Monotonicity formulae for smooth extremizers of integral functionals (Q2319590)

The authors consider constrained extremals of functionals of the form \[ F[u]=\int_{\Omega}^{}f(u,Du)dv,\ \ u:\Omega\subseteq \mathbb{R}^n\to N, \] where \(f\) is of class \(C^2\) on \(\mathbb{R}^m \times \mathbb{R}^n\), \(dv\) is the volume element on \(\mathbb{R}^n\), and \(N\) is a smooth submanifold of \(\mathbb{R}^m\). Under suitable conditions on \(f\) and \(u\), they establish a general monotonicity formula for such constrained local extremizers of \(F\). They also consider applications in the unconstrained case where it is possible to prove standard regularity results for \(u\) and present applications. Various applications are also discussed in the constrained case under the assumption that the solution is regular, including the important case of harmonic mappings.