We state and prove a Korn-like inequality for a vector field in a bounded open set of ${ℝ}^N$, satisfying a tangency boundary condition. This inequality, which is crucial in our study of the trend towards equilibrium for dilute gases, holds true if and only if the domain is not axisymmetric. We give quantitative, explicit estimates on how the departure from axisymmetry affects the constants; a Monge–Kantorovich minimization problem naturally arises in this process. Variants in the axisymmetric case...

We prove some multiplicity results concerning quasilinear elliptic equations with natural growth conditions. Techniques of nonsmooth critical point theory are employed.

We characterize the existence of the $L^1$ solutions of the truncated moments problem in several real variables on unbounded supports by the existence of the maximum of certain concave Lagrangian functions. A natural regularity assumption on the support is required.

We study a variational problem which was introduced by Hannon, Marcus and Mizel [ESAIM: COCV9 (2003) 145–149] to describe step-terraces on surfaces of so-called “unorthodox” crystals. We show that there is no nondegenerate intervals on which the absolute value of a minimizer is $\pi /2$ identically.

The aim of this paper is to give the proofs of those results that in [4] were only announced, and, at the same time, to propose some possible developments, indicating some of the most significant open problems.

We consider the problem of minimizing the energy$$E\left(u\right):={\int }_{\Omega }{\left|\nabla u\left(x\right)\right|}^2\mathrm{d}x+{\int }_{S_u\cap \Omega }\left(1+\left|\right[u\left]\right(x\left)\right|\right)\mathrm{d}{H}^{N-1}\left(x\right)$$among all functions $u\in SB{V}^2\left(\Omega \right)$ for which two level sets $\{u=l_i\}$ have prescribed Lebesgue measure ${\alpha }_i$. Subject to this volume constraint the existence of minimizers for $E(·)$ is proved and the asymptotic behaviour of the solutions is investigated.

We consider the problem of minimizing the energy $$E\left(u\right):={\int }_{\Omega }{\left|\nabla u\left(x\right)\right|}^2\mathrm{d}x+{\int }_{S_u\cap \Omega }\left(1+\left|\right[u\left]\right(x\left)\right|\right)\mathrm{d}{H}^{N-1}\left(x\right)$$ among all functions u ∈ SBV²(Ω) for which two level sets $\{u=l_i\}$ have prescribed Lebesgue measure ${\alpha }_i$. Subject to this volume constraint the existence of minimizers for E(.) is proved and the asymptotic behaviour of the solutions is investigated.

Let $F$ be a closed subset of ${ℝ}^n$ and let $P\left(x\right)$ denote the metric projection (closest point mapping) of $x\in {ℝ}^n$ onto $F$ in $l^p$-norm. A classical result of Asplund states that $P$ is (Fréchet) differentiable almost everywhere (a.e.) in ${ℝ}^n$ in the Euclidean case $p=2$. We consider the case $2<p<\infty$ and prove that the $i$th component $P_i\left(x\right)$ of $P\left(x\right)$ is differentiable a.e. if $P_i\left(x\right)\ne x_i$ and satisfies Hölder condition of order $1/(p-1)$ if $P_i\left(x\right)=x_i$.

An almost-Riemannian structure on a surface is a generalized Riemannian structure whose local orthonormal frames are given by Lie bracket generating pairs of vector fields that can become collinear. The distribution generated locally by orthonormal frames has maximal rank at almost every point of the surface, but in general it has rank 1 on a nonempty set which is generically a smooth curve. In this paper we provide a short introduction to 2-dimensional almost-Riemannian geometry highlighting its...

An optimal control problem governed by a quasilinear parabolic equation with additional constraints is investigated. The optimal control problem is converted to an optimization problem which is solved using a penalty function technique. The existence and uniqueness theorems are investigated. The derivation of formulae for the gradient of the modified function is explainedby solving the adjoint problem.

In this paper we analyze a typical shape optimization problem in two-dimensional conductivity. We study relaxation for this problem itself. We also analyze the question of the approximation of this problem by the two-phase optimal design problems obtained when we fill out the holes that we want to design in the original problem by a very poor conductor, that we make to converge to zero.

The research on a class of asymptotic exit-time problems with a vanishing Lagrangian, begun in [M. Motta and C. Sartori, Nonlinear Differ. Equ. Appl. Springer (2014).] for the compact control case, is extended here to the case of unbounded controls and data, including both coercive and non-coercive problems. We give sufficient conditions to have a well-posed notion of generalized control problem and obtain regularity, characterization and approximation results for the value function of the problem....

The closures of the pre-images associated with families of mappings in different topologies of normed spaces are considered. The question of finding a description of these closures by means of families of the same kind as original ones is studied. It is shown that for the case of the weak topology this question may be reduced to finding an appropriate closure of a given family. There are discussed various situations when the description may be obtained for the case of the strong topology. An example...