Some minimization problems for planar networks of elastic curve

In this note we announce some results that will appear in [6] (joint work with also Matteo Novaga) on the minimization of the functional $F(\Gamma)=\int_\Gamma k^2+1\,\mathrm{d}s$, where $\Gamma$ is a network of three curves with fixed equal angles at the two junctions. The informal description of the results is accompanied by a partial review of the theory of elasticae and a diffuse discussion about the onset of interesting variants of the original problem passing from curves to networks. The considered energy functional $F$ is given by the elastic energy and a term that penalize the total length of the network. We will show that penalizing the length is tantamount to fix it. The paper is concluded with the explicit computation of the penalized elastic energy of the 'Figure Eight', namely the unique closed elastica with self--intersections.Comment: 24 pages, 7 figure

Excess charge for pseudo-relativistic atoms in Hartree-Fock theory

We prove within the Hartree-Fock theory of pseudo-relativistic atoms that the maximal negative ionization charge and the ionization energy of an atom remain bounded independently of the nuclear charge Z and the fine structure constant \alpha as long as Z\alpha is bounded.Comment: 48 Page

Hartree-Fock theory for pseudorelativistic atoms

We study the Hartree-Fock model for pseudorelativistic atoms, that is, atoms where the kinetic energy of the electrons is given by the pseudorelativistic operator \sqrt{(pc)^2+(mc^2)^2}-mc^2. We prove the existence of a Hartree-Fock minimizer, and prove regularity away from the nucleus and pointwise exponential decay of the corresponding orbitals