Some nonexistence results for the minimal surface equation (Q707267)

The author considers the minimal surface equation \(\text{div}(\nabla u/\sqrt{1+|\nabla u|^2})= 0\) for real-valued functions \(u\) defined on a domain \(\Omega\) of \(\mathbb{R}^2\), and the corresponding Dirichlet problem. Numerous existence results are known to this problem, some of which are enumerated in the present article, whose main result is a nonexistence one. In fact, it is proven that ``there exists no solution \(u\) to the above minimal surface equation (Dirichlet problem) on a domain \(\Omega\) of \(\mathbb{R}^2\), if the latter is asymptotically an angular sector, and if the solution \(u\) is prescribed to take the value \(+\infty\) on one side of the sector and \(-\infty\) on the other side''.