A comparison principle for the Lane-Emden equation and applications to geometric estimates

Abstract

We prove a comparison principle for positive supersolutions and subsolutions to the Lane-Emden equation for the $p-$Laplacian, with subhomogeneous power in the right-hand side. The proof uses variational tools and the result applies with no regularity assumptions, both on the set and the functions. We then show that such a comparison principle can be applied to prove: uniqueness of solutions; sharp pointwise estimates for positive solutions in convex sets; localization estimates for maximum points and sharp geometric estimates for generalized principal frequencies in convex sets.

arXiv comment43 pages. In Theorem 4.1, the assumption "non-negative" has been replaced by "positive". Some bibliographical items have been added