Maps with prescribed tension fields (Q707466)

A map between Riemannian manifolds \(\phi : M\rightarrow N\) is called harmonic if it is a critical point of the energy functional. Harmonic maps between manifolds are determined as solutions to the equation \(\tau(f)=0\), where \(\tau\) is the tension field. Critical points of the energy plus a potential term are solutions to \(\tau(f)= V(f)\), where \(V\) is some vector field on \(N\) and we would have harmonic maps with potential in such a case. In this paper the authors study a system of the type \(\tau(f(x))=V(x,f(x))\) for some vector field \(V \) given on \(N\), without assuming any variational structure. Solutions are called maps with prescribed tension field. The problem can be considered as a generalization of the Poisson equation. The existence issue has been studied by \textit{W. von Wahl} [Rend. Semin. Mat. Fis. Milano 62, 157--183 (1992; Zbl 0816.35053)] and by \textit{J. Jost} and \textit{S.-T. Yau} [Acta Math. 170, No. 2, 221--254 (1993; Zbl 0806.53064)]. These results need a curvature assumption on \(N\). In this paper, the authors restrict themselves to the case in which \(N\) has non-positive sectional curvature. In the first part, they give an estimate of the \(L^ 2\)-norm of the first and second derivatives of a map in a given homotopy class, in terms of its tension field and the energy of a harmonic map within the same homotopy class. This last term depends only on the homotopy class of the map, and the constants appearing in the inequality depend on the geometry of the Riemannian manifold involved. The second part of the paper is devoted to the study of some boundary problems. In particular, they solve a Dirichlet problem for maps with prescribed tension field under the assumption that there is a bound on \(V\) which is described in terms of the first eigenvalue of the domain.