The Cauchy problem for wave maps on a curved background (Q690636)

The author considers the problem of global existence of wave maps \( u : {\mathbb R} \times M \rightarrow N \), when \( (N,h) \) is a smooth complete Riemannian manifold without boundary and with bounded geometry, while \( (M,g) = ({\mathbb R}^4,g) \) with \(g\) an asymptotically flat metric (which is an everywhere small perturbation of the Euclidean metric). He shows that if \( ||u_0||_{\dot{H}^2} + || u_1 ||_{\dot{H}^1} \) is small enough, then there exists a unique global wave map \(u\), ie a solution to \[ (\partial^2_{t} - \Delta_g )u^k = \eta^{\alpha \beta} \Gamma_{ij}^k (u) \partial_{\alpha} u^i \partial_{\beta} u^j \] (\( \eta \) denoting the Lorentzian metric diag\((-1,g) \) and \( \Gamma_{ij}^k \) being the Christoffel symbols of \(h\)), with inital data \( u [0] = (u_0,u_1) \), such that \( (u,\dot{u}) \in C^0 ({\mathbb R}, H^2 (M,N)) \times C^0 ({\mathbb R}, H^1 (M,TN))\). In addition, he obtains global Strichartz estimates on \(du\) and is able to propagate the regularity of the initial data. The proof combines the strategy introduced by \textit{J. Statah} and \textit{A. S. Tahvildar-Zadeh} [Commun. Pure Appl. Math. 47, No. 5, 719--754 (1994; Zbl 0811.58059)] with the global Strichartz estimates for variable coefficients wave equations obtained by \textit{J. Metcalfe} and \textit{D. Tataru} [Math. Ann. 353, No. 4, 1183--1237 (2012; Zbl 1259.35006)].