Bubbling location for \(f\)-harmonic maps and inhomogeneous Landau-Lifshitz equations (Q2493387)

The concept of \(f\)-harmonic map from one Riemann manifold \((M,g) \) to another \((N,h)\) currently enjoys a great popularity. Here \(g\) and \(h\) denote the respective metric. The interest is so big that many names are in use, like \(p\)-harmonic map and exponentially harmonic map. A \(f\)-harmonic map is defined as the critical point of the energy functional. In the paper the energy functional is defined in two ways: first as a global integral over the manifold, then in local coordinates. In local coordinates, the \(f\)-harmonic map satisfies an Euler-Lagrange equation. The Landau-Lifshitz (L-L) equations, introduced in 1935, are nonlinear integrable PDEs which govern the evolution of the magnetization (a function of space and time which takes values in the 2-sphere) in ferromagnets. The L-L equation, which is a universal model for integrable magnetic systems is also a classical equation for nonlinear spin waves. The L-L equation contains the sine-Gordon, nonlinear Schrödinger and Heisenberg model equations as particular or limiting cases. The purpose of the paper is to give a partial answer to the question: where do the bubbling points of the Landau-Lifshitz equation locate? The authors show that, if a Palais-Smale sequence for the \(f\)-energy is not compact, then it must blow up at some critical points of \(f\). This means that if an inhomogeneous L-L equation, i.e. a solution of \[ u_{t}=u\times\tau_{f}(u)+\tau_{f}(u),\;u:M\to{S}^{2}, \] blows up at time \(\infty\), then the blow-up points must be the critical points of \(f\).