ECMC0106

UNIVERSIDAD DE INVESTIGACIÓN DE
TECNOLOGÍA EXPERIMENTAL
YACHAY
Escuela de Ciencias Matemáticas y Computacionales
TITULO: Existence of a ground state solution for a

quasilinear Schrödinger-Kirchhoff type equation
Trabajo de integración curricular presentado como

requisito para la obtención
del título de Matemático
Autor:
Abraham Mateo Macancela Bojorque
Tutor:
PhD. Juan Ricardo Mayorga Zambrano
Urcuquí, Julio 2022

Urcuquí, 28 de junio de 2022
SECRETARÍA GENERAL
(Vicerrectorado Académico/Cancillería)
ESCUELA DE CIENCIAS MATEMÁTICAS Y COMPUTACIONALES
CARRERA DE MATEMÁTICA
ACTA DE DEFENSA No. UITEY-ITE-2022-00016-AD
A los 28 días del mes de junio de 2022, a las 12:00 horas, de manera virtual mediante videoconferencia, y ante el Tribunal Calificador,
integrado por los docentes:
Presidente Tribunal de Defensa Dr. ARIZA GARCIA, EUSEBIO ALBERTO , Ph.D.

Miembro No Tutor Dr. ACOSTA ORELLANA, ANTONIO RAMON , Ph.D.
Tutor Dr. MAYORGA ZAMBRANO, JUAN RICARDO , Ph.D.
El(la) señor(ita) estudiante MACANCELA BOJORQUE, ABRAHAM MATEO, con cédula de identidad No. 0105619480, de la
ESCUELA DE CIENCIAS MATEMÁTICAS Y COMPUTACIONALES, de la Carrera de MATEMÁTICA, aprobada por el
Consejo de Educación Superior (CES), mediante Resolución RPC-SO-15-No.174-2015, realiza a través de videoconferencia, la
sustentación de su trabajo de titulación denominado: Existence of a ground state solution for a quasilinear Schrödinger-Kirchhoff-
type equation , previa a la obtención del título de MATEMÁTICO/A.
El citado trabajo de titulación, fue debidamente aprobado por el(los) docente(s):
Tutor Dr. MAYORGA ZAMBRANO, JUAN RICARDO , Ph.D.
Y recibió las observaciones de los otros miembros del Tribunal Calificador, las mismas que han sido incorporadas por el(la) estudiante.
Previamente cumplidos los requisitos legales y reglamentarios, el trabajo de titulación fue sustentado por el(la) estudiante y examinado por
los miembros del Tribunal Calificador. Escuchada la sustentación del trabajo de titulación a través de videoconferencia, que integró la
exposición de el(la) estudiante sobre el contenido de la misma y las preguntas formuladas por los miembros del Tribunal, se califica la
sustentación del trabajo de titulación con las siguientes calificaciones:
Tipo Docente Calificación

Miembro Tribunal De Defensa Dr. ACOSTA ORELLANA, ANTONIO RAMON , Ph.D. 10,0
Tutor Dr. MAYORGA ZAMBRANO, JUAN RICARDO , Ph.D. 10,0
Presidente Tribunal De Defensa Dr. ARIZA GARCIA, EUSEBIO ALBERTO , Ph.D. 10,0
Lo que da un promedio de: 10 (Diez punto Cero), sobre 10 (diez), equivalente a: APROBADO
Para constancia de lo actuado, firman los miembros del Tribunal Calificador, el/la estudiante y el/la secretario ad-hoc.
MACANCELA BOJORQUE, ABRAHAM MATEO Firmado electrónicamente por:

ABRAHAM MATEO
Estudiante MACANCELA
BOJORQUE
Dr. ARIZA GARCIA, EUSEBIO ALBERTO , Ph.D. EUSEBIO Firmado digitalmente

por EUSEBIO ALBERTO
Presidente Tribunal de Defensa ALBERTO ARIZA GARCIA
Fecha: 2022.07.01
ARIZA GARCIA 08:08:54 -05'00'
Dr. MAYORGA ZAMBRANO, JUAN RICARDO , Ph.D. Firmado electrónicamente por:
JUAN RICARDO
Tutor MAYORGA
ZAMBRANO
ANTONIO RAMON Firmado digitalmente por ANTONIO
RAMON ACOSTA ORELLANA
ACOSTA ORELLANA Fecha: 2022.06.30 15:08:29 -05'00' Firmado digitalmente
ANTONIO por ANTONIO RAMON
Dr. ACOSTA ORELLANA, ANTONIO RAMON , Ph.D. RAMON ACOSTA ACOSTA ORELLANA
Fecha: 2022.07.01
Miembro No Tutor ORELLANA 10:38:02 -05'00'
Hacienda San José s/n y Proyecto Yachay, Urcuquí | Tlf: +593 6 2 999 500 | info@yachaytech.edu.ec
www.yachaytech.edu.ec
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www.yachaytech.edu.ec
Autorı́a
Yo, Abraham Mateo Macancela Bojorque, con cédula de identidad 010561948-0,

declaro que las ideas, juicios, valoraciones, interpretaciones, consultas bibliográficas, defini-
ciones y conceptualizaciones expuestas en el presente trabajo; ası́ cómo, los procedimientos
y herramientas utilizadas en la investigación, son de absoluta responsabilidad del autor del
trabajo de integración curricular. Ası́ mismo, me acojo a los reglamentos internos de la
Universidad de Investigación de Tecnologı́a Experimental Yachay.
Urcuquı́, Marzo 2022
Firmado electrónicamente por:

ABRAHAM MATEO
MACANCELA
BOJORQUE

CI: 010561948-0
Autorización de publicación
Yo, Abraham Mateo Macancela Bojorque, con cédula de identidad 010561948-0,

cedo a la Universidad de Tecnologı́a Experimental Yachay, los derechos de publicación
de la presente obra, sin que deba haber un reconocimiento económico por este concepto.
Declaro además que el texto del presente trabajo de titulación no podrá ser cedido a
ninguna empresa editorial para su publicación u otros fines, sin contar previamente con la
autorización escrita de la Universidad.
Asimismo, autorizo a la Universidad que realice la digitalización y publicación de este tra-

bajo de integración curricular en el repositorio virtual, de conformidad a lo dispuesto en el
Art. 144 de la Ley Orgánica de Educación Superior.
Urcuquı́, Marzo 2022

Firmado electrónicamente por:
ABRAHAM MATEO
MACANCELA
BOJORQUE

CI: 010561948-0
Dedication
To Mom, Dad and Brother.

Once I died and you gave me a second chance,
that’s why you are the main reason of all
my incoming adventures and achievements
iii
Acknowledgments
After of almost six years in the process of learning about sciences and mathematics, I
want to especially thank my advisor Juan Mayorga-Zambrano, who always motivated me
to study ”the light side of force”; also for all the knowlegde that has shared with all his
students and, more important, the time and dedication that showed along this time. I
shall not forget the importance of all my professors: Juan Carlos López, Antonio Acosta,
Saba Infante, Raúl Manzanilla and Sandra Hidalgo who were, in few words, my second
family, as well as my guide in this process called university, which I will always remember.
In general, Yachay Tech University was an expirence that changed my life, beggining with
the fact that I had to live without my family, until the point of inspiring me to keep
studying mathematics after graduating.
However, all my experiences on Yachay Tech were possible thanks to my parents Carlos
Macancela and Elizabeth Bojorque who never gave up on me. That’s why I would like to
express them all my love and gratitude. To my brother, it is known that we had some bad
times but I will always be unconditionally for you. Keep studying and become the best
person for you and your loved ones.
Even if it seems melancholic, I like to mention the ”patrimonial 21” which was my
house in the university for three years, where I met and spent time with wonderful people.
Specially with Bryan Vargas who was my roomate and over time he won me to consider him
as my second brother. Another person I like to thank and mention is Josué Murillo, who
is my best friend and partner, with whom I share interests and ambitions in mathematics
as well as time to play.
Last and maybe the most important, I would like to thank to Ariana Mieles because of
all our adventures the time we spent together, our volleyball hobby, our daily routine that
changes each semester. In summary, I thank you for all the inconditional support and love
that you gave me. I wish you the best of success and, if it is possible, share an entire life
next to me.
iv
Resumen
En esta tesis se prueba la existencia de una solucion minimizante para la siguiente ecuacion
integro-diferenciable de tipo Schrödinger-Kirchhoff cuasilineal



 !p−1 
− a + b |∇u(x)|p dx  ∆p u(x) + V (x)|u(x)|p−2 u(x) = f (x, u) , x ∈ RN ,


 RN


 u(x) → 0, as |x| → ∞
(1)
N N
en la cual p > 1, a, b > 0, N ≥ 2, V ∈ C R , f ∈C R ×R , y

∆p u(x) = div |∇u|p−2 ∇u .
Ademas, las funciones V y f satisfacen las siguientes condiciones:

(V) V ∈ C RN y β := inf
N
V (x) > 0,
R
(F1 ) Existen constantes

r1 , r2 ∈ R tales que 1 < r1 < r2 < p y funciones positivas
p/(p−r1 )
M1 ∈ L R , M2 ∈ Lp/(p−r2 ) RN tal que:
N
∀(x, t) ∈ RN × R : |f (x, t)| ≤ r1 M1 (x)|t|r1 −1 + r2 M2 (x)|t|r2 −1 ,
Usando la formulación debil del problema (1), definimos un funcional I en un espacio de

Sobolev con potencial. Entonces, probamos que I es de clase C 1 . La principal herramienta
usada en la demostración de la existencia de una solución, solución debil para (1) la cual
minimiza el funcional I, es un lema abstracto de la teoria de puntos criticos.
Palabras clave: Ecuación diferencial parcial ,ecuación Schrödinger-Kirchhoff no lineal,

condición Palais Smale, Cálculo de Variaciones.
v
Abstract
In this thesis it’s proved the existence of a ground state solution for the following
quasilinear Schrödinger-Kirchhoff type integro-differential equation



 !p−1 


 RN


 u(x) → 0, as |x| → ∞
(2)
N N
where p > 1, a, b > 0, N ≥ 2, V ∈ C R , f ∈ C R × R , and
∆p u(x) = div(|∇u|p−2 ∇u).
Moreover, the functions V and f satisfy the following conditions:

(V) V ∈ C RN and β := inf
N
V (x) > 0
R
(F1 ) There exist constants

r1 , r2 ∈ R such that 1 < r1 < r2 < p and positive functions
p/(p−r1 ) N p/(p−r2 ) N
M1 ∈ L R , M2 ∈ L R such that
∀(x, t) ∈ RN × R : |f (x, t)| ≤ r1 M1 (x)|t|r1 −1 + r2 M2 (x)|t|r2 −1 .
By using the weak formulation of problem (2) we define a functional I on a Sobolev space
with potential. Then we prove that I is of class C 1 . The main tool used for showing the
existence of a ground state solution, a weak solution of (2) that minimizes the functional
I, is an abstract lemma from the theory of critical points.
Keywords: Partial differential equation, Schrödinger-Kirchhoff non-linear equation,

Palais-Smale condition, Calculus of Variations.
vi
Contents
Dedication iii
Acknowledgments iv
Resumen v
Abstract vi
Contents 1
1 Introduction 2
2 Mathematical Framework 5
2.1 Normed linear spaces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
2.2 Lebesgue spaces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
2.3 Sobolev spaces and embeddings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
2.3.1 Sobolev spaces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
2.3.2 Sobolev embeddings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
2.4 Topics of Calculus of Variations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
2.5 Some topics of non-linear PDEs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
3 Results 24
3.1 Preliminaries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
3.2 Main results . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
4 Conclusions and recommendations 52

4.1 Conclusions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
4.2 Recommendations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
References 54
1
Chapter 1
Introduction
In the attempt of explaning different phenomena, Partial Differential Equations (PDEs)

became an important tool to study them and make predictions. PDEs have been applied
to a wide range of fields, as in thermodynamics with the heat equation, or biology with
Fitzhug-Naguno equation and so on. For this graduation project it was considered the
nonlinear Schrödinger-Kirchhoff type integro-differential equation
 !p−1 
− a + b |∇u(x)|p dx  ∆p u(x) + V (x)|u(x)|p−2 u(x) = f x, u(x) , x ∈ RN ,

RN
(1.1)
N N
∆p u(x) = div(|∇u|p−2 ∇u).
A special case of this equation is studied in [11] where is considered p = 2

!
− a+b 2
|∇u| dx ∆u + V (x)u = f (x, u), in RN , (1.2)
RN
In spite of the lack of compactness of the Sobolev embeddings, the authors were able
to remove the coercive condition for the potential V . It is important to remark that
considering V = 0 and a bounded domain Ω ⊆ RN in (1.2), we obtain the Dirichlet
problem of Kirchhoff type,


!
2
− a+b |∇u| dx ∆u = f (x, u), in Ω,


RN (1.3)


 u = 0, on ∂Ω,
which is related with the time-dependent equation

!
2
utt − a + b |∇u| dx ∆u = f (x, u),
RN
proposed by Gustav Kirchhoff in [17], as an extension of the well-known D’Alembert’s

wave equation for free vibration of elastic strings, adding the changes in lenght of the
2
School of Mathematical and Computational Sciences Yachay Tech University
string produced by transverse vibrations. The problem (1.3) has found applications in
modelling physical and biological systems where the solution also depends on its average
(see e.g.[6], [16] ,[28]).
Research has been done for problem (1.2) mostly for a bounded domain. For the whole
space RN , by using a symmetric mountain pass theorem and considering radial potential,
it was proved the existence of nontrivial solutions and infinitely high energy solutions (see
e.g. [22], [29]), as well as some general existence and multiplicity results. On the other
hand, the case of a nonradial potential and f sublinear at infinity in u was studied in [11].
The main purpose of this project is proving the existence of a ground state solution
for the problem (1.1) which is a generalization of (1.2). A complementation is made by
Josué Murillo on his graduation project where it’s proved the existence of infinitely many
solutions for (1.1)
The existence of a ground state solution is proved under the following conditions for
the functions V and f :

N
V (x) > 0, and V is coercive, that is
R
lim V (x) = ∞.
|x|→∞

r1 , r2 ∈ R such that
1 < r1 < r2 < p and positive functions
p/(p−r1 ) N p/(p−r2 ) N
(F2 ) There exist a bounded open set J ⊆ RN and constants δ, η > 0 and r3 ∈ (1, p) such
that
∀(x, t) ∈ J × [−δ, δ] : F (x, t) ≥ η|t|r3 ,
t
where F (x, t) = f (x, s)ds.
0
The tool used for the proof of the main result is Lemma 2.5.4 which states that given
E, a Banach space, and a functional I ∈ C 1 (E) that satisfies the Palais-Smale condition
(PS-condition) and which is bounded from below, then
c = inf I(u)
u∈E
is a critical value of I. Here we consider

( )
E = u ∈ W 1,p (RN ) : |∇u(x)|p + V (x)up (x) dx < +∞

RN
and the functional given by

!p
a b 1
I(u) = |∇u(x)| dx + 2 p p
|∇u(x)| dx + V (x)u(x)p dx
p p p
RN RN RN
− F (x, u(x))dx,
RN
Mathematician 3 Graduation Project

Next, we prove that I is well-defined and of class C 1 (E). Actually, for u, v ∈ E
D E
 !p−1 
I ′ (u), v = a + b |∇u(x)|p dx  |∇u(x)|p−2 ∇u(x)∇v(x)dx
RN RN

p−2
+ V (x)|u(x)| u(x)v(x)dx − f (x, u(x))v(x)dx.
RN RN
Afterwards, we prove that I is bounded from below and satisfies the Palais-Smale
condition, allowing us to apply Lemma 2.5.4 and showing that for some u0 ∈ E
c = inf I(u) = I(u0 )

u∈E
is a critical value of I. Finally, we use (F 2) to show that u0 is not a trivial critical point.
This document consists of the following parts:
In Chapter 2 are presented some concepts of Functional Analysis, Partial Differential
Equations and Variational Calculus which are very important for our work.
Chapter 3 starts with some preliminaries where it’s introduced the weak-formulation of
the problem and the conditions that we assume. Then we prove a number of results that
allow us to apply Lemma 2.5.4 and, as it was already said, we use (F2 ) to conclude that
the critical point we found is not trivial.
Finally in Chapter 4 are presented the conclutions of this project as well as some
recommendations.

Chapter 2
Mathematical Framework
In this chapter we introduce topics of Functional Analysis, PDE’s and Calculus of Varia-
tions which are very important to our study.
2.1 Normed linear spaces

In this section we make a review of normed spaces and some related topics with help of
[7], [13] and[26], were can be found all these contents fully explained.
We call internal operation on a non-void set X to a function
⊕ :X × X −→ X
(u, v) 7−→ u ⊕ v.
On the other hand, given a non-void set A, an external operation on X with help of A is
a function
⊙ : A × X −→ X
(λ, u) 7−→ λ ⊙ u.
Let X be a non-void set, + be an internal operation on X. We say that (X, +) is a
group iff it satisfies the conditions:
A1) Additive asociativity. ∀x, y, z ∈ X : x + (y + z) = (x + y) + z ;
A2) Additive neutral element. ∃0 ∈ X, ∀x ∈ X : x+0=0+x=x ;
A3) Additive inverses. ∀x ∈ X, ∃y ∈ X : x+y =y+x=0 ;

(X, +) it is said to be an Abelian group if, in addition, it verifies
A4) Additive commutativity. ∀x, y ∈ X : x + y = y + x.
Now, we can state the concept of linear space. Let (X, +) be an Abelian group and
· : R × X → X an external operation. We say that (X, +, ·) is a linear space over R iff it
verifies the following properties:
L1) Mixed associativity. ∀x ∈ X, ∀α, β ∈ R : α · (β · x) = (α · β) · x ;
5
L2) Scalar distributivity. ∀x, y ∈ X, ∀α ∈ R : α · (x + y) = α · x + α · y ;
L3) Vector distributivity. ∀x ∈ X, ∀α, β ∈ R : (α + β) · x = α · x + β · x ;
L4) Harmlessness of 1. ∀x ∈ X : 1 · x = x.
Let X and Y be linear spaces. We say that D : X → Y is a linear operator iff
∀α ∈ R, ∀u, v ∈ X : D(αu + v) = αD(u) + D(v).
If D is bijective, we say that it is an algebraic isomorphism. If X = Y , we just say that D

is a linear operator on X. Moreover, given any two linear spaces X and Y , we denote by
L(X, Y ) the set of linear operators from X to Y . Thanks to the algebraic structure of Y
it is possible to define the addition of operators M, S ∈ L(X, Y ):
∀u ∈ X : (M + S)(u) = M (u) + S(u),
as well as, the multiplication of an scalar α by an operator S ∈ L(X, Y )
∀u ∈ X : (α · S)(u) = α · S(u).
Then, L((X, Y ), +, ·) becomes a linear space.
Before introducing the concept of normed space, it is important to take a look at metric
spaces. Let X be a non-void set and d : X × X → R. Then, (X, d) is a metric spaces iff
M1) ∀x, y ∈ X : d(x, y) = 0 ⇔ x = y;
M2) Symmetry. ∀x, y ∈ X : d(x, y) = d(y, x);
M3) Triangle inequatility. ∀x, y, z ∈ X : d(x, y) ≤ d(x, z) + d(y, z).
The real number d(x, y) is referred to as the distance between x and y. Also notice that
these three properties imply that:
M4) ∀x, y ∈ X : d(x, y) ≥ 0.
In a metric space (X, d), we call open ball with center x0 ∈ X and radius r > 0 to the
set given by
B(x0 , r) = {x ∈ X/d(x0 , x) < r}.
Similarly, a closed ball is a set of the form
B(x0 , r) = {x ∈ X/d(x0 , x) ≤ r},
and a sphere is a set of the form
S(x0 , r) = {x ∈ X/d(x0 , x) = r}.
Theorem 2.1.1. [Completion]. For a metric space (E, d1 ) there exists a complete metric
space (F, d2 ) which has a subspace W such that:

i. E and W are isometric spaces, and
ii. W = F.
Moreover, F is unique except for isometries.
The proof of this theorem can be found e.g. in [19].
Let ∥ · ∥ : X → R be a function and X a linear space. Then, (X, ∥ · ∥) is a normed

linear space if it satisfies
N1) ∀x ∈ X : ∥x∥ ≥ 0;
N2) ∀x ∈ X : ∥x∥ = 0 iff x = 0;
N3) ∀x ∈ X, ∀α ∈ R : ∥αx∥ = |α|∥x∥;
N4) ∀x, y ∈ X : ∥x + y∥ ≤ ∥x∥ + ∥y∥ (Triangle inequality).
Given two norms ∥ · ∥, ∥ · ∥0 on a vector space X, we call them equivalent iff
∃c1 , c2 > 0, ∀x ∈ Ω : c1 ∥x∥0 ≤ ∥x∥ ≤ c2 ∥x∥0 .
At this point we can talk about convergence in the norm. Let (X, ∥ · ∥) be a normed
space. A sequence (xn )n∈N ⊆ X is called convergent if there exists a ∈ X such that
∀ε > 0, ∃N0 ∈ N : n ≥ N0 ⇒ ∥xn − a∥ < ε,
which is denoted by
lim xn = a,
n→∞
as well as
xn → a, as n → ∞.
It is important to remark the uniqueness of the limit, that is if the sequence (xn )n∈N
converges to both x ∈ X and y ∈ X, then x = y. A sequence (xn )n∈N in X is called a
Cauchy sequence if
∀ε > 0, ∃N0 ∈ N : n, m ≥ N0 ⇒ ∥xn − xm ∥ < ε.
A subset A ⊆ X is called bounded in X if there exists M > 0 such that ∥x∥ ≤ M , for
every x ∈ A. In a similar way, a sequence (xn )n∈N in X is called bounded if
sup ∥xn ∥ < ∞.

n∈N
Remark 2.1.1 (Complete normed spaces). We say that a normed space (X, ∥ · ∥) is a
Banach space if it’s complete, i.e., if every Cauchy sequence is convergent.

Given two normed spaces X and Y where X ⊆ Y , X is said to be continuously embe-

dded in Y iff
∃C > 0, ∀u ∈ X : ∥u∥Y ≤ C∥u∥X
and it is denoted by X ,→ Y . Also, X is said to be compactly embedded in Y , denoted by
X ⊂⊂ Y , if X ,→ Y and all bounded sequence (um )m∈N ⊆ X has a convergent subsequence
in Y .
We say that a linear operator T ∈ L(X, Y ) is bounded, denoted T ∈ L(X, Y ), iff

∃k > 0, ∀x ∈ X : ∥T x∥Y ≤ k∥x∥X .
The norm of the operator T is
∥T ∥ = inf(OT ), where OT = k > 0/ ∀x ∈ X : ∥T x∥Y ≤ k∥x∥X .

Particularly, for any x ̸= 0 the element x′ = x/∥x∥ is a unit vector and T x = ∥x∥T x′ , we
have that:
∥T x∥ = ∥x∥∥T x′ ∥ ≤ ∥T ∥∥x∥.
The dual space of X,
X ′ := L(X, R),
is a Banach space; its norm, called the dual norm, can also be computed as
|T (x)|
∥T ∥X ′ = sup = sup |T (x)|.
∥x∦=0 ∥x∥X ∥x∥=1
Theorem 2.1.2. Let X and Y be normed spaces and T ∈ L(X, Y ). Then T is bounded
iff T is continuous.
Proof. The case when T = 0 is trivial. Thus, we take T ̸= 0. Let’s assume that T is
bounded:
∃C > 0, ∀x ∈ X : ∥T x∥ ≤ C∥x∥.
Given u ∈ X, u > 0, such that:
∥T u + T x − T u∥
≤C
∥x∥
∥T (u + x) − T u∥
⇒ ≤C (2.1)
∥x∥
Letting x go to zero, we show that T is continuous at u and since the constant C does not
depend on u, T is uniformly continuous.
ϵ
Let’s assume that T is continuous. The case ∥T ∥ = 0 is trival. We take δ = with
∥T ∥
∥T ∥ > 0. Then, for x, x0 ∈ X verifying ∥x − x0 ∥ < δ, we have
∥T x − T x0 ∥ = ∥T (x − x0 )∥
≤ ∥T ∥∥x − x0 ∥
≤ ∥T ∥δ
ϵ
= ∥T ∥ = ϵ, (2.2)
∥T ∥

proving that it is bounded. By (2.1) and (2.2) the proof is done.
Let V be a normed space. Involving the dual there are two useful topologies, the weak
topology on V and the weak* topology on V ′ . We denote by σ(V, V ′ ) the initial topology
associated to the family (ℓ)ℓ∈V ′ , i.e. the weakest topology where each map ℓ ∈ V ′ is still
continuous. A sequence (xn )n∈N ⊆ V converges to x in σ(V, V ′ ) if and only if
∀ℓ ∈ V ′ : lim ⟨ℓ, xn ⟩ = ⟨ℓ, x⟩;

n→∞
this is called weak convergence. On the other case, the weak* topology, σ(V ′ , V ), is the
initial topology associated to the family (ϕu )u∈V . Here
γ :V → V ′′
u 7→ γ(u) = ϕu
where ϕu : V ′ → R is defined by
∀ℓ ∈ V ′ : ϕu (ℓ) = ⟨ℓ, u⟩ = ℓ(u).
Thus, σ(V ′ , V ) is the weakest topology which keeps continuous all the functionals in γ(V ).
A sequence ℓn converges to ℓ in σ(V ′ , V ) if and only if for all u ∈ V
lim ⟨ℓn , u⟩ = ⟨ℓ, u⟩;

n→∞
this is called weak* convergence.
Definition 2.1.3 (Accumulation point). Let (X, T ) be a topological space and A ⊆ X.

We say that x ∈ X is an limit point or accumulation point of A iff
∀B ∈ N (x) : (B\{x}) ∩ A ̸= ∅.
The set of limit points of A is denoted by acc(A).
Theorem 2.1.4 (Weak compactness). Let E be a reflexive Banach space and suppose that

the sequence (xn )n∈N ⊆ E is bounded. Then, there exists a subsequence xnk such that
k∈N

xnk → x, as k → ∞, in σ E, E ′ .
2.2 Lebesgue spaces

In this section we introduce Lebesgue spaces as well as some inequalities and other results
that are used in this document. All these concepts are taken from [5], [19] and [25], where
are deeply explained.
Let Ω ⊆ RN open. We denote by L̃1 (Ω) the space of integrable functions on Ω:
( )
L̃1 (Ω) := f : Ω → R measurable / ∥f ∥L1 (Ω) := |f (x)|dx < ∞ .
Ω

If 1 ≤ p < ∞, the space of p integrable functions is

n o
L̃p (Ω) := f : Ω → R/f is measurable and |f |p ∈ L̃1 (Ω)
finally, if we take p = ∞
( )
∞ f is measurable and
L̃ (Ω) := f :Ω→R .
∃C > 0 : |f (x)| ≤ C a.e. on Ω
Let’s consider the following equivalence relation on L̃p (Ω), 1 ≤ p ≤ ∞,
f ∼g iff f (x) = g(x), a.e. Ω. (2.3)
According to (2.3) we denote by [f ] an equivalence class. The Lebesgue space is
Lp (Ω) = {[f ]/f ∈ L̃p (Ω)}.
From now on we take a representative element of each equivalence class [f ] ∈ Lp (Ω) and
consider [f ] = f , as an abuse of notation. The norms attached to the Lebesgue space are
defined as ∥ · ∥p : Lp (Ω) → R
!1/p
p
∥f ∥p := |f (x)| dx
Ω
and, if p = ∞,
∥f ∥∞ := ess sup|f (x)|.
x∈Ω
Remark 2.2.1. Given B ⊆ R measurable,
b = ess sup(B)
x∈B
iff b ∈ R and b ≥ x, for a.e.
Remark 2.2.2. The function ∥ · ∥Lp (Ω) defines a seminorm on L̃p (Ω), but using the equi-
valence relation (2.3) it defines a norm on Lp (Ω).
Theorem 2.2.1. (Monotone convergence theorem) Let (fn )n∈N ⊆ L1 (Ω) be a se-
quence that satisfies
(a) (fn ) is an increasing sequence,

(b) sup fn (x)dx < ∞.
n∈N Ω
Then, there exists f ∈ L1 (Ω), such that,
lim fn (x) = f (x), a.e x ∈ Ω,

n→∞
and
∥fn − f ∥1 → 0, as n → ∞.

Theorem 2.2.2. (Dominated convergence theorem) Let (fn )n∈N ⊆ L1 (Ω) such that
fn (x) → f (x) for a.e. x ∈ Ω, as n → ∞ . Assume that there exists φ ∈ L1 (Ω) such that
∀n ∈ N : |fn (x)| ≤ φ(x), a.e. Ω,
then, f ∈ L1 (Ω) and

∥fn − f ∥1 → 0, as n → ∞.
Lemma 2.2.3. (Fatou’s lemma.) Let (fn )n∈N ⊆ L1 (Ω) be a sequence of functions that
satisfy
(i) ∀n ∈ N : fn ≥ 0;

(ii) sup fn (x)dx < ∞.
n∈N Ω
Then, the function given by f (x) = lim inf fn (x) is integrable and
n→∞

lim inf fn (x)dx ≥ f (x)dx.
n→∞
Ω Ω
Once Lebegue spaces were introduced, it is natural to state some inequalities that work
over these spaces and that are used along this thesis.
Remark 2.2.3. (Conjugate exponent). Let 1 < p < ∞. We say that p′ is the conjugate
of p, if it satisfies
1 1
+ ′ = 1.
p p
Additionally, in the case that p = 1 its conjugate is p′ = ∞ and viceversa.
Remark 2.2.4. (Young’s inequality.) Let 1 < p < ∞. It follows that

′
ap b p
∀a, b ≥ 0 : ab ≤ + ′.
p p
Theorem 2.2.4. (Hölder’s Inequality). Assume that 1 ≤ p ≤ ∞. Let u ∈ Lp (Ω) and
′
v ∈ Lp (Ω). Then uv ∈ L1 (Ω) and
∥uv∥1 ≤ ∥u∥p ∥v∥p′ .
Remark 2.2.5. An extension of Hölder inequality is as follows. Assume fi ∈ Lpi (Ω), 1 ≤

i ≤ k with
1 1 1 1
= + + ... + ≤ 1.
p p 1 p2 pk
Then the product f = f1 f2 · · · fk belongs to Lp (Ω) and
∥f ∥p ≤ ∥f1 ∥p1 ∥f2 ∥p2 · · · ∥fk ∥pk .

On the other hand, we have an inverse of the Hölder inequality when 0 < p < 1:
′
Theorem 2.2.5. Let 0 < p < 1 and f ∈ Lp (Ω) and g ∈ Lp (Ω) both f, g > 0, then we have
!1/p !1/p′
p p′
f (x)g(x)dx ≥ f (x) dx g(x) dx .
Ω Ω Ω
Notice that p′ < 0.
Proposition 2.2.1. Let 0 ≤ p ≤ 1
∀a, b > 0 : (a + b)p ≤ ap + bp .
Proposition 2.2.2. Let 1 < p < 2, the symbol ⟨·, ·⟩ represents the euclidean inner product
on RN and a, b ∈ RN , then
⟨|b|p−2 b − |a|p−2 a, b − 1⟩ ≥ (p − 1)(1 + |b|2 + |a|2 )(p−2)/2 |b − a|2 .
Proposition 2.2.3. Let p ≥ 2, the symbol ⟨·, ·⟩ represents the euclidean inner product on
RN and a, b ∈ RN , then
D E
|b|p−2 b − |a|p−2 a, b − a ≥ 22−p |b − a|p .
Proposition 2.2.4. Let 1 ≤ p < ∞, then
∀a, b ∈ R : |a + b|p ≤ 2p (|a|p + |b|p )
Theorem 2.2.6 (Second Minkowski’s inequality). Let a1 , a2 , . . . , an ; b1 , b2 , . . . , bn be posi-

tive numbers and p > 1. Then
 p  p 1/p
n n n
(api + bpi )1/p .
X X X
ai  +  bi   ≤
 

i=1 i=1 i=1
A proof for this Theorem can be found in [8].
Theorem 2.2.7. Lp (Ω) is a linear space and ∥ · ∥p is a norm. In particular, for 1 ≤ p ≤ ∞

and f, g ∈ Lp (Ω), it holds that, f + g ∈ Lp (Ω) and
∥f + g∥p ≤ ∥f ∥p + ∥g∥p . (2.4)
Proof. The cases p = 1 and p = ∞ are trivial. Let 1 < p < ∞ and u, v ∈ Lp (Ω), generic,
it is immediate that

|f (x)|dx ≥ 0 and, ∥f ∥Lp (Ω) = 0 ⇔ f = 0
Ω

which satisfy (N 1) and (N 2). By taking α ∈ R, generic,

|αf (x)|dx = |α| |f (x)|dx = |α|∥f ∥Lp (Ω)
Ω Ω
satisfying (N 3). For the triangle inequality (N4), it is needed to show that f + g belongs
to Lp (Ω),
|f + g|p ≤ (2 max(|f |, |g|))p ≤ 2p max(|f |p , |g|p ) ≤ 2p (|f |p + |g|p ) (2.5)

p
equation (2.5) means that f + g ∈ Lp (Ω). Therefore p′ = , so (p − 1)p′ = p,
p−1
|f + g|p = |f + g||f + g|p−1 ≤ |f ||f + g|p−1 + |g∥f + g|p−1

′
′
Notice that |f + g|p−1 ∈ Lp , since (p − 1)p′ = p, and |f + g|p−1 ′ = ∥f + g∥p/p
p . By using p
Hölder’s inequality, we have
p p p
p′ p′ p′
|f + g|dx ≤ ∥f ∥p ∥f + g∥p + ∥g∥p ∥f + g∥p = ∥f ∥p + ∥g∥p ∥f + g∥p (2.6)
′
If we dived both sides of (2.6), by ∥f + g∥p/p
p
p− pp′
∥f + g∥p ≤ ∥f ∥p + ∥g∥p
!
p 1
Since p − ′ = p 1 − ′ = 1, given the arbitrariness of f, g and α the proof is done.
p p

Theorem 2.2.8. Given p ∈ [1, ∞], the normed space Lp (Ω), ∥ · ∥Lp (Ω) is a Banach space.
Theorem 2.2.9. Let Ω ⊆ RN open and 1 ≤ p < ∞. Let (fn )n∈N ⊆ Lp (Ω) such that

fn → f in Lp (Ω). Then, there exists a subsequence fnk and g ∈ Lp (Ω) such that:
k∈N
i) fnk (x) → f (x) a.e. on Ω

ii) ∀k ∈ N : fnk (x) ≤ g(x) a.e. on Ω.

The proof of this Theorem can be found in [4].
Theorem 2.2.10. (Riesz representation theorem). Given p ∈ [1, ∞) we have that
Lp (Ω) ′ ∼
′
= Lp (Ω)

′ ′
which is to say that for each ψ ∈ Lp (Ω) there exists a unique element v ∈ Lp (Ω) such
that
p
∀u ∈ L (Ω) : ⟨ψ, f ⟩ = v(x)f (x)dx.
Ω

Finally, if for any compact set K ∈ Ω,

|f (x)|dx < +∞,
K
we say that f belongs to the set of locally integrable functions, L1loc (Ω).
Remark 2.2.6. If Ω is bounded, by Hölder inequality, we have
Lq (Ω) ⊆ Lp (Ω) ⊆ · · · ⊆ L1 (Ω) = L1loc (Ω)
for 1 ≤ p < q < ∞.
Theorem 2.2.11. Let f ∈ L1loc (Ω). Then if

∀φ ∈ Cc∞ (Ω) : f (x)φ(x)dx = 0,
Ω
we have that f = 0 a.e. Ω.
2.3 Sobolev spaces and embeddings

Once Lebesgue spaces were presented, we introduce Sobolev spaces. Here we state its
definition as well as some of its main properties. A complete presentation can be found in
[4], [12] and [20].
2.3.1 Sobolev spaces

Let Ω ⊆ RN be open and 1 ≤ p ≤ ∞.
Definition 2.3.1. The Sobolev space W 1,p (Ω) is defined by

 
p
∃g
1 , g2 , . . . , gN ∈ L (Ω) such that

 


 

1,p p

W (Ω) = u ∈ L (Ω) ∂φ .
 u = − gi φ, ∀φ ∈ Cc∞ (Ω), ∀i = 1, 2, . . . , N 

Ω ∂xi
 
Ω
 
∂u
For u ∈ W 1,p (Ω) we denote = gi , and
∂xi
!
∂u ∂u
∇u = ,··· , .
∂x1 ∂xN
The norm on W 1,p (Ω) is defined by

N

∂u
X
∥u∥W 1,p = ∥u∥p + ,
∂xi
i=1 p
which, for 1 ≤ p < ∞, is equivalent to the norm

Remark 2.3.1. We use an alternative notation for the following norm, given that
equivalent does not mean equal.

N
p 1/p
∥u∥p +
X ∂u
|∥u∥|W 1,p = .

p
∂xi
i=1 p
Proposition 2.3.1. The Sobolev space W 1,p (Ω)
i) is a Banach space for every 1 ≤ p ≤ ∞;
ii) is reflexive for every 1 < p < ∞;
iii) is separable for every 1 ≤ p < ∞.
The generalization of the Sobolev space W 1,p (Ω) is W m,p (Ω) for m ≥ 2. We inductively
define
( )
m,p m−1,p ∂u
W (Ω) = u ∈ W (Ω); ∈ W m−1,p (Ω) ∀i = 1, 2, . . . , N .
∂xi
An alternative to this definition of the Sobolev space W m,p is given by using the standard
multi-index notation.
 
p

 ∀α
with |α| ≤ m, ∃gα ∈ L (Ω) such that 

W m,p (Ω) =  u ∈ Lp (Ω)
 uDα φ = (−1)|α| gα φ, ∀φ ∈ Cc∞ (Ω) 

Ω Ω
where α = (α1 , . . . , αn ) with αi ≥ 0 an integer,

N
∂ |α| φ
Dα φ =
X
|α| = αi ,
i=1 ∂xα1 1 ∂xα2 2 · · · ∂xαNN
α
and we write D u = gα .
Remark 2.3.2. (Weak partial derivative). Let u, v ∈ L1loc (Ω) and α a multi-index. Then,
v is said to be the αth -weak partial derivative of u provided

∀ϕ ∈ Cc∞ (Ω) : α
u(x)D ϕ(x)dx = (−1) |α|
v(x)ϕ(x)dx. (2.7)
Ω Ω
In the case that Ω ⊆ R and |α| = 1 in equation (2.7), it becomes the formula of integration
by parts.
2.3.2 Sobolev embeddings

Once we have introduced Sobolev spaces, we make a review of some results about values
of q for which the inclusion W m,p (Ω) ⊆ Lq (Ω) holds.

Theorem 2.3.2. (Sobolev, Gagliardo, Nirenberg). Let 1 ≤ p < N . Then,

∗ 1 1 1
W 1,p (RN ) ⊆ Lp (RN ), where p∗ is given by ∗
= − ,
p p N
and
∃C = C(p, N ) > 0, ∀u ∈ W 1,p (RN ) : ∥u∥p∗ ≤ C∥∇u∥p .
An extension of Theorem 2.3.2 is stated in the following corollary.
Corollary 2.3.1. Let 1 ≤ p < N . Then,
∀q ∈ [p, p∗ ] : W 1,p (RN ) ⊆ Lq (RN ).
with continuous injection.
Proof. We take q ∈ [p, p⋆ ], generic. Then, for some α ∈ [0, 1] we have

1 α 1−α
= + .
q p p⋆
By Young’s inequality
∥u∥q ≤ ∥u∥αp ∥u∥1−α
p⋆ ≤ ∥u∥p + ∥u∥p⋆ .
Using Theorem 2.3.2, we have that

∥u∥q ≤ C∥u∥W 1,p , ∀u ∈ W 1,p RN .
Since q was taken arbitrarily the proof is done.
Theorem 2.3.3. Let m ∈ N and 1 ≤ p < ∞, then

1 m
m,p q 1 1 m if − > 0,
W (R ) ⊆ L (R ),
N N
where = − p N
q p N 1 m
W m,p (RN ) ⊆ Lq (RN ), ∀q ∈ [p, +∞) if − = 0,
p N
W m,p (RN ) ⊆ L∞ (RN ) 1 m
if − < 0,
p N
and all these injections are continuos.
Theorem 2.3.4 (Rellich-Kondrachov). Let Ω ⊆ RN bounded and of class C 1 . Then we

have the following compact injections:
1 1 1
W 1,p (Ω) ⊆ Lq (Ω), ∀q ∈ [1, p⋆ ) , where = − , if p < N ;
p⋆ p N
W 1,p (Ω) ⊆ Lq (Ω), ∀q ∈ [p, +∞), if p = N ;
W 1,p (Ω) ⊆ C(Ω̄), if p > N.
Notice that W 1,p (Ω) ⊆ Lp (Ω) with compact injection for all p and all N.

2.4 Topics of Calculus of Variations

The main references for this section are [2], [14] and [24].
Main definitions
Let X and Y be normed spaces, Θ ⊆ X open and f : Θ ⊆ X → Y . Let u ∈ Θ be a dot
and h ∈ X a direction, we define the directional derivative of f at u in the direction h as
f (u + th) − f (u)
∂h f (u) = lim .
t→0 t
Moreover, we say that f is Gateaux differentiable at u ∈ X if for every direction h ∈ X,
there exists ∂h f (u) and fG′ (u) ∈ L(X, Y ) such that
∀u ∈ Θ : ∂h f (u) = fG′ (u).
Gateaux differentiability is also called weak differentiability.

Before presenting Fréchet differentiability, the concept of small o must be introduced.
Let 0 ∈ Θ ⊆ X open and g : Θ ⊆ X → Y , such that
g(0) = 0.
g is a small o of h, denoted by
g(h) = o(h),
iff
g(h) = ∥h∥e(h), (o1 )
for some mapping e : B(0, r) ⊆ X → Y , such that,
lim e(h) = 0. (o2 )

h→0
Notice that if g(h) = ϕ(h), then by (o1 ) and (o2 ) it follows that
∥g(h)∥
lim = 0.
h→0 ∥h∥
Therefore, g(h) converges faster to zero than the norm of h as h → 0.

We say that the function f : Θ ⊆ X → Y is Fréchet differentiable at u ∈ Θ ⊆ X if
∃ϕ ∈ L(X, Y ), ∀h ∈ X : u + h ∈ Θ ⇒ f (u + h) − f (u) = ϕ(h) + g(h), (2.8)
where g(h) = o(h).
Proposition 2.4.1. The operator ϕ ∈ L(X, Y ) in (2.8) is unique.

Proof. Let φ ∈ L(X, Y ), such that,
∀h ∈ X : u + h ∈ Θ ⇒ f (u + h) − f (u) = φ(h) + o(h). (2.9)
Given that Θ is open, we have that
∃r > 0 : B(a, r) = a + B(0, r) ⊆ Θ.
Then, by (2.9) and (2.8),
∀h ∈ B(0, r) : ϕ(h) + ∥h∥e1 (h) = φ(h) + ∥h∥e2 (h), (2.10)
where
lim e1 (h) = lim e2 (h) = 0. (2.11)
h→0 h→0
Let v ∈ Θ, generic. If v = 0 the proof is clear because of the linearity. Instead, we

consider v ̸= 0 and choose N ∈ N such that
1 1
∀n ∈ N : n > N =⇒ hn := · v ∈ B(0; r).
n ∥v∥
By (2.10), we have that
ϕ (hn ) − φ (hn ) = ∥hn ∥ ϵ2 (hn ) − ϵ1 (hn ) .

Since ϕ, φ ∈ L(X, Y ),
! !
1 1 1 1
· (ϕ(v) − φ(v)) = · ∥v∥ ϵ2 (hn ) − ϵ1 (hn ) .

n ∥v∥ n ∥v∥
Passing to the limit as n → 0 and using (2.11), we get
ϕ(v) = φ(v).
Since v was chosen arbitrarily the proof is done.
Remark 2.4.1. By Proposition 2.4.1 we can write (2.9) as
f (u + h) − f (u) = f ′ (u)h + o(h),
where, f ′ (u) ∈ L(X, Y ) is referred to as the differential of f at u.
Notice that if a function is Fréchet differentiable, it is also Gateaux differentiable and

there exist its directional derivatives. Next we have an important result that relates the
differentaibility and continuity.
Proposition 2.4.2. Let X and Y be normed spaces and f : Θ ⊆ X → Y , where Θ is

open. If f differentiable at u ∈ Θ, then f is continuous at u.

Proof. We take u ∈ Θ, such that
∀h ∈ X : u + h ∈ Θ ⇒f (u + h) − f (u) = f ′ (u)h + o(h)

f (u + h) = f (u) + f ′ (u)h + o(h).
Given that f ′ ∈ L(X, Y ) and lim o(h) = 0, it is clear that

h→0
lim f (u + h) = f (u). (2.12)

h→0
Since u was chosen arbitrarily we have proved that f is continuous.
Remark 2.4.2. Let Θ ⊆ RN be open and f : Θ → R, if all its partial derivatives are
defined and continuous on Θ, then f ∈ C 1 (Θ).
Proposition 2.4.3. Assume that U ⊆ X is an open set, that I is Gâteaux differentiable

on U and that IG′ is continuous at u ∈ U . Then I is also differentiable at u, and of course
IG′ (u) = I ′ (u).
Now, we can introduce the concepts of critical and extremum points.
Definition 2.4.1. (Critical points and extremum) Let f : X → R where X is a non-

void set. Then,
1) A point a ∈ X is called a (global) minimum iff
∀x ∈ X : f (a) ≤ f (x).
2) A point a ∈ X is called a (global) maximum iff
∀x ∈ X : f (a) ≥ f (x).
If a is a point of minimum or maximum, it is called a point of (global) extremum.
Theorem 2.4.2. Let X be a normed space, Θ ⊆ X open and f : Θ ⊆ X → R. Suppose

that
i. f has a local extremum at x0 ∈ Θ,
ii. f is differentiable at x0 .
Then x0 is a critical point of f , i.e.
f ′ (x0 ) = 0.

Proof. Let x0 ∈ Θ be a local minimum and f differentiable at x0 , arbitrary, then:
∀x ∈ X : 0 ≤ |f (x0 + h) − f (x0 )| ≤ |f (x + h) − f (x)|.
Dividing by h we get
|f (x0 + h) − f (x0 )| |f (x + h) − f (x)|

0≤ ≤ .
h h
Passing to the limit and given the continuity of every x ∈ Θ
|f (x0 + h) − f (x0 )| |f (x + h) − f (x)|

0 ≤ lim ≤ lim = 0,
h→0 h h→0 h
which shows that f ′ (x0 ) = 0. The proof is similar when x0 is a local maximum.
Finally, we state the Mean Value Theorem for future calculus.
Theorem 2.4.3. (Mean Value Theorem) Let E be a normed space, Θ ⊆ E open and
f : Θ ⊆ E → R differentiable. If [a, b] ∈ Θ, then there exists c ∈ (a, b), such that
f (b) − f (a) = f ′ (c)(b − a).
2.5 Some topics of non-linear PDEs

In this section, we introduce PDEs and tools to deal with them. For this section we used
[1], [2], [14] and [23].
Definition 2.5.1. Let Ω ⊆ Rn open and k ∈ N fixed. The equation
F (Dk (u(x)), Dk−1 u(x), · · · , Du(x), u(x), x) = 0
is referred to as a kth-order PDE, where the mapping

k k−1
F : R n × Rn × ... × Rn × R × U −→ R
is given and u : Ω → R is the unknown.
We can classify PDE by considering their linear properties.
i. Linear: if the PDE is linear with respect of u and its derivatives:
aα (x)Dα u(x) = f (x)

X
|α|≤k
for a given function f , and aα (with |α| ≤ k). In the case that f = 0 then the linear
PDE is homogeneous.

ii. Semilinear: if the PDE is linear in the highest order derivatives of u, i.e.,

aα (x)Dα u + a0 Dk−1 u, . . . , Du, u, x = 0
X
|α|=k
iii. Quasi-linear if the PDE is semilinear, and the function cα depends on u and its
derivatives upon order k − 1, i.e., it has the following form

aα Dk−1 u(x), . . . , Du(x), u(x), x Dα u(x)+a0 Dk−1 u(x), . . . , Du(x), u(x), x = 0.
X
|α|=k
iv. A PDE is said to be fully nonlinear if it is not linear and given whatever order of
derivative is not linear too.
It doesn’t exist a method for solving PDEs because it depends on the structure of each
problem. Things get complicated when the PDE is nonlinear. One way to find solutions
is by applying variational methods linked to nonlinear functional analysis.
Let A be an operator which could be nonlinear and u the unknown, we consider the
following representation of a PDE
A(u) = 0. (2.13)
This variational method consist on taking a convenient functional I, where the PDE in
(2.13) must be its ”derivative”, i.e., I ′ (u) = A(u). See following example
Example 1. (Non-linear Schrödinger equation). Let p ≥ 1, N ∈ N, Ω ⊆ RN open con-

nected with smooth boundary, and T ∈ C(Ω̄) non-negative. We look for solutions of

−∆u(x) + T (x)u(x) − |u(x)|p−1 u(x) = 0, x ∈ Ω


(2.14)

 u(x) = 0, x ∈ ∂Ω
which is the Euler-Lagrange equation associated to the functional

1
I(u) = |∇u(x)|2 + T (x)|u(x)|2 dx
2 Ω
with the restriction

∥u∥p+1 = 1.
Notice that a critical point of I provides a weak solution of (2.14).
Remark 2.5.1. The p-Laplace operator is
∆p u := div(|∇u|p−2 ∇u).
In the case that p = 2 we get the usual Laplace operator, ∆ = ∇ · ∇.

Critical point results

In this subsection we focus on concepts that are linked with proving the existence of a
ground state solution. Our main reference is [23].
Remark 2.5.2. The limit superior and limit inferior of a sequence (uk )k∈N ⊆ R are given,
respectively, by
lim sup uk = sup acc{uk /n ∈ N} ,

k→+∞
lim inf uk = inf acc{uk /n ∈ N} .

k→+∞
We consider X a Banach space for this whole section. A minimizing sequence for a
function φ : X → R is a sequence (uk )k∈N such that
φ(uk ) → inf φ(u), as k → ∞.

u∈X
A function φ : X → R is weakly lower semi-continuous if
uk ⇀ u ⇒ lim inf φ(uk ) ≥ φ(u).

k→+∞
Corollary 2.5.1. Let φ : X → R be a function bounded from below and differentiable on

X. Then, for each minimizing sequence (uk ) of φ, there exists a minimizing sequence (vk )
of φ such that
∀k ∈ N : φ(vk ) ≤ φ(uk );
|uk − vk | → 0 as k → ∞;
|φ′ (vk )| → 0 as k → ∞.
A proof of this Corollary can be found in [23].
Definition 2.5.2. Let J : X → R be a differentiable functional. A sequence (uk )k∈N ⊆ X

such that
J (uk ) k∈N is bounded in R and
J ′ (uk ) → 0 in X ′ as k → ∞,
is called a Palais-Smale sequence for J. Let c ∈ R. If
J (uk ) → c in R and
J ′ (uk ) → 0 in X ′ as k → ∞
then (uk )k∈N is called a Palais-Smale sequence for J at level c. In this case c is called a
Palais-Smale level for J. We simply say that J verifies (P S)c -condition.
Now we introduce the Palais-Smale condition.

Definition 2.5.3. Let X be a Banach space and let I : X → R be a differentiable func-

tional. We say that I satisfies the Palais-Smale condition if every Palais-Smale sequence
for I has a convergent subsequence in X. Moreover, we say that I satisfies the Palais-
Smale condition at level c ∈ R if every Palais-Smale sequence at level c has a convergent
subsequence in X.
Finally, the following lemma makes use of the (P S)c −condition and of the boundednees
from below, and shall help us to show the existence of a ground state solution.
Lemma 2.5.4. Let E be a Banach space, φ : E → R a function bounded from below and
differentiable on E. If φ satisfies the (P S)c -condition with c = inf φ(u), then φ has a
u∈E
minimum on X.
Proof. By Corollary 2.5.1, there exists a minimizing sequence (vk )k∈N such that
φ′ (vk ) → 0 as k → ∞.
By the (P S)c − condition with c = inf φ(u), c is a critical value. The proof is done
u∈E

Chapter 3
Results
3.1 Preliminaries
We consider the following Schrödinger-Kirchhoff type integro-differential equation



 !p−1 
− a + b |∇u(x)|p dx  ∆p u(x) + V (x)|u(x)|p−2 u(x) = f (x, u(x)),


RN (P)



 |u(x)| −→ 0, as |x| −→ ∞,

where x ∈ RN , p > 1, a, b > 0, N ≥ 2, V ∈ C RN , f ∈ C RN × R , and
∆p u(x) = |∇u(x)|p−2 ∆u(x).
We assume that
1 < p < N < ∞,
where 
pN
∗

s , if N ≥ 3,
p = N −p

∞, if N = 1, 2.


We also assume the following conditions:

N
V (x) > 0, and V is coercive, that is
R
lim V (x) = ∞.
|x|→∞
(F1) There exist constants

p/(p−r1 ) N p/(p−r2 ) N
M1 ∈ L R , M2 ∈ L R , such that
24
(F2) There exist a bounded open set J ⊆ RN and three constants δ, η > 0 and r3 ∈ (1, p)
such that
∀(x, t) ∈ J × [−δ, δ] : F (x, t) ≥ η|t|r3 ,
t
where F (x, t) = f (x, s)ds.
0

Proposition 3.1.1. The functional ∥ · ∥E : C∞
0 RN −→ R given by
!1/p
p p
∥u∥E = |∇u(x)| + V (x)|u(x)| dx (3.1)
RN
is a norm
Proof. It is easy to see that (3.1) satisfies (N 1) and (N 3). For (N 2) and (N 4) we divide
the proof in two parts. Let u, v ∈ C0∞ (RN ), generic.
i) We prove that (3.1) satisfies (N 2). When u = 0 we have ∥u∥ = 0. If ∥u∥ = 0 we

have
p
|∇u(x)| dx + V (x)|u(x)|p = 0.
RN RN
then ∥u∥W 1,p (RN ) = 0 and ∥u∥Lp (RN ;V (x)dx) = 0. Then, u = 0.
ii) In order to prove the triangular inequality, we shall use (2.4) and Theorem 2.2.6 with
the values:
a1 = ∥∇u∥p , a2 = ∥∇v∥p , b1 = ∥V 1/p u∥p , b2 = ∥V 1/p v∥p .

!1/p
p p
∥u + v∥E = |∇u(x) + ∇v(x)| + V (x)(u(x) + v(x)) dx
RN
1/p
= ∥∇u + ∇v∥pp + ∥V 1/p u + V 1/p v∥pp
p p 1/p
1/p 1/p
≤ ∥∇u∥p + ∥∇v∥p + ∥V u∥p + ∥V v∥p
1/p 1/p
≤ ∥∇u∥pp + ∥V 1/p u∥pp + ∥∇v∥pp + ∥V 1/p v∥pp
!1/p !1/p
p p p p
|∇u(x)| + V (x)u (x) dx

|∇v(x)| + V (x)v (x) dx

= +
RN RN
= ∥u∥E + ∥v∥E .
Since u, v were taken arbitrary the proof is done.
Remark 3.1.1. By applying Theorem 2.1.1, we obtain a Banach space:
E := C0∞ (RN ),
i.e., the completion of C0∞ (RN ) in the norm ∥ · ∥E .

Theorem 3.1.1. The embedding

E ,→ Lq (RN )
pN
is compact for all q ∈ [p, p∗ ), where q ∈ [p, p∗ ], p∗ := . If q = p∗ the embedding is
N −p
continuous. It also works taking Lqloc (RN ) instead of Lq (RN ).
The proof can be found in Lemmas 2.3 and 2.4 of [3].
Lemma 3.1.2. The functional I : E → R defined by

!p
a p b p 1
I(u) = |∇u(x)| dx + 2 |∇u(x)| dx + V (x)|u(x)|p dx
p p p
RN RN RN
(3.2)
− F (x, u(x))dx
RN
is Gateaux differentiable and for u, v ∈ E, we have

!p−1
IG′ (u)v =a |∇u|p−2 ∇u · ∇v dx + b |∇u(x)|p dx ∇u(x)|p−2 ∇u(x)∇v(x)dx
RN RN
RN
p−2
+ V (x)|u(x)| u(x)v(x)dx + F (x, u(x))dx.
RN RN
Proof. First we verify that the functional I is well-defined by showing that for all u ∈ E
|I(u)| < ∞
. We have that
!p
max{a, 1} p b p p
|I(u)| ≤

|∇u(x)| + V (x)|u(x)| dx + 2 |∇u(x)| dx
p p
RN RN
− |F (x, u(x))|dx
RN

max{a, 1} b
∥u∥E + 2 ∥u∥pLp −

≤ F (x, u(x)) dx.
p p RN
Hence, the proof yields on showing that

F (x, u(x)) dx < ∞.
RN
By (F 1) we have that
∀(x, t) ∈ Rn × R : |F (x, t)| ≤ M1 (x)|t|r1 + M2 (x)|t|r2 .
Considering the conjugates

p p
p̃ = , p̃′ = ,
p − ri ri

and using Hölder’s inequality we get

2 p
! p−ri
p
! ri
p
p
X p−ri
|F (x, u(x))|dx ≤ Mi (x)dx |u(x)| dx
Rn i=1 Rn Rn
2 p
! p−ri  !  ri
p
p
V (x)
|u(x)|p + |∇u(x)|p dx
X p−ri
≤ Mi (x)dx 
i=1 Rn Rn β
2
β −ri /p ∥Mi ∥p/(p−ri ) ∥u∥rEi .
X
≤
i=1
Showing that the functional I is well-defined.
To show that I is Gateaux differentiable, we divide I into three terms
I(u) = A(u) + B(u) − C(u)
where
a 1
A(u) = |∇u(x)|p dx + V (x)|u(x)|p dx,
p RN p RN
!p
b p
B(u) = 2 |∇u(x)| dx ,
p

RN
C(u) = F (x, u(x))dx.

RN
From now on, we consider u, v ∈ E and t ∈ R.
a. Working on A, we consider the mapping ϕ ∈ C 1 (Rn ), given by
ϕ(x) = |x|p .
It is clear that ∇ϕ(x) = p|x|p−2 x. Therefore, taking x, y ∈ Rn ,
ϕ(x + ty) − ϕ(x)
lim = p|x|p−2 x · y. (3.3)
t→0 t
By using (3.3) we get
|∇u(x) + t∇v(x)|p − |∇u(x)|p
lim+ = p|∇u(x)|p−2 ∇u(x) · ∇v(x) (3.4)
t→0 t
and
|u(x) + tv(x)|p − |u(x)|p
lim+ = p|u(x)|p−2 u(x) · v(x). (3.5)
t→0 t
We shall use tthe Dominated Convergence Theorem. By the mean value theorem,
there exists θ such that |θ| ≤ |t| and

|∇u(x) + t∇v(x)|p − |∇u(x)|p
≤ p||∇u(x) + θ∇v(x)|p−2 (∇u(x) + θ∇v(x)) · ∇v(x)|

t
≤ p|∇u(x) + θ∇v(x)|p−2 | ∇u(x) + θv(x), θv(x) |

≤ p|∇u(x) + θ∇v(x)|p−2 |∇u(x) + θ∇v(x)||∇v(x)|

= p|∇u(x) + θ∇v(x)|p−1 |∇v(x)|
≤ Cp|∇u(x) + ∇v(x)|p−1 |∇v(x)|,

where C = max{1, θ}. Following a similar process, we obtain

V (x) |u(x) + tv(x)|p − |u(x)|p
≤ pV (x)∥u(x) + θv(x)p−2 (u(x) + θv(x)) · v(x) |

t
≤ Cp|u(x) + v(x)|p−1 |v(x)|.
Therefore, by using (3.4), (3.5) and the Dominated Convergence Theorem we obtain
A(u + tv) − A(u)

∂v A(u) = lim+
t→0
t
a |∇u(x) + t∇v(x)|p − |∇u(x)|p
= lim+
t→0 p RN t

V (x) |u(x) + tv(x)|p − |u(x)|p

1
+ lim+ dx
t→0 p RN t

a |∇u(x) + t∇v(x)|p − |∇u(x)|p
= lim+
p RN t→0 t

V (x) |u(x) + tv(x)|p − |u(x)|p

1
+ lim dx
p RN t→0+ t

p−2
=a |∇u(x)| ∇u(x) · ∇v(x)dx + V (x)|u(x)|p−2 u(x)v(x)dx.
RN RN
We denote the function

τ :E → R
v 7→ τ (v) = ∂v A(u)
and for a given u ∈ E we show that τ ∈ L(E). Clearly, τ is linear in E. Then, we
use Holder inequality with constants
p−1 1
p̃ = , p̃′ =
p p
for every v ∈ E we have

|τ (v)| ≤ a |∇u(x)|p−2 ∇u(x) · ∇v(x)dx + V (x)|u(x)|p−2 u(x)v(x)dx

RN RN
p−2
≤a |∇u(x)| |∇u(x)| · |∇v(x)|dx + V (x)|u(x)|p−2 |u(x)||v(x)|dx
RN
p/(p−1)
RN
1/p
≤a |∇u(x)|p−1 · |∇v(x)| dx
RN
p/(p−1) 1/p
+ |u(x)|p−1 V (x)|v(x)| dx
RN
≤ a∥∇u∥p ∥∇v∥p + ∥u∥p ∥V 1/p v∥p . (3.6)
By (3.6) we conclude that A is Gateaux differentiable and A′G (u)v = τ (v).

b. We define the functional φ ∈ C 1 (R) by
φ(x) = |x|p .
Then for every x, y ∈ R
φ(x + ty) − φ(x)

lim = p|x|p−2 xy.
t→0 t
In addition, we consider
m= |∇u|p dx.
RN
So, we have by the chain rule, (3.4) and Dominated Convergence Theorem that
B(u + tv) − B(u) b

lim+ = 2 pmp−1 s,
t→0 t p

where s = p|∇u(x)|p−2 ∇u(x) · ∇v(x)dx, in other words
RN
!p−1
p
∂v B(u) = b |∇u(x)| |∇u(x)|p−2 ∇u(x) · ∇v(x)dx.
Rn Rn

Γ :E → R
v 7→ Γ(v) = ∂v B(u)
and for a given u ∈ E we show that Γ ∈ L(E). Clearly, Γ is linear in E. Then, we
p−1 1
p̃ = , p̃′ =
p p

!p−1
|∇u(x)|p |∇u(x)|p−2 |∇u(x)| · |∇v(x)|dx

|Γ(v)| ≤ b

Rn Rn
≤ b∥∇u∥p(p−1)
p ∥∇u∥p ∥∇v∥p . (3.7)
′
By (3.7) we conclude that B is Gateaux differentiable and BG (u)v = Γ(v).
c. Let’s prove that C is Gateaux differentiable, beginning with
C(u + tv) − C(u)

∂v C(u) = lim+
t→0
t
(3.8)
F (x, u(x) + tv(x)) − F (x, u(x))
= lim+ dx.
t→0 RN t

As in the other proofs we use the dominated convergence theorem to deal with the
limit and conclude the proof. By the mean value theorem, there exists θ : |θ| ≤ |t|,
such that

F (x, u(x) + tv(x)) − F (x, u(x))
K = lim+ dx = lim+ f (x, u(x)+tθv(x))v(x)dx.
t→0 RN t t→0 RN
Let’s find a bound:

|f (x, u(x) + tθv(x))v(x)|dx
RN
≤ max |f (x, u(x) + tθv(x))||v(x)|dx
RN t∈[0,1]
≤ |r1 M1 (x)(u(x) + v(x))r1 −1 + r2 M2 (x)(u(x) + v(x))r2 −1 ||v(x)|dx

RN

2

ri −1
X
= ri Mi (x)(u(x) + v(x)) |v(x)|dx

RN i=1
2
X ri −1
≤ ri Mi (x) |u(x)| + |v(x)| |v(x)|dx. (3.9)
i=1 RN
Here the proof needs to be spread into two cases, when 1 < ri ≤ 2 and ri > 2.
Consider 1 < ri ≤ 2 then by (3.9)
2
Mi (x) |u(x)|ri −1 + |v(x)|ri −1 |v(x)|dx
X
K≤ ri
i=1 RN
2 2
ri −1
Mi (x)|v(x)|ri dx.
X X
≤ ri Mi (x)|u(x)| |v(x)|dx + ri (3.10)
i=1 RN i=1 RN
Next we apply Hölder’s inequality on (3.10) with the following constants,

p p p p
p̃1 = , p̃2 = , p̃3 = p and p̃ = , q̃ =
p − ri ri − 1 p − ri ri
to obtain,
2 !(p−ri )/p !(ri −1)/p
p/(p−ri ) p
X
K≤ ri (Mi (x)) dx |u(x)| dx
i=1 RN RN
!1/p
p
× |v(x)| dx
RN
2 !(p−ri )/p !ri /p
p/(p−ri ) (ri )·p/ri
X
+ ri (Mi (x)) dx |v(x)| (x)dx
i=1 RN RN

2 !(p−ri )/p !(ri −1)/p

V (x)
(Mi (x))p/(p−ri ) dx |u(x)|p dx
X
≤ ri
i=1 RN RN β
!1/p
V (x)
× |v(x)|p dx
RN β
2 !(p−ri )/p !ri /p
p/(p−ri ) V (x)
|v(x)|(ri )·p/ri (x)dx
X
+ ri (Mi (x)) dx
i=1 RN RN β
2
ri β ri /p ∥Mi ∥p/p−ri ∥u∥rEi −1 + ∥v∥rEi −1 ∥v∥E .
X
≤ (3.11)
i=1
Let’s proceed with the case ri > 2. By (3.9)

2
ri −1
Mi (x) |u(x)|ri −1 + |v(x)|ri −1 |v(x)|dx
X
K≤ 2 ri
i=1 RN
2 2
ri −1 ri −1
Mi (x)|v(x)|ri dx.
X X
≤ 2 ri Mi (x)|u(x)| |v(x)|dx + ri (3.12)
i=1 RN i=1 RN
Next we apply Hölder’s inequality on (3.12) with the following constants,

p p p p
p̃1 = , p̃2 = , p̃3 = p and p̃ = , q̃ =
p − ri ri − 1 p − ri ri
to obtain,
2 !(p−ri )/p !(ri −1)/p
ri −1 p/(p−ri ) p
X
K≤ 2 ri (Mi (x)) dx |u(x)| dx
i=1 RN RN
!1/p
p
× |v(x)| dx
RN
2 !(p−ri )/p !ri /p
ri −1 p/(p−ri ) (ri )·p/ri
X
+ 2 ri (Mi (x)) dx |v(x)| (x)dx
i=1 RN RN
2 !(p−ri )/p !(ri −1)/p

V (x)
2ri −1 ri (Mi (x))p/(p−ri ) dx |u(x)|p dx
X
≤
i=1 RN RN β
!1/p
V (x)
× |v(x)|p dx
RN β
2 !(p−ri )/p !ri /p
ri −1 p/(p−ri ) V (x)
|v(x)|(ri )·p/ri (x)dx
X
+ 2 ri (Mi (x)) dx
i=1 RN RN β
2
2ri −1 ri β ri /p ∥Mi ∥p/p−ri ∥u∥rEi −1 + ∥v∥rEi −1 ∥v∥E .
X
≤ (3.13)
i=1
By (3.11) and (3.13), we can conclude on (3.8) that

∂v C(u) = f (x, u(x))v(x)dx. (3.14)
RN

ψ :E → R
v 7→ ψ(v) = ∂v C(u)
and for a given u ∈ E we show that ψ ∈ L(E). Clearly, ψ is linear in E. Then, we

p−1 1
p̃ = , p̃′ =
p p

J = |ψ(v)| = f (x, u(x))v(x)dx ,

RN
≤ |f (x, u(x))||v(x)|dx,
RN
2
ri Mi (x)|u(x)|ri −1 |v(x)|dx,
X
≤
RN i=1
2
 (p−1)/p !1/p
p/(p−1)
ri −1 p
X
≤  ri Mi (x)|u(x)| dx |v(x)| dx ,
i=1 RN RN

2 (p−1)/p
X p/(p−1) p/(p−1) p(ri −1)/(p−1)
≤2  ri Mi (x) |u(x)| dx ∥v∥p .
i=1 RN
Let’s consider following constants:

p−1 p−1
p= , p′ =
p − ri ri − 1
then,
2 !(p−ri )/p !(ri −1)/p
p/(p−ri ) p
X
J ≤2 ri Mi (x) dx |u(x)| dx ∥v∥p ,
i=1 RN RN
2
ri ∥Mi ∥p/(p−ri ) ∥u∥rpi −1 ∥v∥p
X
≤2
i=1
2
ri ∥Mi ∥p/(p−ri ) ∥u∥rEi −1 ∥v∥E .
X
≤2 (3.15)
i=1
By (3.15) we conclude that C is Gateaux differentiable and CG′ (u)v = ψ(v).
By (3.6), (3.7) and (3.15) we conclude that I is Gateaux differentiable.
Lemma 3.1.3. The functional I defined in (3.2) is Fréchet differentiable.

Proof. To prove that IG′ : E → E ′ is continuos, we will prove separately that A′G , BG
′
and
CG′ are continuos.
1) First, let’s prove that A′G : E → E ′ is continuous. Thus, consider (uk )k∈N a subse-
quence in E such that uk → u in E. In particular, by Theorem 2.2.9 we can assume
that, up to subsequences, we have the following results
N
i. lim ∇unk = ∇u in Lp (Rn ) , and lim V 1/p unk = V 1/p u in LP RN ,
k→∞ k→∞
ii. lim ∇unk = ∇u a.e. in R , and lim unk = u a.e in RN ,

N
k→∞ k→∞
1 n
iii. there exists w1 , w2 ∈ L (R ) such that
p
∇unk (x) ≤ w1 (x), a.e in RN

|V (x)unk (x)|p ≤ w2 (x), a.e. in RN .
Now, for all k ∈ N we have

p−2
A′G (u) − A′G unk , v = a |∇u(x)|p−2 ∇u(x) − ∇unk (x) ∇unk (x) · ∇v(x)dx
RN
p−2
p−2
+ V (x) |u(x)| u(x) − unk (x) unk (x) v(x) dx.

RN
Moreover,

p−2
p−2

|∇u(x)| ∇u(x) − ∇unk (x) ∇unk (x) · ∇v(x)dx

RN
! p−1
p
!1/p
p
p−2 p−2 p
≤ ||∇u(x)nk | ∇unk (x) − |∇u(x)| ∇u(x)| p−1 dx |∇v(x)| dx
RN RN
! p−1
p
p
p−2 p−2
≤ ||∇unk (x)| ∇unk (x) − |∇u(x)| ∇u(x)| p−1 dx ∥v(x)∥.
RN
Likewise,

p−2
p−2
V (x) |u(x)| u(x) − unk (x) unk (x) v(x)dx

RN
! p−1
p
p p
p−2 p−2
≤ V p−1 (x)||unk (x)| unk (x) − |u(x)| u(x)| p−1 dx ∥v(x)∥,
RN
so that
 
 
′
A (u) − A′ un sup A′G (u) − A′G unk v | v ∈ W 1,p (Ω), ∥v∥ = 1

=
G G k  
! p−1
p
p
p−2 p−2
≤a ||∇unk (x)| ∇unk (x) − |∇u(x)| ∇u(x)| p−1 dx
Rn
! p−1
p
p p
+ V p−1 (x)||unk (x)|p−2 unk (x) − |u(x)|p−2 u(x)| p−1 dx .
Rn

By the pointwise convergence of (∇unk )k∈N and (unk )k∈N , and that
p
p
||∇unk (x)|p−2 ∇unk (x) − |∇u(x)|p−2 ∇u(x)| p−1 ≤ C1 ∇unk (x) + |∇u(x)|p

≤ w1 (x) + |∇u(x)|p , and

p
p p
p−2 p−2 p
V p−1 (x)||unk (x)| unk (x) − |u(x)| u(x)| p−1 ≤ C2 V (x) unk (x) + V (x)|u(x)|

≤ w2 (x) + V (x)|u(x)|p .
By dominated convergence we then obtain
p−2
p
∇unk (x) − ∇u(x) p−2 ∇u(x)| p−1 dx → 0, and

a | ∇unk (x)

RN
p p
V p−1 (x)||unk (x)|p−2 unk (x) − |u(x)|p−2 u(x)| p−1 dx → 0,
RN

and hence A1 ′G unk − A1 ′G (u) → 0. Concluding that A is Fréchet differentiable

on E and

′ p−2
∀u, v ∈ E : A (u)v = a |∇u(x)| ∇u(x)·∇v(x)dx+ V (x)|u(x)|p−2 u(x)v(x).
RN RN
(3.16)
′ :
2) Let’s prove that BG E → E ′ is continuous. Thus, consider (uk )k∈N a subsequence
in E such that uk → u in E. In particular, by Theorem 2.2.9 we can assume that,
up to subsequences, we have the following results
N
i. lim ∇unk = ∇u in Lp (Rn ) ,
k→∞
ii. lim ∇unk = ∇u a.e. in RN ,
k→∞
iii. there exists w3 ∈ L1 (Rn ) such that
p
∇unk (x)

≤ w3 (x), a.e in RN .
We have for every v ∈ E and for all k ∈ N

D E
′ ′
BG (u) − BG (unk ), v
P =
b
!p−1
p
= |∇u(x)| dx |∇u(x)|p−2 ∇u(x)∇v(x) dx
RN RN
!p−1
− |∇u(x)|p dx |∇unk (x)|p−2 ∇unk (x)∇v(x) dx
RN RN
!p−1
+ |∇u(x)|p dx |∇unk (x)|p−2 ∇unk (x)∇v(x) dx
RN RN

!p−1
p
− |∇unk (x)| dx |∇unk (x)|p−2 ∇unk (x)∇v(x) dx
RN RN
!p−1
= |∇u(x)|p dx |∇u(x)|p−2 ∇u(x)∇v(x)
RN RN

p−2
−|∇unk (x)| ∇unk (x)∇v(x) dx
 !p−1 !p−1 
+ |∇u(x)|p dx − |∇unk (x)|p dx 
RN RN

× |∇unk (x)|p−2 ∇unk (x)∇v(x) dx
RN

p(p−1)
≤ ∥∇u∥ ∥|∇u(x)|p−2 ∇u(x)
RN
(p−1)/p
−|∇unk (x)|p−2 ∇unk (x)∥p/(p−1) dx ∥v∥p
 !p−1 !p−1 
+ |∇u(x)|p dx − |∇unk (x)|p dx 
RN RN
!(p−1)/p
p−2 p/(p−1)
× ∥|∇unk (x)| ∇unk (x)∥ dx∥v∥p
RN

p(p−1)
≤ ∥∇u∥ ∥|∇u(x)|p−2 ∇u(x)
RN
(p−1)/p
−|∇unk (x)|p−2 ∇unk (x)∥p/(p−1) dx ∥v∥E
 !p−1 !p−1 
+ |∇u(x)|p dx − |∇unk (x)|p dx 
RN RN
!(p−1)/p
p−2 p/(p−1)
× ∥|∇unk (x)| ∇unk (x)∥ dx ∥v∥E ,
RN
so that

′
B (u) − B ′ un

G G k
 
 
′ ′
= sup  BG (u) − BG unk , v : v ∈ E, ∥v∥ = 1

!(p−1)/p
p(p−1) p−2 p−2 p/(p−1)
P ≤ ∥∇u∥ ∥|∇u(x)| ∇u(x) − |∇unk (x)| ∇unk (x)∥ dx
RN

 
!p−1 !p−1

|∇u(x)|p dx |∇unk (x)|p dx

+  − 

RN RN
!(p−1)/p
× ∥|∇unk (x)|p−2 ∇unk (x)∥p/(p−1) dx
RN

!(p−1)/p
≤ ∥∇u∥p(p−1) ∥|∇u(x)|p−2 ∇u(x) − |∇unk (x)|p−2 ∇unk (x)∥p/(p−1) dx
RN

+ ∥∇u∥p(p−1) − ∥∇unk ∥p(p−1) ∥∇unk ∥p−1 . (3.17)

Notice that for the pointwise convergence of (∇unk )n∈N , we have

p−2
→ ∇u(x)p−2 ∇u(x) a.e. in RN

∇unk (x) ∇unk (x)

and
p p
p−2 p−2 p
||∇unk (x) | ∇unk (x) − |∇u(x)| ∇u p−1 ≤ C ∇unk (x) + |∇u(x)|

and given that |∇unk |p + |∇u|p ∈ L1 (RN ). Hence, using dominated convergence
theorem
p
|∇unk (x)|p−2 ∇unk (x) − |∇u(x)|p−2 ∇u(x)
p−1
dx → 0 (3.18)

RN
N
p N
Also, ∇unk → ∇u in L R which implies that
k∈N
|∥∇u∥p − ∥∇unk ∥p | ≤ ∥∇u − ∇unk ∥p → 0. (3.19)
Then
|∥∇u∥pp(p−1) − ∥∇unk ∥p(p−1)

p | → 0. (3.20)
Thus by (3.17), (3.18) and (3.20) we have proved that

′
B (u) − B ′ un

G G k
→ 0.
Concluding that B is differentiable on E and

!p−1
′ p
∀u, v ∈ E : B (u)v = b |∇u(x)| dx |∇u(x)|p−2 ∇u(x)∇v(x) dx.
RN RN
(3.21)
3) Let’s prove that CG′ : E → E ′ is continuous. To this aim we take a sequence (uk )k in
E such that uk → u in E. In particular, by Theorem 2.2.9 we can assume that, up
to subsequences, we have the following results
i) lim uk = u in Lp (RN ),
k→∞
ii) lim uk = u a.e. in RN ,
k→∞
iii) there exists w ∈ L1 (Rn ) such that uk (x)p ≤ w(x) a.e. in Rn , and for all k ∈ N.


By using Hölder inequality we have

CG′ (u) − CG′ f x, uk (x) − f (x, u(x)) v(x)dx.

(uk ) v =
RN
Using the constants

p−1 1
p̃ = , p̃′ =
p p
we obtain

x, uk (x) − f (x, u(x))

f v(x)dx

RN
p
! p−1
p
!1/p
p
≤ − f (x, u(x)) p−1

f

x, uk (x) dx |v(x)| dx .

RN RN
Here, in order to use the dominated convergence we prove that

p
|f (x, uki (x) − f (x, u(x))| p−1 dx < ∞.
RN
Thus, we have
p
p−1
f (x, uki (x)) − f (x, u(x)) dx

RN
p p p
≤ 2 p−1 (|f (x, uki (x))| p−1 + |f (x, u(x))| p−1 )dx
RN
2 2
p p p
rj −1
(rj Mj (x)|u(x)|rj −1 ) p−1 dx
X X
≤2 p−1 (rj Mj (x)|uki (x)| ) p−1 dx +
j=1 RN j=1 RN

2 p p (rj −1)p
!
p X p
p−1 p−1
≤2 p−1  2 p−1 rj Mj (x)|uki (x)| p−1
j=1 RN
2 p p (rj −1)p
! 
X p
p−1 p−1
+ 2 p−1 rj Mj (x)|u(x)| p−1 dx
j=1 RN
Particularly, we will work on the expression

(rj −1)p
|uki (x)| p−1 . (3.22)
Hence, let us denote

(rj − 1)p
λj = , j = 1, 2.
p−1
Now, depending on the values of p and rj , i ∈ {1, 2} we can use
i) if 0 < λi < 1, we have
|uki (x)|λj = (|uki (x)| − |(u(x)| + |u(x)|)λj (3.23)

≤ (|uki (x) − u(x)|)λj + |u(x)|λj , (3.24)

ii) if λj ≥ 1, we have
|uki (x)|λj = (|uki (x)| − |(u(x)| + |u(x)|)λj (3.25)

≤ 2λj ((|uki (x) − u(x)|)λj + |u(x)|λj ). (3.26)
In any case we take a constant C such that
|uki (x)|λj ≤ C((|uki (x) − u(x)|)λj + |u(x)|λj ). (3.27)
Thus, we get

p
|f (x, uki (x)) − f (x, u(x))| p−1 dx
RN

2 p
p

2p
βj βj
X p−1 p−1
≤2 p−1  rj C Mj (x) |ukj (x) − u(x)| + |u(x)| dx
j=1 RN

2 p
p

βj
X p−1 p−1
+ rj Mj (x)|u(x)| dx
j=1 RN

2 p
p p
p

2p
(x)|ukj (x) − u(x)|βj dx + 2Crj (x)|u(x)|βj dx .
X p−1 p−1 p−1 p−1
=2 p−1  rj C Mj Mj
j=1 RN RN
Since we are assuming that uk → u in Lp (R), then passing to a subsequence if

necessary it can be assumed that
∞
||uki − u||pp < ∞.
X
i=1
Hence we will denote ∞

X
w(x) = |uki (x) − u(x)|.
i=1
We have that
w ∈ Lp (Rn ).
In fact,

 p 1
!1
∞
p
p
X
|w(x)|p dx

≤ |u(x) − uki (x)| dx
 

RN RN i=1

∞
X

≤
|u − u |
ki

i=1
p
∞
X
≤ u − uki < ∞.

p
i=1
By using the last result we have


p
|f (x, uki (x)) − f (x, u(x))| p−1 dx
RN

2 p
p p
p

2p
(x)|ukj (x) − u(x)|βj dx + 2Crj (x)|u(x)|βj dx
X p−1 p−1 p−1 p−1
≤2 p−1  rj C Mj Mj
j=1 RN RN

2 p
p (rj −1)p p
p (rj −1)p

2p X p−1 p−1 p−1 p−1
≤2 p−1  rj C Mj (x)|w(x)| p−1 dx + 2Crj Mj (x)|u(x)| p−1 dx .
j=1 RN RN
Here, we use the following conjugates

p−1 p−1
p= , p′ =
rj − 1 p − rj
we get

p
|f (x, uki (x)) − f (x, u(x))| p−1 dx
RN


2 p
! p−rj ! rj −1
2p p p−1 p−1
p−rj
|w(x)|p dx
X p−1
≤2 p−1 
 r j C Mj (x)dx
j=1 RN RN


2 p
! p−rj ! rj −1
p p−1 p−1
p−rj
|u(x)|p dx
X
rjp−1

+2C Mj (x)dx 
 < ∞.
j=1 RN RN
Therefore by the dominated convergence we get

D
E
C ′ (uk ) − C ′ (u), v

x, uk (x) − f (x, u(x))

= f v(x)dx

RN
p
! p−1
p
− p1

≤β − f (x, u(x)) p−1

f

x, uk (x) dx ∥v∥E
RN
→ 0, as k → +∞.
Concluding that C is Fréchet differentiable and

′
∀u, v ∈ E : C (u)v = f (x, u(x))v(x) dx. (3.28)
RN
By (3.16), (3.21) and (3.28) and since the sum of differentaible functionals is differen-
tiable we conclude that
I ∈ C 1 (E)

Lemma 3.1.4. Assume that (V ) and (F1 ) hold. Then the functional I : E → R defined by
!p
a b 1
I(u) = p
|∇u(x)| dx + 2 |∇u(x)| dx p
+ V (x)u(x)p dx
p p p
RN RN RN
(3.29)
− F (x, u(x)) dx
RN
is well defined and of class C 1 (E) and for v ∈ E, we have
D E
 !p−1 
I ′ (u), v = a + b |∇u(x)|p dx  |∇u(x)|p−2 ∇u(x)∇v(x) dx
RN RN
(3.30)
+ V (x)|u(x)|p−2 u(x)v(x) dx − f (x, u(x))v(x) dx.
RN RN
Proof. In Lemma 3.1.2 we proved the Gateaux differentiability of I. This is complemented

by using Theorem 2.2.9 in Lemma 3.1.3 where we proved that I ′ is continuous. Finally, by
Proposition 2.4.3 we conclude that I ∈ C 1 (E) and verifies (3.30).
3.2 Main results

Theorem 3.2.1. Let conditions (V ), (F 1) − (F 2) be satisfied. Then problem (P ) possesses
a ground state solution.
Proof. We need to show that I satisfies all conditions of Lemma 2.5.4.
i) We will show that I is bounded from below. By (F 1), we have that
∀(x, t) ∈ RN × R : |F (x, t)| ≤ M1 (x)|t|r1 + M2 (x)|t|r2 . (3.31)
Then,

1
I(u) ≥ min{a, 1}∥u∥pE − F (x, u(x))dx
p
RN (3.32)
1 p r1
≥ min{a, 1}∥u∥E − M1 (x)|u(x)| dx − M2 (x)|u(x)|r2 dx.
p R N RN
We apply Hölder inequality with

p p
p̃ = , p̃′ = , i = 1, 2 (3.33)
p − ri ri

then,
! p−r1 ! r1
1 p p p
I(u) ≥ min{a, 1}∥u∥pE − |M1 (x)| p−r1
|u(x)|p
p RN RN
p
! p−r2
p
! r2
p
p
− |M2 (x)| p−r2
|u(x)|
RN RN
! p−r1 ! r1
1 p p
V (x) p
≥ min{a, 1}∥u∥pE − |M1 (x)| p−r1
|u(x)|p
p RN RN β
! p−r2 ! r2
p p
V (x) p
− |M2 (x)| p−r2 |u(x)|p
RN RN β
! p−r1 ! r1
1 r1 p p p
≥ min{a, 1}∥u∥pE − β − p |M1 (x)| p−r1
V (x)|u(x)|p
p RN RN
r2
p
! p−r2
p
! r2
p
−
−β p |M2 (x)| p−r2
V (x)|u(x)|p
RN RN
1 r1 r
− p2
≥ min{a, 1}∥u∥pE − β − p ∥M1 ∥ p−r r
p ∥u∥ 1 − β
E ∥M2 ∥ p−r r
p ∥u∥ 2 .
E (3.34)
p 1 2
Since 1 < r1 < r2 < p, (3.34) implies that I(u) → ∞ as ∥u∥ → ∞, I is bounded
from below.
ii) Let’s prove that I satisfies Palais-Smale condition. Let’s suppose that (uk )k∈N ⊆ E
is such that (I(uk ))k∈N is bounded and I ′ (uk ) → 0 as k → ∞. Thus, there exists a
constant C > 0 such that
∀k ∈ N : |I(uk )| < CI . (3.35)
Now, we use (3.34) and (3.35) to prove that the sequence ∥uk ∥E

k∈N is bounded:
1 r1 r
− p2
CI ≥ min{a, 1}∥uk ∥pE − β − p ∥M1 ∥ p−r r
p ∥u ∥ 1 − β
k E ∥M2 ∥ p−r r
p ∥u ∥ 2
k E
p 1 2
r1 r
− p2 1
CI + β − p ∥M1 ∥ p−r r
p ∥u ∥ 1 + β
p ∥u ∥ 2 ≥
k E min{a, 1}∥uk ∥pE .
1 2 p
Let’s assume that ∥uk ∥E ≥ 1. Then
r1 1 r2
CI + β − p ∥M1 ∥ p−r r
p ∥u ∥ 1 + β
k E
−p
∥M2 ∥ p−r r
p ∥u ∥ 2 ≥
k E min{a, 1}∥uk ∥pE
1 2 p
r1 r
− p2 1
CI + β − p ∥M1 ∥ p−r r
p ∥u ∥ 2 + β
p ∥u ∥ 2 ≥
k E min{a, 1}∥uk ∥pE
1 2 p
r1 r2
CI + β − p ∥M1 ∥ p−r r
p ∥u ∥ 2 + β
k E
−p
∥M2 ∥ p−r r
p ∥u ∥ 2
k E
1
p
min{a, 1}∥uk ∥pE
2 2
≥
∥uk ∥rE2 ∥uk ∥rE2
r1 r2 1
CI + β − p ∥M1 ∥ p−r
p + β − p ∥M2 ∥ p−r
p ≥ min{a, 1}∥uk ∥p−r
E
2
.
2 2 p

r1 r2
Taking CT > CI + β − p ∥M1 ∥ p−r
p + β − p ∥M2 ∥ p−r
p we finally get
2 2
1
CT ≥ min{a, 1}∥uk ∥pE . (3.36)
p
Therefore, by (3.36) we conclude that
∀k ∈ N : ∥uk ∥E ≤ CT .
Moreover, knowing that the embedding E ,→ Lp (R) is continuous there exists C > 0
such that
∥uk ∥p ≤ C∥uk ∥E ≤ CT . (3.37)
As a consequence of (3.36) and Theorem 2.1.4, there exists a subsequence, uk ⇀ u0 in

E for some u0 ∈ E. By using such a subsequence we will prove that the convergence
is actually strong.
Let ϵ > 0. By (F 1), we choose Rϵ > 0 such that
  p−ri
p
p
 |Mi (x)| p−ri
dx < ϵ, i = 1, 2. (3.38)
|x|>Rϵ
We know that the embedding E ,→ Lploc (R)N is compact. Therefore, uk ⇀ u0 in E

implies that uk → u0 in Lploc (RN ), and hence,

uk (x) − u0 (x)p dx

lim = 0.
k→∞ |x|≤Rϵ
which implies that there exists k0 ∈ N , such that, for k > k0 ,

uk (x) − u0 (x)p dx ≤ ϵp .

(3.39)
|x|≤Rϵ
Then from (F1 ), (3.37), (3.39) and Hölder inequalility we will obtain bound for

W = |f (x, uk (x)) − f (x, u0 (x))||uk (x) − u0 (x)|dx, k ∈ N.
|x|≤Rϵ
Thus, by using the Hölder conjugates

p p
p̃ = , q̃ =
p−1 1

we obtain,
  p−1  1
p p
p
p
W ≤  |f (x, uk (x)) − f (x, u0 (x))| p−1 dx  |uk (x) − u0 (x)| dx
|x|≤Rϵ |x|≤Rϵ
  p−1
p
p p p
≤  2 p−1 (|f (x, uk (x))| p−1 + |f (x, u0 (x))| p−1 )dx ϵ
|x|≤Rϵ
   p−1



p p p
X 2 p−1 X 2 p−1 
ri −1
+ ri Mi (x)|u0 (x)|ri −1 
  
≤ 2 ri Mi (x)|uk (x)|  dx ϵ
 
 |x|≤R  
ϵ i=1 i=1

  p−1
  p
2 p p p p p
(r −1) (r −1)
X p−1
≤ 2 2 p−1 ri |Mi (x)| p−1 [|uk (x)| p−1 i + |u0 (x)| p−1 i ] dx ϵ
  
|x|≤Rϵ i=1

2 p
 p−1
p
p p p
(r −1) (r −1)
X
= 4  r p−1 i |Mi (x)| p−1 [|uk (x)| p−1 i + |u0 (x)| p−1 i ]dx ϵ.
i=1 |x|≤Rϵ
At this point we consider the constants,

p−1 p−1
p̃ = , p̃′ = .
p − ri ri − 1
Then,

2 p
 p−1
p
p p p
(r −1) (r −1)
X
W ≤ 4  r p−1 i |Mi (x)| p−1 [|uk (x)| p−1 i + |u0 (x)| p−1 i ]dx ϵ
i=1 |x|≤Rϵ
 p−1


 p−ri p
2 p p−1
X p
p−1 

≤ 4
 r i |Mi (x)| p−ri
dx 

i=1 |x|≤Rϵ
(3.40)
  p−1

  ri −1   ri −1 p
p−1 p−1 
p p

×  |uk (x)| dx + |u0 (x)| dx ϵ
 

|x|≤Rϵ |x|≤Rϵ

2 h i
∥uk ∥rpi −1 + ∥u0 ∥rpi −1 ϵ
X
≤4 ri ∥Mi ∥ p−r
p
i
i=1
2 h i
C1ri −1 + ∥u0 ∥rpi −1 ϵ.
X
≤4 ri ∥Mi ∥ p−r
p (3.41)
i
i=1

On the other hand, notice that by using (F 1), (3.37), (3.38) and the Hölder inequality,
we have

Q= |f (x, uk (x)) − f (x, u0 (x))||uk (x) − u0 (x)|dx
|x|>Rϵ

2 2

ri Mi (x)|uk (x)|ri −1 ri −1
X X
≤
− ri Mi (x)|u0 (x)| |uk (x) − u0 (x)|dx
|x|>Rϵ i=1
i=1
2 h i
|Mi (x)| |uk (x)|ri −1 + |u0 (x)|ri −1 (|uk (x)| + |u0 (x)|)dx
X
≤ ri
i=1 |x|>Rϵ
2 h i
|Mi (x)| |uk (x)|ri + |uk (x)|ri −1 |u0 (x)| + |uk (x)||u0 |ri −1 + |u0 |ri dx
X
= ri
i=1 |x|>Rϵ
2 2
ri ri
|Mi (x)||uk (x)|ri −1 |u0 (x)|
X X
|Mi (x)| |uk (x)| + |u0 (x)|

= ri + ri
i=1 |x|>Rϵ i=1 |x|>Rϵ
2
|Mi (x)||uk (x)||u0 (x)|ri −1 .
X
+ ri
i=1 |x|>Rϵ
We use the constants,

p p p p
p̃1 = , p̃′1 = ; p̃2 = , p̃′2 =
p − ri ri p−1 1
to obtain
  p−ri
2 p
X p
Q≤ ri  |Mi (x)| p−ri
dx
i=1 |x|>Rϵ
 
 
 ri  ri
p p
p p
 (ri ) (ri ) 
×

 |uk (x)| ri dx + |u0 (x)| ri dx 

|x|>Rϵ |x|>Rϵ
  p−1  1
2 p p
p p
(r −1) p
X
+ ri  |Mi (x)| p−1 |uk (x)| p−1 i dx  |u0 (x)| dx
i=1 |x|>Rϵ |x|>Rϵ
  p−1  1
2 p p
p p
(r −1)
|uk (x)|p dx .
X
+ ri  |Mi (x)| p−1 |u0 (x)| p−1 i dx 
i=1 |x|>Rϵ |x|>Rϵ
Once more, we use the constants,

p−1 p−1
p̃ = , p̃′ =
p − ri ri − 1

we get, for k ∈ N,
  
 
 p−ri  ri  ri
2 p p p
p
|uk (x)|p dx |u0 (x)|p dx 
X  
Q≤ ri  |Mi (x)| p−ri dx 
 + 
i=1 |x|>Rϵ |x|>Rϵ |x|>Rϵ
 p−1
  p−ri 

 ri −1 p
2 p−1 p−1
p p−1 p
X  (r −1) rp−1
p−1 i

+ ri 

 |Mi (x)| p−1 p−ri
dx  |uk (x)| i −1 dx 

i=1 |x|>Rϵ |x|>Rϵ
 1
p
p
 |u0 (x)| dx
|x|>Rϵ
 p−1
  p−ri 

 ri −1 p
2 p−1 p−1
p p−1 p
X  (r −1) rp−1
p−1 i

+ ri 

 |Mi (x)| p−1 p−ri
dx  |u0 (x)| i −1 dx 

i=1 |x|>Rϵ |x|>Rϵ
 1
p
p
 |uk (x)| dx
|x|>Rϵ
  
 
 p−ri  ri  ri
2 p p p
p
|uk (x)|p dx |u0 (x)|p dx 
X  
≤ ri  |Mi (x)| p−ri dx 
 + 
  p−ri   ri −1  1
2 p p p
p
p p
X
+ ri  |Mi (x)| p−ri
dx  |uk (x)| dx  |u0 (x)| dx
  p−ri   ri −1  1
2 p p p
p
|u0 (x)|p dx |uk (x)|p dx
X
+ ri  |Mi (x)| p−ri
dx  
2 h i
ri ∥uk ∥rpi + ∥u0 ∥rpi + ∥uk ∥rpi −1 ∥u0 ∥p + ∥u0 ∥rpi −1 ∥uk ∥p ϵ
X
≤
i=1
2 h i
ri C1ri + ∥u0 ∥rpi + C1ri −1 ∥u0 ∥p + ∥u0 ∥rpi −1 C1 ϵ.
X
≤ (3.42)
i=1
Finally, we conclude by (3.41) and (3.42) that

(f (x, uk (x)) − f (x, u0 (x)))(uk (x) − u0 (x))dx → 0, k → ∞ (3.43)
RN
Set Ẽ = {u ∈ Lp (RN ) : ∇u ∈ Lp (RN )} with the norm

!1
p
p
∥u∥Ẽ = |∇u| dx .
RN

The embedding E ,→ Ẽ is continuous, one also has uk ⇀ u0 in Ẽ. Hence, by the

boundedness of (uk )k∈N in E, one gets
 !p−1 !p−1 
∇u0 (x)p dx
p
b − ∇uk (x) dx 
RN RN
(3.44)
× |∇u0 (x)|p−2 ∇u0 (x) · ∇uk (x) − ∇u0 (x) dx → 0, k → ∞.

RN
In view of the definition of weak convergence, we have

D E
I ′ (uk ) − I ′ (u0 ) , uk (x) − u0 (x) → 0, k → ∞. (3.45)
Therefore,
D E
G = I ′ (uk ) − I ′ (u0 ) , uk − u0 =
 !p−1 
a + b |∇uk (x)|p dx  |∇uk (x)|p−2 ∇uk (x) · (∇uk (x) − ∇u0 (x))dx
RN RN

+ V (x)|uk (x)|p−2 uk (x)(uk (x) − u0 (x))dx
RN
 !p−1 
− f (x, uk )(uk − u0 )dx − a + b |∇u0 (x)|p dx 
RN RN

× |∇u0 (x)|p−2 ∇u0 (x) · (∇uk (x) − ∇u0 )dx
RN
p−2
− V (x)|u0 (x)| u0 (x)(uk (x) − u0 (x))dx + f (x, u0 )(uk (x) − u0 (x))dx
RN RN
 !p−1 
p
= a + b |∇uk (x)| dx  |∇uk (x)|p−2 ∇uk (x) · (∇uk (x) − ∇u0 (x))dx
RN RN
h i
+ V (x)(uk (x) − u0 (x)) |uk (x)|p−2 uk (x) − |u0 (x)|p−2 u0 (x) dx
RN
− f (x, uk ) − f (x, u0 ) (uk (x) − u0 (x))dx

RN
−a |∇u0 (x)|p−2 ∇u0 (x) · (∇uk (x) − ∇u0 (x))dx

RN
!p−1
p
−b |∇u0 (x)| dx |∇u0 (x)|p−2 ∇u0 (x) · (∇uk (x) − ∇u0 (x))dx
RN RN
!p−1
+b |∇uk (x)|p dx |∇u0 (x)|p−2 ∇u0 (x) · (∇uk (x) − ∇u0 (x))dx
RN RN
!p−1
−b |∇uk (x)|p dx |∇u0 (x)|p−2 ∇u0 (x) · (∇uk (x) − ∇u0 (x))dx
RN RN

 !p−1 
= a + b |∇uk (x)|p dx  |∇uk (x)|p−2 ∇uk (x) · (∇uk (x) − ∇u0 (x))dx
RN RN
h i
RN
− f (x, uk ) − f (x, u0 ) (uk − u0 )dx

N
R !p−1 
− a + b |∇uk (x)|p dx  |∇u0 (x)|p−2 ∇u0 (x) · (∇uk (x) − ∇u0 (x))dx
RN RN
 !p−1 !p−1 
− b |∇u0 (x)|p dx − |∇uk (x)|p dx 
RN RN

× |∇u0 (x)|p−2 ∇u0 (x) · (∇uk (x) − ∇u0 (x))dx
RN
 !p−1 
= a + b |∇uk (x)|p dx 
RN
h i
× |∇uk (x)|p−2 ∇uk (x) − |∇u0 (x)|p−2 ∇u0 (x) · (∇uk (x) − ∇u0 (x))dx
RN h i
RN
− f (x, uk ) − f (x, u0 ) (uk (x) − u0 (x))dx

RN
 !p−1 !p−1 
− b |∇u0 (x)|p dx − |∇uk (x)|p dx 
RN RN

× |∇u0 (x)|p−2 ∇u0 (x) · (∇uk (x) − ∇u0 (x))dx
RN
 !p−1 
= a + b |∇uk (x)|p dx 
RN
D E
× |∇uk (x)|p−2 ∇uk (x) − |∇u0 (x)|p−2 ∇u0 (x), ∇uk (x) − ∇u0 (x) dx
RN D E
+ V (x) |uk (x)|p−2 uk (x) − |u0 (x)|p−2 u0 (x), uk (x) − u0 (x) dx
RN
− f (x, uk ) − f (x, u0 ) (uk (x) − u0 (x))dx

RN
 !p−1 !p−1 
− b |∇u0 (x)|p dx − |∇uk (x)|p dx 
RN RN

|∇u0 (x)|p−2 ∇u0 (x) · (∇uk (x) − ∇u0 (x))dx. (3.46)
RN
At this point we must consider two cases: p ≥ 2 and 1 < p < 2.
ii.a) We first analyze the case where p ≥ 2. For this case, we use the following

inequality
⟨|b|p−2 b − |a|p−2 a, b − a⟩ ≥ 22−p |b − a|p
Then, by (3.46), we have that

D E
G ≥a |∇uk (x)|p−2 ∇uk (x) − |∇u0 (x)|p−2 ∇u0 , ∇uk (x) − ∇u0 (x) dx
RN D E
+ V (x) |uk (x)|p−2 uk (x) − |u0 (x)|p−2 u0 (x), uk (x) − u0 (x) dx
RN
− f (x, uk ) − f (x, u0 ) (uk (x) − u0 (x))dx

RN
 !p−1 !p−1 
− b |∇u0 (x)|p dx − |∇uk (x)|p dx 
RN RN

× |∇u0 (x)|p−2 ∇u0 (x) · (∇uk (x) − ∇u0 (x))dx
RN
2−p
≥2 min{a, 1} |∇uk (x) − ∇u0 (x)|p + V (x)|∇uk (x) − ∇u0 (x)|p dx
RN
− f (x, uk ) − f (x, u0 ) (uk (x) − u0 (x))dx

RN
 !p−1 !p−1 
− b |∇u0 (x)|p dx − |∇uk (x)|p dx 
RN RN

× |∇u0 (x)|p−2 ∇u0 (x) · (∇uk (x) − ∇u0 (x))dx
RN
2−p
≥2 min{a, 1}∥uk (x) − u0 (x)∥ − f (x, uk ) − f (x, u0 ) (uk (x) − u0 (x))dx

RN
 !p−1 !p−1 
− b |∇u0 (x)|p dx − |∇uk (x)|p dx 
RN RN

× |∇u0 (x)|p−2 ∇u0 (x) · (∇uk (x) − ∇u0 (x))dx.
RN
By (3.43), (3.44) and (3.45) we have that

D E
22−p min{a, 1}∥uk (x) − u0 (x)∥ ≤ I ′ (uk ) − I ′ (u0 ) , uk − u0

f (x, uk ) − f (x, u0 ) (uk (x) − u0 (x))dx

+
RN
 !p−1 !p−1 
+ b |∇u0 (x)|p dx − |∇uk (x)|p dx  (3.47)
RN RN

× |∇u0 (x)|p−2 ∇u0 (x) · (∇uk (x) − ∇u0 (x))dx
RN
→ 0, as k → ∞,
which proves the case p ≥ 2.

ii.b) Let 1 < p < 2. For this case, we use the following inequality
p−2
⟨|b|p−2 b − |a|p−2 a, b − a⟩ ≥ (p − 1) 1 + |b|2 + |a|2 2
|b − a|2 .
It follows from (3.46) that

D E
′ ′
I (uk ) − I (u0 ) , uk − u0 ≥ − f (x, uk ) − f (x, u0 ) (uk (x) − u0 (x))dx

RN
p−2
+ min{a, 1}(p − 1) |∇uk (x) − ∇u0 (x)|2 1 + |∇uk (x)|2 + |∇u0 (x)|2 2
dx
RN
p−2
(p − 1) V (x)|∇uk (x) − ∇u0 (x)|2 1 + |∇uk (x)|2 + |∇u0 (x)|2 2
RN
 !p−1 !p−1 
− b |∇u0 (x)|p dx − |∇uk (x)|p dx 
RN RN

× |∇u0 (x)|p−2 ∇u0 (x) · (∇uk (x) − ∇u0 (x))dx.
RN
Reordering, we get
 !p−1 !p−1 
p p
b |∇u0 (x)| dx − |∇uk (x)| dx 
RN RN

× |∇u0 (x)|p−2 ∇u0 (x) · (∇uk (x) − ∇u0 (x))dx
D
RN
E
′ ′
+ I (uk ) − I (u0 ) , uk − u0 + f (x, uk ) − f (x, u0 ) (uk (x) − u0 (x))dx

RN
p−2
≥ min{a, 1}(p − 1) |∇uk (x) − ∇u0 (x)|2 1 + |∇uk (x)|2 + |∇u0 (x)|2 2
dx
RN
p−2
+ (p − 1) V (x)|∇uk (x) − ∇u0 (x)|2 1 + |∇uk (x)|2 + |∇u0 (x)|2 2
= G1 .
RN
(3.48)
From here we will work just with the right part of the inequality. We apply
inverse Hölder inequality, when 0 < p̃ < 1, with
p p
p̃ := and p̃′ :=
2 p−2
!2
p
2p
G1 ≥ (p − 1) ∇uk (x) − ∇u0 (x) 2 dx
RN
! p−2
(p−2)p p
1 + ∇uk (x)2 + ∇u0 (x)2 2(p−2)

× dx
RN
2p
!2
p
+ (p − 1) V (x) uk(x) − u0 (x) 2 dx
RN

! p−2
(p−2)p p
1 + uk (x)2 + u0 (x)2 2(p−2)

× V (x) dx
RN
!2 ! p−2
p p p
∇uk (x) − ∇u0 (x)p dx ∇uk (x)2 + ∇u0 (x)2 2

≥ (p − 1) dx
RN RN
!2 ! p−2
p p p
V (x) uk (x) − u0 (x)p dx V (x) uk (x)2 + u0 (x)2 2

+ (p − 1) dx
RN RN
!2 ! p−2
p−1 ∇uk (x) − ∇u0 (x)p dx
p
∇uk (x) − ∇u0 (x)p dx
p
≥
2 RN RN
!2 ! p−2
p−1 p p
V (x) uk (x) − u0 (x)p dx V (x) uk (x) − u0 (x)p dx

+
2
R
N RN
p−1 ∇uk (x) − ∇u0 (x)p + V (x) uk (x) − u0 (x)p dx

=
2 RN
p−1
= ∥uk − u0 ∥p .
2
By (3.43), (3.44), (3.45) and (3.48) we get
p−1 D E
∥uk − u0 ∥p ≤ I ′ (uk ) − I ′ (u0 ) , uk − u0
2
f (x, uk ) − f (x, u0 ) (uk (x) − u0 (x))dx

+
N

 R !p−1 !p−1 
b |∇u0 (x)|p dx − |∇uk (x)|p dx  (3.49)
RN RN

× |∇u0 (x)|p−2 ∇u0 (x) · (∇uk (x) − ∇u0 (x))dx
RN
→ 0, as k → ∞.
Hence, we conclude by (3.47) and (3.49) that
uk (x) → u0 (x), in E. (3.50)
Therefore, I satisfies Palais-Smale condition
iii) By Lemma 2.5.4, c = inf I(u) is a critical value of I, which means that there exists
u∈E
a critical point u∗ ∈ E such that I(u∗ ) = c. Finally, we will prove that such critical

point is not trivial. For that, let u0 ∈ W01,p (J) ∩ E \{0}, then using (F 2) and
(3.29), we have

2
sp bsp 2
I (su0 ) ≤ max{a, 1} ∥u0 ∥pE + 2 ∥u0 ∥pE −

F x, su0 (x) dx
p p RN
p p2
s bs 2
≤ max{a, 1} ∥u0 ∥pE + 2 ∥u0 ∥pE − F x, su0 (x) dx (3.51)

p p

J
p p2
s p bs p 2
r3 u0 (x)r3 dx.

≤ max{a, 1} ∥u0 ∥E + 2 ∥u0 ∥E − ηs
p p J
By (3.51) and the fact that 1 < r3 < p we get that I(su0 ) < 0 for s > 0 small enough.
Particularly, I(u∗ ) = c < 0, which shows that u∗ is a nontrivial critical point of I.

Chapter 4
Conclusions and recommendations
4.1 Conclusions
In this thesis was proved the existence of a ground state solution for the following quasi-
linear Schrödinguer-Kirchhoff type integro-differential equation



 !p−1 


 RN


 u(x) → 0, as |x| → ∞
(4.1)
N N
∆p u(x) = div(|∇u|p−2 ∇u).

The functions V and f were assumed to satisfy the following conditions:

N
V (x) > 0
R

p/(p−r1 ) N p/(p−r2 ) N
By using the weak formulation of problem (4.1) we defined a functional I on a Sobolev

space with potential. Then we proved that I is of class C 1 . The main tool used for
showing the existence of a ground state solution, a weak solution of (4.1) that minimizes
the functional I, is an abstract lemma from the theory of critical points.
4.2 Recommendations
a) For further studies of this Schrödinguer-Kirchhoff equation, the coercive of the po-
tential V can be treated on purpose of removing it.
52
b) Yachay Tech University has been facing difficult moments for almost 8 years, just
because of political disagreements and some bad administrators that have focused on
discrediting its activities and achievements. All this without taking into consideration
the effort of all its students whom, in spite of the lack of support, have obtained places
into prestigious master’s and doctoral programs. I recommend that the authorities
abandon any political criteria and begin to look after the future of Yachay Tech.

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UNIVERSIDAD DE INVESTIGACIÓN DE

Escuela de Ciencias Matemáticas y Computacionales

TITULO: Existence of a ground state solution for a

Trabajo de integración curricular presentado como

Abraham Mateo Macancela Bojorque

PhD. Juan Ricardo Mayorga Zambrano

Urcuquí, Julio 2022

Presidente Tribunal de Defensa Dr. ARIZA GARCIA, EUSEBIO ALBERTO , Ph.D.

El citado trabajo de titulación, fue debidamente aprobado por el(los) docente(s):

Tutor Dr. MAYORGA ZAMBRANO, JUAN RICARDO , Ph.D.

Tipo Docente Calificación

MACANCELA BOJORQUE, ABRAHAM MATEO Firmado electrónicamente por:

Dr. ARIZA GARCIA, EUSEBIO ALBERTO , Ph.D. EUSEBIO Firmado digitalmente

Dr. MAYORGA ZAMBRANO, JUAN RICARDO , Ph.D. Firmado electrónicamente por:

MARGARITA CERTIFICACION DE INFORMACION, O=SECURITY

MEDINA BRITO, DAYSY MARGARITA

Yo, Abraham Mateo Macancela Bojorque, con cédula de identidad 010561948-0,

Urcuquı́, Marzo 2022

Firmado electrónicamente por:

Abraham Mateo Macancela Bojorque

Yo, Abraham Mateo Macancela Bojorque, con cédula de identidad 010561948-0,

Asimismo, autorizo a la Universidad que realice la digitalización y publicación de este tra-

Urcuquı́, Marzo 2022

Abraham Mateo Macancela Bojorque

To Mom, Dad and Brother.

(F1 ) Existen constantes

∀(x, t) ∈ RN × R : |f (x, t)| ≤ r1 M1 (x)|t|r1 −1 + r2 M2 (x)|t|r2 −1 ,

Usando la formulación debil del problema (1), definimos un funcional I en un espacio de

Palabras clave: Ecuación diferencial parcial ,ecuación Schrödinger-Kirchhoff no lineal,

∆p u(x) = div(|∇u|p−2 ∇u).

Moreover, the functions V and f satisfy the following conditions:

(F1 ) There exist constants

∀(x, t) ∈ RN × R : |f (x, t)| ≤ r1 M1 (x)|t|r1 −1 + r2 M2 (x)|t|r2 −1 .

Keywords: Partial differential equation, Schrödinger-Kirchhoff non-linear equation,

4 Conclusions and recommendations 52

In the attempt of explaning different phenomena, Partial Differential Equations (PDEs)

∆p u(x) = div(|∇u|p−2 ∇u).

A special case of this equation is studied in [11] where is considered p = 2

which is related with the time-dependent equation

proposed by Gustav Kirchhoff in [17], as an extension of the well-known D’Alembert’s

(F1 ) There exist constants

∀(x, t) ∈ RN × R : |f (x, t)| ≤ r1 M1 (x)|t|r1 −1 + r2 M2 (x)|t|r2 −1 .

is a critical value of I. Here we consider

and the functional given by

Mathematician 3 Graduation Project

Next, we prove that I is well-defined and of class C 1 (E). Actually, for u, v ∈ E

c = inf I(u) = I(u0 )

Mathematician 4 Graduation Project

2.1 Normed linear spaces

A2) Additive neutral element. ∃0 ∈ X, ∀x ∈ X : x+0=0+x=x ;

A3) Additive inverses. ∀x ∈ X, ∃y ∈ X : x+y =y+x=0 ;

L2) Scalar distributivity. ∀x, y ∈ X, ∀α ∈ R : α · (x + y) = α · x + α · y ;

L3) Vector distributivity. ∀x ∈ X, ∀α, β ∈ R : (α + β) · x = α · x + β · x ;

Let X and Y be linear spaces. We say that D : X → Y is a linear operator iff

∀α ∈ R, ∀u, v ∈ X : D(αu + v) = αD(u) + D(v).

If D is bijective, we say that it is an algebraic isomorphism. If X = Y , we just say that D

∀u ∈ X : (M + S)(u) = M (u) + S(u),

as well as, the multiplication of an scalar α by an operator S ∈ L(X, Y )

Then, L((X, Y ), +, ·) becomes a linear space.

M1) ∀x, y ∈ X : d(x, y) = 0 ⇔ x = y;

M2) Symmetry. ∀x, y ∈ X : d(x, y) = d(y, x);

M3) Triangle inequatility. ∀x, y, z ∈ X : d(x, y) ≤ d(x, z) + d(y, z).

M4) ∀x, y ∈ X : d(x, y) ≥ 0.