On the growth of the solutions of the differential equation div \((|\nabla u|^{p-2}\nabla u)=0\) in \(n\)-dimensional space (Q790324)

The Phragmén-Lindelöf theorem for subharmonic functions in a half-plane is generalized to \(p\)-harmonic functions in an \(n\)-dimensional half-space \({\mathbb{R}}^ n_+\). These are functions u in Sobolev's space \(W^ 1_{p,loc}(R^ n_+)\) for which \(\int | \nabla u|^{p-2}\nabla u\cdot \nabla \eta dm\leq 0\), whenever \(\eta\) is a non-negative testfunction in \(C_ 0(R^ n_+).\) Results of a similar nature are given for functions that are \(n\)-subharmonic in \({\mathbb{R}}^ n\backslash H^ q\), \(H^ q\) denoting a \(q\)-dimensional hyperplane \(x_ 1=x_ 2=...=x_{n-q}=0\) in \({\mathbb{R}}^ n.\) The method used is based on a well-known comparison principle and on certain explicit solutions (so-called \(n\)-harmonic measures) of the differential equation \(\text{div}(| \nabla u|^{n-2}\nabla u)=0\). Simple examples show that the results are sharp.