Infinite multiplicity of stable entire solutions for a semilinear elliptic equation with exponential nonlinearity

Abstract

AbstractWe consider the infinite multiplicity of entire solutions for the elliptic equation Δu + K(x)eu + μf(x) = 0 in ℝn, n ⩾ 3. Under suitable conditions on K and f, the equation with small μ ⩾ 0 possesses a continuum of entire solutions with a specific asymptotic behaviour. Typically, K behaves like |x|ℓ at ∞ for some ℓ > −2 and the entire solutions behave asymptotically like − (2 + ℓ)log |x| near ∞. Main tools of the analysis are comparison principle for separation structure, asymptotic expansion of solutions near ∞, barrier method and strong maximum principle. The linearized operator for the equation has two characteristic behaviours related with the stability and the weak asymptotic stability of the solutions as steady states for the corresponding parabolic equation.