Abstract
We discuss the optimal regularity and nondegeneracy of a free boundary problem related to the fractional Laplacian. This work is related to, but addresses a different problem from, recent work of Caffarelli et al. (J Eur Math Soc (JEMS) 12(5):1151–1179, 2010). A variant of the boundary Harnack inequality is also proved, where it is no longer required that the function be zero along the boundary.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution.
References
- 1.
Adams D.R.: A note on Riesz potentials. Duke Math. J. 42(4), 765–778 (1975)
- 2.
Alt H.W., Caffarelli L.A.: Existence and regularity for a minimum problem with free boundary. J. Reine Angew. Math. 325, 105–144 (1981)
- 3.
Alt H.W., Phillips D.: A free boundary problem for semilinear elliptic equations. J. Reine Angew. Math. 368, 63–107 (1986)
- 4.
Caffarelli L., Fabes E., Mortola S., Salsa S.: Boundary behavior of nonnegative solutions of elliptic operators in divergence form. Indiana Univ. Math. J. 30(4), 621–640 (1981)
- 5.
Caffarelli L., Roquejoffre J., Sire Y.: Variational problems with free boundaries for the fractional laplacian. J. Eur. Math. Soc. (JEMS) 12(5), 1151–1179 (2010)
- 6.
Caffarelli L.A., Kinderlehrer D.: Potential methods in variational inequalities. J. Analyse Math. 37, 285–295 (1980)
- 7.
Caffarelli L.A., Silvestre L.: An extension problem related to the fractional Laplacian. Comm. Partial Diff. Equ. 32(7–9), 1245–1260 (2007)
- 8.
Caffarelli, L., Salsa, S.: A Geometric Approach to Free Boundary Problems, Graduate Studies in Mathematics, vol. 68, American Mathematical Society, Providence, 2005
- 9.
Caffarelli L.A., Salsa S., Silvestre L.: Regularity estimates for the solution and the free boundary of the obstacle problem for the fractional Laplacian. Invent. Math. 171(2), 425–461 (2008)
- 10.
Fabes, E., Jerison, D., Kenig, C.: The Wiener test for degenerate elliptic equations. Ann. Inst. Fourier (Grenoble). 32(3, vi), 151–182 (1982)
- 11.
Fabes, E.B., Kenig, C.E., Jerison, D.: Boundary behavior of solutions to degenerate elliptic equations. Conference on harmonic analysis in honor of Antoni Zygmund, Vol. I, II (Chicago, Ill., 1981), Wadsworth Math. Ser., Wadsworth, Belmont, pp. 577–589, 1983
- 12.
Fabes E.B., Kenig C.E., Serapioni R.P.: The local regularity of solutions of degenerate elliptic equations. Comm. Partial Differ. Equ. 7(1), 77–116 (1982)
- 13.
Giaquinta, M., Giusti, E.: Sharp estimates for the derivatives of local minima of variational integrals. Boll. Un. Mat. Ital. A (6). 3(2), 239–248 (1984)
- 14.
Han, Q., Lin, F.: Elliptic partial differential equations. In: Courant Lecture Notes in Mathematics, vol. 1, New York University Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences, New York, 1997
- 15.
Kinderlehrer, D., Stampacchia, G.: An introduction to variational inequalities and their applications. Pure and Applied Mathematics, vol. 88, Academic Press Inc. [Harcourt Brace Jovanovich Publishers], New York, 1980
- 16.
Landkof, N.S.: Foundations of Modern Potential Theory. Springer, New York, 1972. Translated from the Russian by A. P. Doohovskoy, Die Grundlehren der mathematischen Wissenschaften, Band 180
- 17.
Phillips D.: Hausdorff measure estimates of a free boundary for a minimum problem. Comm. Partial Differ. Equ. 8(13), 1409–1454 (1983)
- 18.
Phillips D.: A minimization problem and the regularity of solutions in the presence of a free boundary. Indiana Univ. Math. J. 32(1), 1–17 (1983)
- 19.
Silvestre L.: Regularity of the obstacle problem for a fractional power of the Laplace operator. Comm. Pure Appl. Math. 60(1), 67–112 (2007)
- 20.
Stein, E.M.: Singular Integrals and Differentiability Properties of Functions. In: Princeton Mathematical Series, No. 30. Princeton University Press, Princeton, NJ, 1970
- 21.
Stein, E.M.: Harmonic Analysis: Real-Variable Methods, Orthogonality, and Oscillatory Integrals. In: Princeton Mathematical Series, vol. 43. Princeton University Press, Princeton, NJ, 1993. With the assistance of Timothy S. Murphy, Monographs in Harmonic Analysis, III
Author information
Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
Communicated by F. Lin
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Yang, R. Optimal Regularity and Nondegeneracy of a Free Boundary Problem Related to the Fractional Laplacian. Arch Rational Mech Anal 208, 693–723 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00205-013-0619-7
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
Keywords
- Free Boundary
- Free Boundary Problem
- Harnack Inequality
- Obstacle Problem
- Poisson Kernel