No label defined (Q4458801)

Quasiminimizers have been previously considered as tools in studying the regularity of minimizers of variational integrals: see \textit{M. Giaquinta} and \textit{E. Giusti} [Acta Math. 148, 31--46 (1982; Zbl 0494.49031)]. For \(1 < p < \infty \), \(K \geq 1\) and \(\Omega \subseteq \mathbb{R}^{n}\) an open set, a \(K\)-quasiminimizer is a function \(u\in W_ {\text{loc}}^ {1, p}\) such that: \[ \int _ {\Omega '}| \nabla u| ^ {p}\,dx\leq K\int _ {\Omega '}| \nabla v| ^ {p}\,dx \] for all open sets \(\Omega ^{\prime }\) compactly contained in \(\Omega \) and for all \(v\in W^ {1, p}(\Omega ^{\prime })\) with \(v-u\in W_ {0}^{1,p} (\Omega ^{\prime })\). The framework of the paper is much more general than this: a doubling (complete) metric measure space supporting a Poincaré inequality; the analogue of Sobolev spaces being the so called Newtonian spaces introduced by \textit{N. Shanmugalingam} [Rev. Mat. Iberoam. 16, 243--279 (2000; Zbl 0974.46038)]. The aim here is to establish the basic results of a nonlinear, nonlocal potential theory of quasiminimizers [see also \textit{J. Kinnunen} and \textit{O. Martio}, Proceedings of the Conference on Analysis and Geometry held in Novosibirsk, 285--290 (2000; Zbl 0992.46023) and \textit{J. Kinnunen} and \textit{N. Shanmugalingam}, Manuscr. Math. 105, 401--423 (2001; Zbl 1006.49027)]. The main ingredient is an extension of De Giorgi's techniques. Among the proven results, let us cite: the quasi super minimizers satisfy a weak Harnack-type inequality, hence a Brelot-type convergence property for increasing sequences of quasi super minimizers is obtained; a good definition for quasi super harmonic functions is devised, and it is proved that these functions admit a Poisson modification.