On the variational approach to semilinear elliptic equations with scale- covariance (Q914053)

The existence problem of weak solutions for semilinear elliptic equations of the form \[ (1)\quad -\Delta u(x)=g(x,u(x));\quad g: {\mathbb{R}}^ d\times {\mathbb{R}}^ n\to {\mathbb{R}}^ n,\quad g(x,0)=\sigma \quad a.e., \] \[ u: {\mathbb{R}}^ d\to {\mathbb{R}}^ n,\quad u(x)\to 0\text{ for } | x| \to \infty,\quad d\geq 3,\quad n\geq 1, \] with some ``scale- covariance'' is considered in the variational approach. At first we present a `theory of constrained minimization' (c.m.) with some general covariance which then reduces the problem of finding weak solutions of (1) to a concrete c.m. problem the main conditions being a `concentration condition' and a condition of `incomplete uniform decay of infinity'. This result relies on an appropriately defined concept of symmetries for these problems and a new criterion for convergence in \(L^ 1({\mathbb{R}}^ d)\) of `Vitali-type'. In the case \(g(x,u)=g_ 0(u)\) we derive growth restrictions on \(g_ 0\) in order that this c.m. problem has a solution. Finally various concrete examples are treated including simplified and slightly improved versions of known problems \((g(x,u)=g_ 0(u))\) and some new classes of problems. A more detailed exposition including a proof of the regularity of these weak solutions can be found by \textit{Ph. Blanchard} and the author [Variational methods in mathematical physics - a unified approach (Springer Heidelberg, to appear 1990/91)].