Global gradient estimates in elliptic problems under minimal data and domain regularity (Q2347704)

In this interesting survey, the authors present some results on global integrability properties of the gradient of solutions of Dirichlet and Neumann boundary value problems for nonlinear elliptic equations in divergence form. Particular attention is paid to minimal assumptions on the domain and on the data ensuring the validity of a certain gradient bound. Relevant estimates are formulated in terms of pointwise inequalities for the distribution function of the length of the gradient or for its decreasing rearrangement allowing to obtain global bounds for rearrangement invariant norms of the gradient of the solutions to Dirichlet or Neumann problems. The paper is divided in two parts. In the first part, the authors consider Dirichlet and Neumann problems for nonlinear elliptic differential equations of the general type \[ -\mathrm{div}\, (a(x,\nabla u))=f(x) \qquad \mathrm{in}\;\Omega\, , \] and they present gradient integrability properties for the solutions. In particular they note that for the Dirichlet problem only the measure of \(\Omega\) is relevant, while for the Neumann problem the regularity of the domain plays a role in terms of its isoperimetric and isocapacitary functions. Moreover, at the end of this part some estimates on the isoperimetric and isocapacitary functions are given for some classes of domains. Then in the second part of the paper the authors turn to study estimates for the gradients of the solutions of Dirichlet and Neumann problems for nonlinear elliptic differential equations of the form \[ -\mathrm{div}\, (a(|\nabla u|)\nabla u)=f(x) \qquad \mathrm{in}\;\Omega\, . \] Under some minimal assumptions on \(\Omega\) and the data, they show the global boundedness of the gradient of the solutions and then they conclude with some explicit gradient bounds for Lebesque, Lorentz, Lorentz-Zygmund, and Orlicz norms of the gradient. The paper is well written and surely recommended to those interested in gradient estimates for the solutions of nonlinear elliptic equations.