Boundary value problems for second-order elliptic operators with complex coefficients (Q2210891)

In this paper the authors continue their investigations on the implications of the notion of {\em \(p\)-ellipticity} of second-order elliptic operators with complex coefficients. This concept of \(p\)-ellipticity was introduced recently in [\textit{A. Carbonaro} and \textit{O. Dragičević}, J. Eur. Math. Soc. (JEMS) 22, No. 10, 3175--3221 (2020; Zbl 1458.35148)], and independently by the authors in [Adv. Math. 341, 255--298 (2019; Zbl 1409.35071)]. For \(p>1\), the defintion involves a wobbly rescaling of complex vectors \(\xi\) given by \[ \mathcal{J}_{p} (\xi) = \frac{1}{p} Re (\xi) + \frac{1}{p'} Im (\xi), \] where \(p'= p/(p-1)\). Then, for a complex matrix valued function \(A:\Omega \to M_n(\mathbb{C})\) to be \(p\)-elliptic it is required that there exists \(\lambda_{p} >0\) such that \[ Re \langle A(x)\xi, \mathcal{J}_{p} (\xi)\rangle \ge \lambda_{p} |\xi|^{2}, \ \ \mbox{ for all } \ \ x\in\Omega \ \ \mbox{ and all} \ \ \xi\in \mathbb{C}^{n}.\] In this paper is discussed the solvability of the regularity problem for boundary data \(\nabla_{T}f \in L^{p}\) for the equations \( \partial_i(A_{ij}(x)u_j) +B_i(x)u_i = 0\) in \(\Omega\), \(u = f\) on \(\partial \Omega\). For the case \(\Omega\) is the half-space \(\mathbb{R}^{n}_{+}\) consider \(p\) in the range \((p_{0},p_{\max})\) where \[ p_{0} = \inf\{p>1 : \mbox{ the matrix \(A\) is \(p\)-elliptic}\},\] and \(p_{\max} = \infty\) when \(p_{0}'\ge n-1\), and \(p_{\max} = p_{0}'(n-1)/(n-1-p_{0}')\) otherwise. If in addition a Carleson measure property holds, then a variant of the nontangential maximal function defined using \(L^{p}\) averages of the solution \(u\) is shown to be bounded by the \(L^{p}(\partial \Omega)\) norm of \(f\).