Regularity and a Liouville theorem for a class of boundary-degenerate second order equations

Abstract

We study a class of second-order boundary-degenerate elliptic equations in two dimensions with minimal regularity assumptions. We prove a maximum principle and a Harnack inequality at the degenerate boundary, and assuming local boundedness, we prove continuity. On globally defined non-negative solutions we provide strong constraints on behavior at infinity, and prove a Liouville-type theorem for entire solutions on the closed half-plane. The class of PDE in question includes many from mathematical finance, Keldysh- and Tricomi-type PDE, and the 2nd order reduction of the fully non-linear 4th order Abreu equation from Kähler geometry.