Radial symmetry of positive entire solutions of a fourth order elliptic equation with a singular nonlinearity

TL;DR

This paper establishes conditions under which positive solutions of a fourth order elliptic equation with a singular nonlinearity are radially symmetric, based on their asymptotic behavior at infinity, using the moving plane method.

Contribution

It provides necessary and sufficient asymptotic conditions for positive solutions to be radially symmetric, extending the understanding of symmetry in singular elliptic equations.

Findings

Characterization of radial symmetry via asymptotic behavior

Conditions for solutions to be minimal or non-minimal radial solutions

Application of the moving plane method to a system of equations

Abstract

The necessary and sufficient conditions for a regular positive entire solution $u$ of the biharmonic equation: \begin{equation} \label{0.1} -\Delta^2 u=u^{-p} \;\; \mbox{in $\R^N \; (N \geq 3)$}, \;\; p>1 \end{equation} to be a radially symmetric solution are obtained via the moving plane method (MPM) of a system of equations. It is well-known that for any $a>0$, \eqref{0.1} admits a unique minimal positive entire radial solution ${\underline u}_a (r)$ and a family of non-minimal positive entire radial solutions $u_a (r)$ such that $u_a (0)={\underline u}_a (0)=a$ and $u_a (r) \geq {\underline u}_a (r)$ for $r \in (0, \infty)$. Moreover, the asymptotic behaviors of ${\underline u}_a (r)$ and $u_a (r)$ at $r=\infty$ are also known. We will see in this paper that the asymptotic behaviors similar to those of ${\underline u}_a (r)$ and $u_a (r)$ at $r=\infty$ can determine the radial symmetry of a general regular positive entire solution $u$ of \eqref{0.1}. The precisely asymptotic behaviors of $u (x)$ and $-\Delta u (x)$ at $|x|=\infty$ need to be established such that the moving-plane procedure can be started. We provide the necessary and sufficient conditions not only for a regular positive entire solution $u$ of \eqref{0.1} to be the minimal entire radial solution, but also for $u$ to be a non-minimal entire radial solution.