Energy estimates and 1-D symmetry for nonlinear equations involving the half-Laplacian

We establish sharp energy estimates for some solutions, such as global minimizers, monotone solutions and saddle-shaped solutions, of the fractional nonlinear equation $(-\Delta)^{1/2} u=f(u)$ in \re^n. Our energy estimates hold for every nonlinearity $f$ and are sharp since they are optimal for one-dimensional solutions, that is, for solutions depending only on one Euclidian variable. As a consequence, in dimension $n=3$, we deduce the one-dimensional symmetry of every global minimizer and of every monotone solution. This result is the analog of a conjecture of De Giorgi on one-dimensional symmetry for the classical equation $-\Delta u=f(u)$ in \re^n

Classical and quantum filaments in the ground state of trapped dipolar Bose gases

We study by quantum Monte Carlo simulations the ground state of a harmonically confined dipolar Bose gas with aligned dipole moments, and with the inclusion of a repulsive two-body potential of varying range. Two different limits can be clearly identified, namely a classical one in which the attractive part of the dipolar interaction dominates and the system forms an ordered array of parallel filaments, and a quantum-mechanical one, wherein filaments are destabilized by zero-point motion, and eventually the ground state becomes a uniform cloud. The physical character of the system smoothly evolves from classical to quantum mechanical as the range of the repulsive two-body potential increases. An intermediate regime is observed, in which ordered filaments are still present, albeit forming different structures from the ones predicted classically; quantum-mechanical exchanges of indistinguishable particles across different filaments allow phase coherence to be established, underlying a global superfluid response.Comment: Replaced with published versio

Sharp energy estimates for nonlinear fractional diffusion equations

We study the nonlinear fractional equation $(-\Delta)^s u = f(u)$ in $\mathbb{R}^n$, for all fractions $0<s<1$ and all nonlinearities $f$. For every fractional power $s \in (0,1)$, we obtain sharp energy estimates for bounded global minimizers and for bounded monotone solutions. They are sharp since they are optimal for solutions depending only on one Euclidian variable. As a consequence, we deduce the one-dimensional symmetry of bounded global minimizers and of bounded monotone solutions in dimension $n=3$ whenever $1/2 \leq s < 1$. This result is the analogue of a conjecture of De Giorgi on one-dimensional symmetry for the classical equation $-\Delta u = f(u)$ in $\mathbb{R}^n$. It remains open for $n=3$ and $s<1/2$, and also for $n \geq 4$ and all $s$.Comment: arXiv admin note: text overlap with arXiv:1004.286

Interpolation inequalities in pattern formation

We prove some interpolation inequalities which arise in the analysis of pattern formation in physics. They are the strong version of some already known estimates in weak form that are used to give a lower bound of the energy in many contexts (coarsening and branching in micromagnetics and superconductors). The main ingredient in the proof of our inequalities is a geometric construction which was first used by Choksi, Conti, Kohn, and one of the authors in the study of branching in superconductors

A nonlocal supercritical Neumann problem

We establish existence of positive non-decreasing radial solutions for a nonlocal nonlinear Neumann problem both in the ball and in the annulus. The nonlinearity that we consider is rather general, allowing for supercritical growth (in the sense of Sobolev embedding). The consequent lack of compactness can be overcome, by working in the cone of non-negative and non-decreasing radial functions. Within this cone, we establish some a priori estimates which allow, via a truncation argument, to use variational methods for proving existence of solutions. As a side result, we prove a strong maximum principle for nonlocal Neumann problems, which is of independent interest.Comment: 32 pages, 0 figure

A nonlinear Liouville theorem for fractional equations in the Heisenberg group

We establish a Liouville-type theorem for a subcritical nonlinear problem, involving a fractional power of the sub-Laplacian in the Heisenberg group. To prove our result we will use the local realization of fractional CR covariant operators, which can be constructed as the Dirichlet-to-Neumann operator of a degenerate elliptic equation in the spirit of Caffarelli and Silvestre, as established in \cite{FGMT}. The main tools in our proof are the CR inversion and the moving plane method, applied to the solution of the lifted problem in the half-space \mathbb H^n\times \mathbbR^+

Exchange-induced crystallization of soft core bosons

We study the phase diagram of a two-dimensional assembly of bosons interacting via a soft core repulsive pair potential of varying strength, and compare it to that of the equivalent system in which particles are regarded as distinguishable. We show that quantum-mechanical exchanges stabilize a "cluster crystal" phase in a wider region of parameter space than predicted by calculations in which exchanges are neglected. This physical effect is diametrically opposite to that which takes place in hard core Bose systems such as $^4$He, wherein exchanges strengthen the fluid phase. It is underlain in the cluster crystal phase of soft core bosons by the free energy gain associated to the formation of local Bose-Einstein condensates.Comment: 10 pages, 4 figures, published versio

Quantitative flatness results and BVBV-estimates for stable nonlocal minimal surfaces

We establish quantitative properties of minimizers and stable sets for nonlocal interaction functionals, including the $s$-fractional perimeter as a particular case. On the one hand, we establish universal $BV$-estimates in every dimension $n\ge 2$ for stable sets. Namely, we prove that any stable set in $B_1$ has finite classical perimeter in $B_{1/2}$, with a universal bound. This nonlocal result is new even in the case of $s$-perimeters and its local counterpart (for classical stable minimal surfaces) was known only for simply connected two-dimensional surfaces immersed in $\mathbb R^3$. On the other hand, we prove quantitative flatness estimates for minimizers and stable sets in low dimensions $n=2,3$. More precisely, we show that a stable set in $B_R$, with $R$ large, is very close in measure to being a half space in $B_1$ ---with a quantitative estimate on the measure of the symmetric difference. As a byproduct, we obtain new classification results for stable sets in the whole plane