On optimal Hölder regularity of solutions to the equation \(\Delta u+b\cdot \nabla u=0\) in two dimensions (Q524858)

This is the main result of the paper under consideration. Theorem 1.1. Let \(\Omega\) be an open, bounded and connected domain in \(\mathbb{R}^2\). Assume that \(b\in L^2_{\text{loc}}(\mathbb{R}^2;\mathbb{R}^2)\) and \(u\in W^{1,2}(\Omega)\) satisfies in distribution sense the equation \[ \Delta u+ b\cdot\nabla u= 0\quad\text{in }\Omega.\tag{1} \] There exists a small constant \(\varepsilon_0>0\) such that if the Hardy norm \(\|\text{div\,}b\|_{{\mathcal H}^1(\mathbb{R}^2)}\leq \varepsilon_0\), then \(u\in W^{2,q}_{\text{loc}}(\Omega)\) for each \(q\in (1,2)\) and hence \(u\in C^\alpha_{\text{loc}}(\Omega)\) for all \(\alpha\in (0,1)\). \textit{N. Filonov} proved in [J. Math. Sci., New York 195, No. 1, 98--108 (2013), translation from Zap. Nauchn. Sem. POMI 410, 168--186 (2013; Zbl 1306.35016)] the same result under the condition \(\text{div\,}b= 0\). He points out that if the requirement \(\text{div\,}b= 0\) is dropped (``large'') then the solutions \(u\) of (1) are neither continuous nor bounded in general.