In this paper we study some fourth order elliptic equation involving the critical Sobolev exponent, related to the prescription of a fourth order conformal invariant on the standard sphere. We use a topological method to prove the existence of at least a solution when the function to be prescribed is close to a constant and a finite dimensional map associated to it has non-zero degree.
In this paper we perform a fine blow-up analysis for a fourth order elliptic equation involving critical Sobolev exponent, related to the prescription of some conformal invariant on the standard sphere. We derive from this analysis some a priori estimates in dimension 5 and 6. On the five dimensionl sphere these a priori estimates combined with the perturbation result of Part I allow us to obtain some existence results. On the six dimensional sphere we prove the existence of at least one solution when an associated index is different from zero.
We consider the problem of prescribing the nodal set of the first nontrivial eigenfunction of the Laplacian in a conformal class. Our main result is that, given a separating closed hypersurface $Σ$ in a compact Riemannian manifold $(M,g_0)$ of dimension $d \geq 3$, there is a metric $g$ on $M$ conformally equivalent to $g_0$ and with the same volume such that the nodal set of its first nontrivial eigenfunction is a $C^0$-small deformation of $Σ$ (i.e., $Φ(Σ)$ with $Φ: M \to M$ a diffeomorphism arbitrarily close to the identity in the $C^0$ norm).
We consider the problem of prescribing the scalar curvature and the boundary mean curvature of the standard half three sphere, by deforming conformally its standard metric. Using blow up analysis techniques and minimax arguments, we prove some existence and compactness results.
The problem of prescribing Gaussian curvature on Riemann surface with conical singularity is considered. Let $(Σ,β)$ be a closed Riemann surface with a divisor $β$, and $K_λ=K+λ$, where $K:Σ\rightarrow\mathbb{R}$ is a Hölder continuous function satisfying $\max_ΣK= 0$, $K\not\equiv 0$, and $λ\in\mathbb{R}$. If the Euler characteristic $χ(Σ,β)$ is negative, then by a variational method, it is proved that there exists a constant $λ^\ast>0$ such that for any $λ\leq 0$, there is a unique conformal metric with the Gaussian curvature $K_λ$; for any $λ$, $0<λ<λ^\ast$, there are at least two conformal…
We study conformal metrics with prescribed Gaussian curvature on surfaces with conical singularities and geodesic boundary in supercritical regimes. Exploiting a variational argument, we derive a general existence result for surfaces with at least two boundary components. This seems to be the first result in this setting. Moreover, we allow to have conical singularities with both positive and negative orders, that is cone angles both less and grater than $2π$.
In this paper we study the problem of prescribing the Gaussian curvature under a conformal change of the metric. We are concerned with the problem posed on a subdomain of the 2-sphere under Neumann boundary conditions of the conformal factor. If the area of the subdomain is greater than 2π, the associated energy functional is no longer bounded from below. We treat this case by using min-max techniques, giving a new existence result that generalizes and unifies previous work on the argument.
The paper develops various estimates for solutions of a fourth order nonlinear PDE, which corresponds to prescribing the scalar curvature of a toric Kahler metric.
In this article, we give results of prescribing scalar and mean curvature functions for metrics either pointwise conformal or conformally equivalent to a Riemannian metric that is equipped on a compact manifold with boundary, with dimensions at least $ 3 $. The results are classified by the sign of the first eigenvalue of the conformal Laplacian. This leads to a "Trichotomy Theorem" in terms of both scalar and mean curvature functions, which is a full extension of the "Trichotomy Theorem" given by Kazdan and Warner. We also discuss prescribing Gauss and geodesic curvature problems on compact R…
Let $(M,g)$ be a complete three dimensional Riemannian manifold with boundary $\partial M$. Given smooth functions $K(x)>0$ and $c(x)$ defined on $M$ and $\partial M$, respectively, it is natural to ask whether there exist metrics conformal to $g$ so that under these new metrics, $K$ is the scalar curvature and $c$ is the boundary mean curvature. All such metrics can be described by a prescribing curvature equation with a boundary condition. With suitable assumptions on $K$,$c$ and $(M,g)$ we show that all the solutions of the equation can only blow up at finite points over each compact subset…
In this paper we study the energy function associated to fourth order equations of critical growth on smooth compact conformally flat manifolds of dimension greater or equal than 5.
In this paper we formulate new curvature functions on $\mathbb{S}^n$ via integral operators. For certain even orders, these curvature functions are equivalent to the classic curvature functions defined via differential operators, but not for all even orders. Existence result for antipodally symmetric prescribed curvature functions on $\mathbb{S}^n$ is obtained. As a corollary, the existence of a conformal metric for an antipodally symmetric prescribed $Q-$curvature functions on $\mathbb{S}^3$ is proved. Curvature function on general compact manifold as well as the conformal covariance property…
We study the problem of prescribing the Paneitz curvature on higher dimensional spheres. Particular attention is paid to the blow-up points, i.e. the critical points at infinity of the corresponding variational problem. Using topological tools and a careful analysis of the gradient flow lines in the neighborhood of such critical points at infinity, we prove some existence results.
In this paper we prescribe a fourth order conformal invariant on the standard $n-$sphere, with $n\geq5$, and study the related fourth order elliptic equation. We first find some existence results in the perturbative case. After some blow up analysis we build a homotopy to pass from the perturbative case to the non-perturbative one under some flatness condition. Finally we state some existence results under the assumption of symmetry.
Making use of integral representations, we develop a unified approach to establish blow up profiles, compactness and existence of positive solutions of the conformally invariant equations $P_σ(v)= Kv^{\frac{n+2σ}{n-2σ}}$ on the standard unit sphere $\mathbb{S}^n$ for all $σ\in (0,n/2)$, where $P_σ$ is the intertwining operator of order $2σ$. Finding positive solutions of these equations is equivalent to seeking metrics in the conformal class of the standard metric on spheres with prescribed certain curvatures. When $σ=1$, it is the prescribing scalar curvature problem or the Nirenberg problem,…
Our first objective in this paper is to give a natural formulation of the Christoffel problem for hypersurfaces in $H^{n+1}$, by means of the hyperbolic Gauss map and the notion of hyperbolic curvature radii for hypersurfaces. Our second objective is to provide an explicit equivalence of this Christoffel problem with the famous problem of prescribing scalar curvature on $§^n$ for conformal metrics, posed by Nirenberg and Kazdan-Warner. This construction lets us translate into the hyperbolic setting the known results for the scalar curvature problem, and also provides a hypersurface theory inte…
In this paper we study the problem of prescribing fractional $Q$-curvature of order $2σ$ for a conformal metric on the standard sphere $\Sn$ with $σ\in (0,n/2)$ and $n\geq2$. Compactness and existence results are obtained in terms of the flatness order $β$ of the prescribed curvature function $K$. Making use of integral representations and perturbation result, we develop a unified approach to obtain these results when $β\in [n-2σ,n)$ for all $σ\in (0,n/2)$. This work generalizes the corresponding results of Jin-Li-Xiong [Math. Ann. 369: 109--151, 2017] for $β\in (n-2σ,n)$.
We study conformal deformation problems on manifolds with boundary which include prescribing $σ_k\equiv0$ in the interior. In particular, we prove a Dirichlet principle when the induced metric on the boundary is fixed and an Obata-type theorem on the upper hemisphere. We introduce some conformally covariant multilinear operators as a key technical tool.
Prescribing, by conformal transformation, the kth-elementary symmetric polynomial of the Schouten tensor $P$ to be constant is a generalisation of the Yamabe problem. On compact Riemannian n-manifolds we show that, for k between and including 3 and n, this prescription equation is an Euler-Lagrange equation of some action if and only if the structure is locally conformally flat.
On $(M,g)$ a compact riemannian $4-$manifold we consider the prescribed $Q-$curvature equation defined on $M$ with finite singular sources. We first prove a classification theorem for singular Liouville equations defined on $\mathbb R^4$ and perform a concentration compactness analysis. Then we derive a quantization result for bubbling solutions and establish a priori estimate under the assumption that certain conformal invariant does not take some quantized values. Furthermore we prove a spherical Harnack inequality around singular sources provided their strength is not an integer. Such an in…
We study qualitative properties for nonnegative solutions to a conformally invariant coupled system of fourth order equations involving critical exponents. For solutions defined in the punctured space, there exist essentially two cases to analyze. If the origin is a removable singularity, we prove that non-singular solutions are rotationally invariant and weakly positive. More precisely, they are the product of a fourth order spherical solution by a unit vector with nonnegative coordinates. If the origin is a non-removable singularity, we show that the solutions are radially symmetric and stro…
We investigate fourth order Paneitz equations of critical growth in the case of $n$-dimensional closed conformally flat manifolds, $n \ge 5$. Such equations arise from conformal geometry and are modelized on the Einstein case of the geometric equation describing the effects of conformal changes of metrics on the $Q$-curvature. We obtain sharp asymptotics for arbitrary bounded energy sequences of solutions of our equations from which we derive stability and compactness properties. In doing so we establish the criticality of the geometric equation with respect to the trace of its second order te…
We study a prescribing functions problem of a conformally invariant integral equation involving Poisson kernel on the unit ball. This integral equation is not the dual of any standard type of PDE. As in Nirenberg problem, there exists a Kazdan-Warner type obstruction to existence of solutions. We prove existence in the antipodal symmetry functions class.
In this paper we study the problem of prescribing a fourth order conformal invariant (the Paneitz curvature) on the $n$-sphere, with $n\geq 5$. Using tools from the theory of critical points at infinity, we provide some topological conditions on the level sets of a given positive function under which we prove the existene of a metric, conformally equivalent to the standard metric, with prescribed Paneitz curvature.
We study the asymptotic behavior for singular solutions to a critical fourth order system generalizing the constant $Q$-curvature equation. Our main result extends to the case of strongly coupled systems, the celebrated asymptotic classification due to [L. A. Caffarelli, B. Gidas and J. Spruck, Comm. Pure Appl. Math. (1989)] and [N. Korevaar, R. Mazzeo, F. Pacard and R. Schoen, Invent. Math., (1999)]. On the technical level, we use an involved spectral analysis to study the Jacobi fields' growth properties in the kernel of the linearization of our system around a blow-up limit solution. Beside…
We consider the problem of prescribing Gaussian and geodesic curvatures for a conformal metric on the unit disk. This is equivalent to solving the following P.D.E. \begin{equation*}\begin{cases}-Δu=2K(z)e^u&\hbox{in}\;\mathbb{D}^2,\\ \partial_νu+2=2h(z)e^\frac u2&\hbox{on}\;\partial\mathbb{D}^2,\end{cases} \end{equation*} where $K,h$ are the prescribed curvatures. We construct a family of conformal metrics with curvatures $K_\varepsilon,h_\varepsilon$ converging to $K,h$ respectively as $\varepsilon$ goes to $0$, which blows up at one boundary point under some generic assumptions.
In this paper, we consider the problem of prescribing the scalar curvature under minimal boundary conditions on the standard four dimensional half sphere. We provide an Euler-Hopf type criterion for a given function to be a scalar curvature to a metric conformal to the standard one. Our proof involves the study of critical points at infinity of the associated variational problem.
Following an approach of the second author for conformally invariant variational problems in two dimensions, we show in four dimensions the existence of a conservation law for fourth order systems, which includes both intrinsic and extrinsic biharmonic maps. With the help of this conservation law we prove the continuity of weak solutions of this system. Moreover we use the conservation law to derive the existence of a unique global weak solution of the extrinsic biharmonic map flow in the energy space.
We consider the problem of prescribing the Gaussian and the geodesic curvatures of a compact surface with boundary by a conformal deformation of the metric. We derive some existence results using a variational approach, either by minimization of the Euler-Lagrange energy or via min-max methods. One of the main tools in our approach is a blow-up analysis of solutions, which in the present setting can have diverging volume. To our knowledge, this is the first time in which such an aspect is treated. Key ingredients in our arguments are: a blow-up analysis around a sequence of points different fr…
We study the conformal plate buckling equation (Laplace--Beltrami)^2 u =1, where the L-B operator is for the metric g = e^{2u}g_0, with $g_0$ the standard Euclidean metric on R^2. This conformal elliptic PDE of fourth order is equivalent to the nonlinear system of elliptic PDEs of second order, Delta u +K_g e^(2u)=0, Delta K_g + e^(2u)=0, with x in R^2, describing a conformally flat surface with a Gauss curvature function K_g that is generated self-consistently through the metric's conformal factor.
We study compactness for nonnegative solutions of the fourth order constant $Q$-curvature equations on smooth compact Riemannian manifolds of dimension $\ge 5$. If the $Q$-curvature equals $-1$, we prove that all solutions are universally bounded. If the $Q$-curvature is $1$, assuming that Paneitz operator's kernel is trivial and its Green function is positive, we establish universal energy bounds on manifolds which are either locally conformally flat (LCF) or of dimension $\le 9$. Moreover, assuming in addition that a positive mass type theorem holds for the Paneitz operator, we prove compact…
In this paper we prove that, given a compact four dimensional smooth Riemannian manifold (M,g) with smooth boundary there exists a metric conformal to g with constant T-curvature, zero Q-curvature and zero mean curvature under generic and conformally invariant assumptions. The problem amounts to solving a fourth order nonlinear elliptic boundary value problem (BVP) with boundary conditions given by a third-order pseudodifferential operator, and homogeneous Neumann one. It has a variational structure, but since the corresponding Euler-Lagrange functional is in general unbounded from below, we l…
We prove compactness of solutions to some fourth order equations with exponential nonlinearities on four manifolds. The proof is based on a refined bubbling analysis, for which the main estimates are given in integral form. Our result is used in a subsequent paper to find critical points (via minimax arguments) of some geometric functional, which give rise to conformal metrics of constant $Q$-curvature. As a byproduct of our method, we also obtain compactness of such metrics.
We prove that the following pointwise inequality holds \begin{equation*} -Δu \ge \sqrt\frac{2}{(p+1)-c_n} |x|^{\frac{a}{2}} u^{\frac{p+1}{2}} + \frac{2}{n-4} \frac{|\nabla u|^2}{u} \ \ \text{in}\ \ \mathbb{R}^n \end{equation*} where $c_n:=\frac{8}{n(n-4)}$, for positive bounded solutions of the fourth order Hénon equation that is \begin{equation*} Δ^2 u = |x|^a u^p \ \ \ \ \text {in }\ \ \mathbb{R}^n \end{equation*} for some $a\ge0$ and $p>1$. Motivated by the Moser's proof of the Harnack's inequality as well as Moser iteration type arguments in the regularity theory, we develop an iteration a…
In this paper we prove a positive energy theorem related to fourth-order gravitational theories, which is a higher-order analogue of the classical ADM positive energy theorem of general relativity. We will also show that, in parallel to the corresponding situation in general relativity, this result intersects several important problems in geometric analysis. For instance, it underlies positive mass theorems associated to the Paneitz operator, playing a similar role in the positive $Q$-curvature conformal prescription problem as the Schoen-Yau positive energy theorem does for the Yamabe problem…
In this paper we prescribe a fourth order conformal invariant 9the Paneitz Curvature) on five and six spheres. Using dynamical and topological methods involving the study of critical points at infinity of the associated variational problem, we prove some existence results.
We show explicit forms for extremals of some fourth-order sharp trace inequalities on the unit balls recently proved by Ache-Chang. We also give a classification result of the bi-harmonic equation on $\mathbb{R}^4_+$ with some conformally covariant boundary conditions.
We show that on $\mathbb S^1(1/\sqrt{d-2})\times\mathbb S^{d-1}(1)$ the conformally invariant Sobolev inequality holds with a remainder term that is the fourth power of the distance to the optimizers. The fourth power is best possible. This is in contrast to the more usual vanishing to second order and is motivated by work of Engelstein, Neumayer and Spolaor. A similar phenomenon arises for subcritical Sobolev inequalities on $\mathbb S^d$. Our proof proceeds by an iterated Bianchi-Egnell strategy.
In this paper we derive a novel fourth order gauge-invariant phenomenological model of infinitesimal rate-independent gradient plasticity with isotropic hardening and Kröner's incompatibility tensor $inc(ε_p):= Curl[(Curl ε_p)^T]$, where $ε_p=sym p$ is the symmetric infinitesimal plastic strain tensor and $p$ is the (non-symmetric) infinitesimal plastic distortion. Here, gauge-invariance denotes invariance under diffeomorphic reparametrizations of the reference configuration, suitably adapted to the geometrically linear setting. The model features a defect energy contribution which is quadrat…
