Second order variational integrals with critical scaling

• Applicant: Professor Dr. Ernst Kuwert
• Subject Area: Mathematics
• Term: from 2002 to 2011
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 5469304

Variational integrals involving second order derivatives occur both in geometry and in elasticity. In this project we consider energies with critical scaling, in particular the Willmore functional for surfaces in space and the biharmonic energy for maps between Riemannian manifolds. For the associated gradient flows and also for sequences of stationary solutions, singularities due to energy concentrations are possible. We are interested in understanding the formation of the singularities, and in finding natural conditions like energy bounds which guarantee regularity.http://home.mathematik.uni-freiburg.de/fg/projects/A2/Der Text der Zusammenfassung ist der oben angegebenen Seite zu entnehmen. Die Angabe des Links ist ausreichend.

• DFG Programme: Research Units
• Subproject of: FOR 469: Nonlinear Partial Differential Equations: Theoretical and Numerical Analysis