Regularity of solutions to the polyharmonic equation in general domains (Q2449839)

The main result of this paper establishes the boundedness of derivatives of solutions to polyharmonic equations in arbitrary bounded domains on \({\mathbb R}^n\). More precisely, the authors prove: Theorem. Let \(2\leq n\leq 2m+1\) and \(\Omega\subset{\mathbb R}^n\) be a bounded domain. Assume \(f\in C_0^\infty(\Omega)\) and \(u\in \overset\circ{W}^{m,2}(\Omega)\) satisfies \((-\Delta )^m u=f\) in \(\Omega\). Then \[ \nabla ^{m-n/2+1/2}u\in L^\infty(\Omega)\quad\text{ when \(n\) is odd} \] and \[ \nabla ^{m-n/2}u\in L^\infty(\Omega)\quad\text{ when \(n\) is even}. \] In particular, \[ \nabla ^{m-1}u\in L^\infty(\Omega)\quad\text{ when \(n=2,3\).} \] The above regularity results are sharp and cannot be improved in general domains. Furthermore, the authors provide sharp pointwise estimates on the Green function of the polyharmonic operator and its derivatives.