Relaxation of multiple integrals in the space<i>BV(Ω, R^P)</i> (Q4030484)

The authors discuss a characterization for the relaxed functional \({\mathcal I}\), in BV, of the integral \(\int_ \Omega f(x,u(x), \nabla u(x))dx\) in connection with phase transition problems involving singular perturbations. First assuming that \(u\in \text{BV} (\Omega, \mathbb{R}^ p)\) takes only two values across a planar interface \(\Sigma\), i.e. \[ u(x)= \begin{cases} b \text{ if } (x-x_ 0)\cdot\nu>0\\ a \text{ if } (x-x_ 0)\cdot \nu<0\end{cases} \quad \text{and} \quad \Sigma= \{x\in \Omega:\;(x-x_ 0)\cdot\nu =0\}, \] they prove that \[ {\mathcal I}(u)= \int_ \Omega f(x,u(x),0)dx+ \int_ \Sigma K(x,a,b,\nu) dH_{N-1}(x) \] where \(K(x,a,b,\nu)=\inf_ \xi \{\int_{Q_ \nu} f^ \infty (x,\xi(y), \nabla\xi(y))dy\}\), the greatest lower bound is taken with respect to all the functions \(\xi\in W_{\text{loc}}^{1,1} (\mathbb{R}^ N,\mathbb{R}^ p)\), \(l\)-periodic in the \(\nu_ 1\dots, \nu_{N-1}\) directions such that \(\xi(y)=a\) if \(y\cdot\nu= -1/2\), \(\xi(y)=b\) if \(y\cdot\nu= 1/2\); and \(f^ \infty\) is the recession function of \(f\). This result together with a general integral representation of \({\mathcal I}\) by \textit{L. Ambrosio} and \textit{D. Pallara} [Indiana Univ. Math. J. 42, No. 2, 295-321 (1993)] allows them to prove the following characterization \[ \begin{aligned} {\mathcal I}(u) &= \int_ \Omega f(x,u(x), \nabla u(x))ds+ \int_ \Sigma K(x,u^ +(x), u^ -(x), \nu(x))dH_{N-1} (x)+\\ &+ \int_ \Omega f^ \infty (x,u(x), dC(u)/ d\| C(u)\| (x))d \| C(u)\| (x),\end{aligned} \] where \(Du=\nabla u dx+ (u^ +- u^ -)\otimes \nu dH_{N-1/\Sigma}+ C(u)\) is the decomposition of the distributional derivative of \(u\).