Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Xu, Fanheng
Format: Preprint
Published: 2026
Subjects:
Online Access:https://arxiv.org/abs/2602.11991
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1866908829859446784
author Xu, Fanheng
author_facet Xu, Fanheng
contents In this paper, we investigate interior gradient estimates for solutions to the mean curvature equation $$ \dive \left( \frac{\nabla u}{\sqrt{1 + |\nabla u|^2}} \right) = f(\nabla u)$$ under various nonlinear assumptions on the right-hand side. Under the weakened initial assumption $u\in C^1(B_R) \cap C^3(\{|\nabla u|>0\})$, we establish sharp gradient bounds that depend on the oscillation of the solution. These estimates are applicable to a wide class of nonlinear terms, including the specific forms arising from the elliptic regularization of the inverse mean curvature flow ($f=\varepsilon\sqrt{1+|\nabla u|^2}$ ), minimal surface equation ($f=0$) and several polynomial and logarithmic growth regimes. As applications, the gradient bounds imply uniform ellipticity of the equation away from the critical set,which allows one to apply classical elliptic regularity theory and obtain higher regularity of solutions in the noncritical region. Moreover, when the solution grows at most linearly, all cases of our results can be applied in Moser's theory to establish the affine linear rigidity of global solutions. This directly leads to the Liouville-type theorems for global solutions without requiring additional proofs.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2602_11991
institution arXiv
publishDate 2026
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Improved Interior Gradient Estimates for the Mean Curvature Equation under Nonlinear Assumptions
Xu, Fanheng
Analysis of PDEs
Primary: 35B45, Secondary: 35J92, 35B50
In this paper, we investigate interior gradient estimates for solutions to the mean curvature equation $$ \dive \left( \frac{\nabla u}{\sqrt{1 + |\nabla u|^2}} \right) = f(\nabla u)$$ under various nonlinear assumptions on the right-hand side. Under the weakened initial assumption $u\in C^1(B_R) \cap C^3(\{|\nabla u|>0\})$, we establish sharp gradient bounds that depend on the oscillation of the solution. These estimates are applicable to a wide class of nonlinear terms, including the specific forms arising from the elliptic regularization of the inverse mean curvature flow ($f=\varepsilon\sqrt{1+|\nabla u|^2}$ ), minimal surface equation ($f=0$) and several polynomial and logarithmic growth regimes. As applications, the gradient bounds imply uniform ellipticity of the equation away from the critical set,which allows one to apply classical elliptic regularity theory and obtain higher regularity of solutions in the noncritical region. Moreover, when the solution grows at most linearly, all cases of our results can be applied in Moser's theory to establish the affine linear rigidity of global solutions. This directly leads to the Liouville-type theorems for global solutions without requiring additional proofs.
title Improved Interior Gradient Estimates for the Mean Curvature Equation under Nonlinear Assumptions
topic Analysis of PDEs
Primary: 35B45, Secondary: 35J92, 35B50
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2602.11991