On the prescribing \(\sigma_2\) curvature equation on \(\mathbb S^4\) (Q629860)

The main results in this paper are a potential blow up profile analysis, a priori estimates, and the existence of admissible solutions \(\omega\) to the \(\sigma_2\) curvature equation \[ \sigma_2(g^{-1}\circ A_g)=K(x)\quad \text{on }S^4, \] where \(g=e^{2\omega(x)}g_e\) is a metric conformal to \(g_e\), with \(g_e\) being the canonical ground metric on the round sphere \(S^4\), and \(A_g\) is the Weyl-Schouten tensor of the metric \(g\). Prescribing \(\sigma_{k}\) curvature equations are fully nonlinear generalizations of the prescribing Gaussian or scalar curvature equations. For a given positive function \(K\) to be prescribed on the 4-dimensional round sphere, the authors obtain an asymptotic profile analysis for potentially blowing up solutions to the \(\sigma_{2}\) curvature equation for given \(K\); they rule out the possibility of blowing up solutions when \(K\) satisfies a non-degeneracy condition. Under the same non-degeneracy condition on \(K\), they also prove uniform a priori estimates for solutions to a family of \(\sigma_{2}\) curvature equations deforming \(K\) to a positive constant; and, under an additional, natural degree condition on a finite dimensional map associated with \(K\), they prove the existence of a solution to the \(\sigma_{2}\) curvature equation for given \(K\) using a degree argument involving fully nonlinear elliptic operators to the above deformation.