New existence results for the mean field equation on compact surfaces via degree theory (Q509910)

Summary: We consider the following class of equations with exponential nonlinearities on a closed surface \(\Sigma\): \[ -\Delta u = \rho_1 \left( \frac{h \,e^{u}}{\int_\Sigma h \,e^{u} \,dV_g} - \frac{1}{|\Sigma|} \right) - \rho_2 \left( \frac{h \,e^{-u}}{\int_\Sigma h \,e^{-u} \,dV_g} - \frac{1}{|\Sigma|} \right), \] which arises as the mean field equation of the equilibrium turbulence with arbitrarily signed vortices. Here \(h\) is a smooth positive function and \(\rho_1, \rho_2\) two positive parameters. By considering the parity of the Leray-Schauder degree associated to the problem, we prove solvability for \(\rho_i \in (8\pi k, 8\pi(k+1)),\, k \in \mathbb N\). Our theorem provides a new existence result in the case when the underlying manifold is a sphere and gives a completely new proof for other known results.