Extremal solutions for nonvariational quasilinear elliptic systems via expanding trapping regions (Q521611)

In this paper, an existence result of maximal negative solutions and minimal positive solutions for the elliptic system \[ -\Delta_{p_i}u_i=f_i(x,u_1,u_2,\nabla u_1,\nabla u_2)\text{ in }\Omega,\quad u_i=0\text{ on }\partial \Omega,\quad i=1,2, \] is established. Here, \(\Omega\) is a bounded domain in \(\mathbb{R}^N\), \(p_1,p_2\in (1,\infty)\), and \(f_1,f_2:\Omega\times \mathbb{R}\times \mathbb{R}\times \mathbb{R}^{N}\times \mathbb{R}^{N}\rightarrow \mathbb{R}\) are functions measurable in \(x\in \Omega\), and continuous in \((s_1,s_2,\xi_1,\xi_2)\in \mathbb{R}\times \mathbb{R}\times \mathbb{R}^{N}\times \mathbb{R}^{N}\). Under suitable growth conditions on \(f_i(x,s_1,s_2,\cdot,\cdot)\), the authors first establish an existence result by using a truncation argument jointly to a surjectivity result for pseudomonotone operators. Then, under additional assumptions on the sign of the functions \(f_i\), the authors obtain the existence of both positive and negative solutions. Finally, by imposing some slightly stronger growth conditions on \(f_i\) and by using an approximation argument, an \(L^\infty\) gradient estimate for the solutions to the above system, and the Strong Maximum Principle of Pucci-Serrin, the authors prove the existence of a maximal negative solution and a minimal positive solution.