Energy scattering for a Klein-Gordon equation with a cubic convolution (Q2250586)

The authors study the Cauchy problem for the Klein-Gordon-Hartree equation with nonlocal singularity \(u_{tt}-\Delta u+u+f(u)=0\), \((t,x) \in \mathbb{R} \times \mathbb{R}^{d}\), \(d\geq3\), \(u(0,x)=u_{0}\), \(u_{t}(0,x)=u_{1}\), where \(u\) is a real valued function, \(f(u)=\pm(| x | ^{-\gamma} \ast u^{2})u\) and \(\ast\) denotes the convolution in \(\mathbb{R}^{d}\). The sign \(+\) corresponds to the defocusing case and the sign \(-\) to the focusing case. One proves that in the defocusing case, for \(2<\gamma<\min\left\{d,4\right\}\) and \(u_{0},u_{1} \in H^{1}(\mathbb{R}^{d}) \times L^{2}(\mathbb{R}^{d})\) there exists a unique global solution \(u\) which scatters, in the sense that it can be approximated when \(t\rightarrow \pm \infty\) with solutions of the free Klein-Gordon equation, \(v_{tt}-\Delta v+v=0\). The same result holds in the focusing case if the initial data are radial and their energy is less than the energy of a ground state. If the initial data energy is greater than the energy of a ground state, then \(u\) blows up both forward and backward in time. In order to overcome the difficulties generated by the fact that the singularity is nonlocal, the authors use a strategy derived from concatenation compactness ideas from [\textit{C. E. Kenig} and \textit{F. Merle}, Invent. Math. 166, No. 3, 645--675 (2006; Zbl 1115.35125)], and a new variational framework inspired by [\textit{S. Ibrahim} et al., Anal. PDE 4, No. 3, 405--460 (2011; Zbl 1270.35132)].