Regularity for parabolic systems of Uhlenbeck type with Orlicz growth (Q2414737)

The local Hölder continuity of the spatial gradient $\nabla\overline u=(\nabla u_1,\nabla u_2,\dots,\nabla u_N)$ is obtained for the system \[ \frac{\partial\overline u}{\partial t}= \text{div} \left(\frac{\phi'(|\nabla\overline u|)}{|\nabla\overline u|}\,\nabla\overline u\right) \] in $\Omega\times(0,T)$, $\Omega\subset\mathbb{R}^n$. Here $\phi(\tau)$ is an Orlicz function satisfying natural assumptions. (It is certainly enough that the Mach number $M^2= 1-\tau\phi''(\tau)/\phi'(\tau)$, $-\infty<M^2<1$ is bounded away from $-\infty$ and $+1$.) For example, $\phi(\tau)= \tau^p/p$ yiels the well-known evolutionary $p$-Laplace system. The main difficulty is to construct a suitable local bound of $\sup|\nabla\overline u|$. The main result is the estimate \[\min\left\{\alpha^{\frac{n}{2}-1}\Vert \nabla\overline u\Vert^\nu_{L^\infty(Q)},\ \alpha^{-1}\Vert\nabla\overline u\Vert^2_{L^\infty(Q)}\right\}\le C\iint_{2Q} \left(\alpha^{-1}|\nabla\overline u|^2+\phi(|\nabla\overline u|)\right) dx\,dt,\] where $\nu=1+n(p-2)/2$. Here $Q$ is some space $x$ time cylinder. This is an expedient improvement of a similar estimate by \textit{E. Di Benedetto} and \textit{A. Friedman} [J. Reine Angew. Math. 357, 1--22 (1985; Zbl 0549.35061)] in the sense that, if the average conclude that $\sup|\nabla\overline u|$ is small. The scalar case has been treated by \textit{P. Baroni} and \textit{C. Lindfors} [Ann. Inst. Henri Poincaré, Anal. Non Linééaire 34, No. 3, 593--624 (2017; Zbl 1366.35056)].