Skip to main content
Log in

Existence and non existence of capillary surfaces

  • Published:
manuscripta mathematica Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

A general criterion for existence of solutions of the capillary equation, introduced by Concus and Finn [1] and by Giusti [7], is shown to be equivalent to the question of existence of certain vector fields. The result is applied to particular boundary configurations, and it is shown that in some cases the local “corner condition” of [1] is both necessary and sufficient in the global configuration. In other situations a different kind of unstable dependence on the boundary geometry appears, that could not have been predicted by previous results.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. CONCUS, P., and R. FINN: On capillary free surfaces in the absence of gravity. Acta Math.132, 177–198 (1974)

    Google Scholar 

  2. DeGIORGI, E., and G. STAMPACCHIA: Sulle singolarità eliminabili delle ipersuperficie minimali. Rend. Accad. Naz. Lincei 38,352–357 (1965)

    Google Scholar 

  3. FINN, R.: Isolated singularities of solutions of nonlinear partial differential equations. Trans. Amer. Math. Soc. 75, 385–404 (1953)

    Google Scholar 

  4. FINN, R.: Capillarity Phenomena. Uspechi Math. Nauk 29, 131–152 (1974)

    Google Scholar 

  5. FINN, R., and E. GIUSTI: On nonparametric surfaces of constant mean curvature. Ann. Scuola Norm. Sup. Pisa 4, 13–31 (1977)

    Google Scholar 

  6. FINN, R. and E. GIUSTI: Non existence and existence of capillary surfaces. Manuscripta Math. following

  7. GIUSTI, E.: Boundary value problems for nonparametric surfaces of prescribed mean curvature. Ann. Scuola Norm Sup. Pisa 3, 501–548 (1976)

    Google Scholar 

  8. GIUSTI, E.: On the equation of surfaces of prescribed mean curvature-existence and uniqueness without boundary condition, to appear

  9. NITSCHE, J. C. C.: Über ein verallgemeinertes Dirichletsches Problem für die Minimalflächengleichung und hebbare Unstetigkeiten ihrer Lösungen. Math. Ann. 158, 203–214 (1965)

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Additional information

Dedicated to Hans Lewy and Charles B. Morrey, Jr.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Finn, R. Existence and non existence of capillary surfaces. Manuscripta Math 28, 1–11 (1979). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01647961

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01647961

Keywords

Navigation