No label defined (Q4785283)

The paper deals with the problem of the description of the limits of discrete variational problems with long-range interactions in a one-dimensional setting. More precisely, energies of the form \[ E_n(\{u_i\})=\sum_{j=1}^n\sum_{i=0}^{n-j}\lambda_n\psi_n^j\left({u_{i+j}-u_i\over j\lambda_n}\right) \] are considered, where \(\lambda_n=L/n\) is the lattice spacing, and \(\psi_n^j\) can be thought as the energy density of the interaction of points with distance \(j\lambda_n\) in the reference lattice. Under some polynomial growth conditions on the energy densities, and upon suitably identifying discrete functions \(\{u_i\}\) with their interpolations, it is proved that a local limit problem on a Sobolev space of the type \[ F(u)=\int_0^L\psi(u'(t))dt \] can be defined by means of a homogenization formula. The density \(\psi\) is explicitly identified by a series of operations on the functions \(\psi_n^j\). Examples are given showing that, if the growth conditions are not uniformly satisfied, then the limit problem may be of nonlocal form or with multiple densities. For the entire collection see [Zbl 0997.00040].