Regularity results for an optimal design problem with lower order terms (Q6077520)

The authors consider the functional \[ \mathcal{F}(E, u; \Omega) = \int_\Omega [F(x, u, \nabla u) + \chi_E G(x, u, \nabla u)]\, \mathrm{d}x + P(E, \Omega), \] where \(u\in H^1(\Omega)\) and \(\chi_E\) is the characteristic function of a set \(E\subset\Omega\) of finite perimeter, and the density energies \(F, G\) satisfy suitable Lipschitz regularity and ellipticity assumptions (cf. (1.3)--(1.7)). This formulation encompasses several functionals studied in the past. It is well-known that for some \(\Lambda\) sufficiently big, the minimizers of the volume-constrained problem \[ \inf \left \{\, \mathcal{F}(E, v; \Omega)\,:\, |E|=d \in(0, \Omega)\,\right\} \] among finite-perimeter subsets \(E\) of \(\Omega\) (and \(v\in u_0 + H^1(\Omega)\)) are also minimizers of the penalized problem \[ \inf \mathcal{F}(E, v; \Omega) + \Lambda\big||E|-d\big| \] among all finite-perimeter subsets of \(\Omega\). The authors prove some regularity properties on minimizers of the penalized problem. Hence, as corollary, regularity properties of minimizers of the constrained problem follow. Namely, see Theorem 1, there exists a relatively open set \(\Gamma\subset \partial E\) that is a \(C^{1,\mu}\) hypersurface for all \(\mu \in (0, 1/2)\), and the singular set \(\partial E \setminus \Gamma\) has Hausdorff dimension strictly smaller than \(n-1\).