Second-order structured deformations in the space of functions of bounded Hessian (Q2282801)

The authors derive the energy associated to a second-order structured deformation (cf. [\textit{D. R. Owen} and \textit{R. Paroni}, Arch. Ration. Mech. Anal. 155, No. 3, 215--235 (2000; Zbl 0990.74004)]), where the latter is modeled as a pair in $SBH(\Omega;\mathbb{R}^d)\times L^1(\Omega;\mathbb{S}^{d\times N\times N})$, with $\Omega$ a bounded open subset of $\mathbb{R}^N$, and $SBH$ denoting the space of special functions with bounded Hessian. The obtained result complements the existing literature (where the energy has been obtained in the $SBV^2$ framework -- see [\textit{A. C. Barroso} et al., Arch. Ration. Mech. Anal. 225, No. 3, 1025--1072 (2017; Zbl 1370.74067)], and the bibliography therein -- with $SBV^2$ being the class of special functions with bounded variations, whose absolutely continuous part of the gradient is still a special field of bounded variation), thus providing an exhaustive model to the other possible approach to second-order structured deformations' theory (as discussed in [\textit{R. Paroni}, ``Second-order structured deformations: approximation theorems and energetics'', Springer, Vienna, 177--202 (2004; \url{doi.org/10.1007/978-3-7091-2770-4_5})]). Following [\textit{R. Choksi} and \textit{I. Fonseca}, Arch. Ration. Mech. Anal. 138, No. 1, 37--103 (1997; Zbl 0891.73078)] (in the realm of (first-order) structured deformation -- cf. [\textit{G. Del Piero} and \textit{D. R. Owen}, Arch. Ration. Mech. Anal. 124, No. 2, 99--155 (1993; Zbl 0795.73005)]), in this article, the energy of a second-order structured deformation is asymptotically obtained starting from the energies of simple deformations as the energetically most economical way. Analytically, this approach amounts at a `relaxation procedure' and a subsequent integral representation, which requires, as a first step, an approximation theorem allowing to recover any second-order structured deformation (a pair) as a suitable limit of simple deformations (see also [\textit{I. Fonseca} et al., Commun. Contemp. Math. 7, No. 4, 401--420 (2005; Zbl 1102.49021)]). Moreover, due the presence of more constraints in $SBH$ than in $SBV^2$, the relaxation result obtained in this paper requires delicate and ad hoc techniques. Nevertheless, the relaxation result (obtained imposing area strict continuity -- see [\textit{J. Kristensen} and \textit{F. Rindler}, Calc. Var. Partial Differ. Equ. 37, No. 1--2, 29--62 (2010; Zbl 1189.49018)]) follows from a more general integral representation for variational functionals defined on second-order structured deformations, in the spirit of the `Global Method' in [\textit{G. Bouchitté} et al., Arch. Ration. Mech. Anal. 145, No. 1, 51--98 (1998; Zbl 0921.49004)]. Further interesting applications to relaxation of integral energies in $BH$ and $SBH$ are also provided.