Minimal assumptions for the integrability of the Jacobian (Q2569705)

Let \(\Omega\subseteq\mathbb R^n\) be a bounded domain, \(f\in W^{1,1}(\Omega,\mathbb R^n)\), and \(J=\det\,Df\geq0\) almost everywhere. It is proved that \(J\) is locally integrable if \(| Df|\) belongs to a so-called grand Orlicz space \(GL^\Phi(\Omega)\) where the Young function \(\Phi\) satisfies certain mild growth hypotheses; in case \(\Phi(t)=t^n\), \(GL^\Phi(\Omega)=GL^n(\Omega)\). Under the similar condition \(| Df|\in VL^\Phi(\Omega)\), it is shown that the pointwise Jacobian \(J\) coincides with the distributional determinant, i.e., \[ \int_\Omega f_1(x)\det(\varphi(x),f_2(x),\ldots,f_n(x))\,dx= -\int_\Omega\varphi(x)J(x)\,dx \] for each \(\varphi\in C^\infty_0(\Omega)\). The sharpness of the results is discussed by some classes of examples.