Scattering below critical energy for the radial 4D Yang-Mills equation and for the 2D corotational wave map system (Q2517963)

The authors consider the following nonlinear wave equation: \[ u_{tt}- u_{rr}- {1\over r} u_r= -{f(u)\over r^2},\quad (u,u_t)|_{t=0}= (u_0, u_1),\tag{1} \] where \(f= gg'\) and \(g: \mathbb{R}\to \mathbb{R}\) verifies some technical assumptions (in particular, \(g(0)= 0\), \(g'(0)= k\in \{1,2\}\)). The equation (1) admits non-constant stationary solutions: let us denote \(Q\) one which least energy. Denote \[ H= \Biggl\{u;\| u\|^2_H= \int\Biggl(u^2_r+ {u^2\over r^2}\Biggr)r\,dr< \infty\Biggr\}. \] The authors characterize completely the behavior as time goes to \(\pm\infty\) of solutions \((u,u_t)\) corresponding to data with energy less than or equal to the energy of \(Q\): 1. If \(u_0= Q\) up to scaling, then \(u(t)\) is a constant harmonic map \((u_t(t)= 0)\). 2. Otherwise \(u(t)\) scatters, in the sense that there exists \((u^\pm_0, u^\pm_1)\in H\times L^2\) such that \[ \| u(t)- W(t)(u^\pm_0, u^\pm_1)\|_{H\times L^2}\to 0\quad\text{as }t\to\pm\infty, \] where \(v:= W(t)(u^\pm_0, u^\pm_1)\) in the solution to \[ v_{tt}- v_{rr}- {1\over r}v_r= {k^2\over r^2} v= 0, \quad (v_1,v_t)|_{t= 0}= (u^\pm_0, u^\pm_1). \] The proof is based on a concentration-compactness approach and the use of a virial identity. These results include the cases of the two-dimensional corotational wave map system, with target \(S^2\), in the critical energy space \((g(u)=\sin n\), \(k=1)\), as well as the four-dimenisonal, radially symmetric Yang-Mills fields on Minkowski space, in the critical energy space \((g(u)= 1-u^2\), \(k=2)\).