Good-\(\lambda \) and Muckenhoupt-Wheeden type bounds in quasilinear measure datum problems, with applications (Q2423408)

The authors consider the following quasilinear elliptic problem with measure data \[ \begin{cases} -\operatorname{div}(A(x,\nabla u))=\mu&\text{ in }\Omega,\\ u=0 &\text{ in }\partial\Omega, \end{cases}\tag{P} \] where \(\Omega\) is a bounded open subset of \(\mathbb{R}^n\), \(n\geq 2\), \(\mu\) is a finite signed Radon measure in \(\Omega\), and \(A:\mathbb{R}^n\times\mathbb{R}^n\rightarrow \mathbb{R}^n\) is a Carathéodory function which is differentiable away from \(0\) and satisfies the structure conditions: \[ |A(x,\xi)|\leq \Lambda |\xi|^{p-1}, \ |\nabla_\xi A(x,\xi)|\leq \Lambda |\xi|^{p-2}, \ \ \langle\nabla_\xi A(x,\xi)\eta,\eta\rangle\geq \Lambda^{-1}|\xi|^{p-2}|\eta|^2 \] for a.e. \(x\in \mathbb{R}^n\) and for all \(\xi,\eta\in \mathbb{R}\setminus \{0\}\). Here \(\Lambda\) is a positive constant, and \(p\) satisfies the bounds \(\frac{3n-2}{2n-1}\)<\(p\leq 2-\frac{1}{n}\) which correspond to the singular case of problem (P). The authors extend to the singular case \(\frac{3n-2}{2n-1}\)<\(p\leq 2-\frac{1}{n}\) some known local comparison estimates for renormalized solutions to problem (P), obtained for \(p>2-\frac{1}{n}\), and this allows them to adopt the techniques developed for the case \(p>2-\frac{1}{n}\), to get weighted `good-\(\lambda\)' type inequalities for the gradient of renormalized solutions to problem (P) in domains \(\Omega\) which are sufficiently flat in the sense of Reifenberg. As an application, the authors derive Muckenhoupt-Wheeden type bounds involving \(\mathbf{A}_{\infty}\)-weights and weighted-Lorentz estimates for the gradient of renormalized solutions to problem (P). As a consequence of the above bounds, the authors also derive a compactness property in \(L^q_w(\Omega,\mathbb{R}^n)\), where \(q>0\) and \(w\in \mathbf{A}_\infty\), for the gradient of renormalized solutions \(u_j\) of \[ \begin{cases} -\operatorname{div}(A(x,\nabla u))=\mu_j &\text{ in }\Omega,\\ u=0 &\text{ in }\partial\Omega, \end{cases} \] where \(\{\mu_j\}\) is a sequence of finite signed Radon measures such that \(\{\mathbf{M}_1(\mu_j)^{\frac{q}{p-1}}\}\) is a bounded and equi-integrable set of \(L^1_w(\Omega)\). Here \(\mathbf{M}_1(\mu_j)(x)=\sup_{\rho>0}\frac{|\mu_j|(B_\rho(x))}{\rho^{n-1}}\), \(x\in \Omega\), is the first order fractional maximal function. Then this compactness property is used to establish the following existence result for a Riccati-type equation: assume \(q\geq 1\) and \(\mu\) satisfying \[ |\mu|(K)\leq c_0Cap_{1,\frac{q}{q-p+1}}(K)\text{ for all compact sets }K\subset \Omega, \] with \(c_0>0\) sufficiently small. Then there exist a constant \(C>0\) and a renormalized solution \(u\in W^{1,q}(\Omega)\) to the problem \[ \begin{cases} -\operatorname{div}(A(x,\nabla u))=|\nabla u|^q+\mu&\text{ in }\Omega,\\ u=0 &\text{ in }\partial\Omega, \end{cases} \] satisfying \(\int_K|\nabla u|^qdx \leq C\, \mathrm{Cap}_{1,\frac{q}{q-p+1}}(K),\) for all compact sets \(K\subset \Omega\). Here \[ \mathrm{Cap}_{1,s}(K):=\inf\left\{\int_{\mathbb{R}^n}(|\nabla \varphi|^s+\varphi^s)dx, \ \varphi\in C_0^\infty(\mathbb{R}^n), \ \varphi\geq \chi_K\right\}, \ \ s\in(1,\infty), \] denotes the capacity associated to the space \(W^{1,s}(\mathbb{R}^n)\). This last result is finally applied to obtain a sharp bound for the size of removable singular sets for the equation \(-\operatorname{div}(A(x,\nabla u))=|\nabla u|^q\).