Symmetry properties of stable solutions of semilinear elliptic equations in unbounded domains (Q2225905)

The author studies some symmetry properties of stable solutions of the following problem: \[-\Delta u(x)=f(u(x)) \ \ \ \forall x\in \Omega,\] \[\partial_\nu u(x)=0 \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \ \forall x\in \partial \Omega ,\] \[u\in C^3(\overline{\Omega})\ \ ; \ \ \ \ \ \nabla u \in L^\infty (\Omega),\] \noindent where \(\Omega\subset{\mathbb R}^n\) is a (possibly unbounded) smooth domain, \(\partial_\nu\) is the outward normal derivative, and \(f\) is \(C^1\). For a solution \(u\) of this problem, define \[\lambda_1:=\inf_{\psi\in C^1_0(\overline{\Omega}), \Vert \psi\Vert_{L^2}=1} \int_\Omega \vert\nabla\psi\vert^2-f'(u)\psi^2,\] \noindent where \(C^1_0(\overline{\Omega})\) is the space of continuously differentiable functions with compact support in \(\overline{\Omega}\) (which do not necessarily vanish on \(\partial \Omega\)). The solution \(u\) is said to be stable if \(\lambda_1\geq 0\), and stable non-degenerate if \(\lambda_1>0\). A classical result of Casten, Holland and Matano states that all stable solutions are constant in convex bounded domains. In this paper, the author examines whether this result extends to unbounded convex domains, giving a a positive answer for stable nondegenerate solutions, and for stable solutions if the domain \(\Omega\) further satisfies \(\left\vert\Omega\cap\{ \vert x\vert\leq R\}\right\vert =O(R^2)\), when \(R\to\infty\). If the domain is a straight cylinder, an additional natural assumption is needed. As an application, he establishes asymptotic symmetries for stable solutions when the domain satisfies a geometric property asymptotically.