Global bifurcation and stable two-phase separation for a phase field model in a disk (Q550361)

From the abstract: Let \(D := \{(x, y) : x^2 + y^2 < l^2 \} \subset \mathbb{R}^2\). We study the shape of a local minimizer of the problem \[ E(u) = \int_D \left( \frac{|\nabla u|^2}{2} + \lambda W(u) \right)~~\mathrm{ subject to }~~ m = \frac{1}{|D|} \int_D u dx \] and study the global structure of critical points. We show that for an arbitrary potential \(W \in C^4\) every level set of every nonconstant local minimizer is a \(C^1\)-curve, and it divides \(D\) into exactly two simply connected subdomains. Next we consider the case \(W(u) = (u^2-1)^2/4\) (Cahn-Hilliard equation). When \(\lambda\) varies and \(m\) is fixed, we show that this problem has an unbounded continuum of critical points. When \(m\) varies and \(\lambda\) is fixed, we show that this problem has a bounded continuum meeting at two different points on the trivial branch. Moreover, we show that in each case a bifurcating critical point is stable (a local minimizer) near the bifurcation point in a certain parameter range. The main technique is the nodal curve which relates the shape with the Morse index. We do not use a small parameter or the \(\Gamma\)-convergence technique.