Growth of subsolutions to fully nonlinear equations in halfspaces (Q2118884)

The author characterizes lower growth estimates for subsolutions in halfspaces of fully nonlinear partial differential equations on the form \[F(x,u,Du,D^2u)=0\] in terms of solutions to ordinary differential equations built upon assumptions on \(F\). Under some suitable conditions on \(F\), he characterizes the growth of viscosity subsolutions of this equation in halfspaces in terms of solutions to ordinary differential equations which are conveniently built. Using this characterization, the author is able to derive sharp growth estimates of Phragmen-Lindelöf-type once the solutions of the ODE's are sufficiently understood. More specifically, the obtained results apply to nonhomogeneous PDE's including the variable exponent \(p\)-Laplace equation \[ \nabla\cdot\left( \vert Du\vert^{p(x)-2} D(u)\right) =0 \] and he proves a sharp Phragmen-Lindelöf theorem for weak subsolutions of this equation whenever \(1<p(x)<\infty\) is \(C^1\). It turns out that the growth estimate heavily depends on whether the subsolution ever exceeds the distance to boundary or not. The author concludes sharpness by finding the ``slowest growing'' \(p(x)\)-harmonic function in the halfspace, for a given ellipticity bound, together with its corresponding family of \(p(x)\) exponents. The author ends the paper by discussing the problem under investigation from the point of view of a diffusion problem. Indeed, in the last section he briefly discusses, through the application of spatially dependent diffusion, why parts of the presented results should hold.