On the second inner variations of Allen-Cahn type energies and applications to local minimizers

Abstract

In this paper, we obtain an explicit formula for the discrepancy between the limit of the second inner variations of $p$-Laplace Allen-Cahn energies and the second inner variation of their $\Gamma$-limit which is the area functional. Our analysis explains the mysterious discrepancy term found in our previous paper \cite{Le} in the case $p=2$. The discrepancy term turns out to be related to the convergence of certain 4-tensors which are absent in the usual Allen-Cahn functional. These (hidden) 4-tensors suggest that, in the complex-valued Ginzburg-Landau setting, we should expect a different discrepancy term which we are able to identify. Along the way, we partially answer a question of Kohn and Sternberg \cite{KS} by giving a relation between the limit of second variations of the Allen-Cahn functional and the second inner variation of the area functional at local minimizers. Moreover, our analysis reveals an interesting identity connecting second inner variation and Poincaré inequality for area-minimizing surfaces with volume constraint in the work of Sternberg and Zumbrun \cite{SZ2}.

To be published in Journal de Mathématiques Pures et Appliquées; final version incorporating comments/suggestions from referee reports