Gradient estimates via two-point functions for elliptic equations on manifolds (Q2417759)

The paper contains a variety of applications of the ``two-point function'' method. For certain elliptic equations set on Riemannian manifolds, the two-point function method provides Lipschitz bounds for the composition of a viscosity solution \(u\) and a \(C^2\) function \(\psi\) that depends on \(u\) and the coefficients of the equation. The Lipschitz estimates, in turn, lead to estimates for the gradient of the solution \(u\), which for certain variational problems can be used to recover estimates obtained by the ``\(P\)-function method'' of \textit{L. Modica} [Commun. Pure Appl. Math. 38, 679--684 (1985; Zbl 0612.35051)] or later generalizations by \textit{L. Caffarelli} et al. [Commun. Pure Appl. Math. 47, No. 11, 1457--1473 (1994; Zbl 0819.35016)]. Rigidity results are typical applications of such estimates. More precisely, assume \(u\) is a viscosity solution of an equation \[ \left[\alpha(u, |Du|) \frac{D_iu D_ju}{|Du|^2} +\beta(u, |Du|) \Big(\delta_{i,j}- \frac{D_iu D_ju}{|Du|^2}\Big)\right] D_i D_ju + q(u, |Du|)=0, \] set on a compact Riemannian manifold \(M\) without boundary and with Ricci curvature satisfying \(\mathrm{Ric\,} \ge 0\). Also, assume that \(\varphi :[a,b]\to [\inf u, \sup u]\) is a \(C^2\) solution of \[ \alpha(\varphi,\varphi')\varphi''+q(\varphi,\varphi')=0 \ \ \text{ on } [a,b], \] \[ \varphi(a) =\inf u, \ \ \ \varphi(b) = \sup u, \ \ \ \varphi'>0 \ \ \text{ on } [a,b]. \] Let \(\psi : [\inf u, \sup u]\to [a,b]\) be the inverse function of \(\varphi\). Then for any \(x, y \in M\), it holds \[ \psi(u(y))-\psi(u(x)) -d(x,y) \le 0. \] As a corollary one obtains \[ |Du(x)|\le \varphi'(\psi(u(x))) \ \ \text{ for all } x\in M. \] The method is then extended to equations set on manifolds with negative bound from below for the Ricci curvature, to compact and non-compact Finsler manifolds.