# On the singular set in the thin obstacle problem: higher order blow-ups and the very thin obstacle problem

## TL;DR

This paper analyzes the structure of the singular set in the thin obstacle problem with fractional Laplacian extension, revealing new regularity properties and a dichotomy in blow-up behavior depending on the weight parameter.

## Contribution

It introduces a refined expansion of solutions near singular points, establishes manifold structures for the singular set, and uncovers a novel dichotomy in blow-up solutions based on the weight parameter.

## Key findings

- Each stratum of the singular set is contained in a $C^2$ manifold.
- The top stratum is contained in a $C^{1,eta}$ manifold under certain conditions.
- A dichotomy in blow-up solutions depending on the sign of the weight parameter.

## Abstract

In this work, we consider the singular set in the thin obstacle problem with weight $|x_{n+1}|^a$ for $a\in (-1, 1)$, which arises as the local extension of the obstacle problem for the fractional Laplacian (a non-local problem). We develop a refined expansion of the solution around its singular points by building on the ideas introduced by Figalli and Serra to study the fine properties of the singular set in the classical obstacle problem. As a result, under a superharmonicity condition on the obstacle, we prove that each stratum of the singular set is locally contained in a single $C^2$ manifold, up to a lower dimensional subset, and the top stratum is locally contained in a $C^{1,\alpha}$ manifold for some $\alpha > 0$ if $a < 0$. In studying the top stratum, we discover a dichotomy, until now unseen, in this problem (or, equivalently, the fractional obstacle problem). We find that second blow-ups at singular points in the top stratum are global, homogeneous solutions to a codimension two lower dimensional obstacle problem (or fractional thin obstacle problem) when $a < 0$, whereas second blow-ups at singular points in the top stratum are global, homogeneous, and $a$-harmonic polynomials when $a \geq 0$. To do so, we establish regularity results for this codimension two problem, what we call the very thin obstacle problem. Our methods extend to the majority of the singular set even when no sign assumption on the Laplacian of the obstacle is made. In this general case, we are able to prove that the singular set can be covered by countably many $C^2$ manifolds, up to a lower dimensional subset.