u_\varepsilon\) converges to \(-u_0\), weakly in \(H_0^1(\Omega)\) and in \(C_{\mathrm{loc}}^1(\overline{\Omega} \setminus\{\xi_0\})\). \end{itemize} The proof relies on an approximation procedure.