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For a fixed bounded measurable uniformly elliptic operator in divergence form, solutions bounded by one have uniform local Caccioppoli inequalities and Hölder continuity estimates. A diagonal subsequence argument yields a local weak $W^{1,2}$ limit, while the Arzelà-Ascoli theorem gives uniform convergence on a fixed smaller closed Euclidean ball. The weak equation passes to the limit because the coefficients are fixed and bounded. A global supremum normalization does not force the interior limit to be nonzero.

For a bounded measurable coefficient matrix $A$, an $H^1$ weak solution of $\mathrm{div}(A\nabla u)=0$ satisfies $\int A\nabla u\cdot \nabla \phi =0$ for every compactly supported smooth test function. By density this identity extends to compactly supported $H^1$ tests. If $A$ is symmetric and $\lambda I\le A\le \Lambda I$, Caccioppoli inequalities follow without differentiating $A$.

For scalar minimizers of $\int F(Du)$ with $F\in C^2({\mathbb{R}}^n)$ and globally bounded uniformly positive Hessian matrix, no higher differentiability of $F$ is needed for interior gradient Hölder continuity. The weak Euler-Lagrange equation is $\mathrm{div}DF(Du)=0$. Difference quotients solve uniformly elliptic equations with coefficient matrices obtained by averaging $D^{2}F$ along gradient segments. The Caccioppoli inequality and difference quotient characterization give $u\in H_{\mathrm{loc}}^2$. The Sobolev chain rule then gives $\mathrm{div}(D^{2}F(Du)D(D_{k}u))=0$. The De Giorgi-Nash-Moser theorem makes each derivative Hölder continuous, with exponent depending only on dimension and the ellipticity ratio. This scalar conclusion should not be assumed for vector-valued elliptic systems.

Moser iteration combines a Caccioppoli inequality with the Sobolev embedding theorem to raise an integrability exponent geometrically. On nested balls it turns an $L^p$ bound for a nonnegative subsolution of a uniformly elliptic divergence-form equation into a local supremum bound.

No additional hypothesis on $F$ is needed here for scalar interior $C^{1,\beta }$ regularity. In the elliptic sense of uniform convexity, the assumptions already give constants $0<\lambda \le M<\infty$ with $\lambda I\le D^{2}F(p)\le MI$ for all $p$. The following argument gives interior gradient regularity for uniformly convex autonomous energies.

The first variation at the minimizer exists because $|DF(p)|\le C(1+|p|)$, and its weak Euler-Lagrange equation isFor a coordinate difference quotient ${\delta }_{h}u$, subtract the translated equation and the original equation. The averaged linearization of a nonlinear divergence-form equation givesThese measurable symmetric matrices satisfy $\lambda I\le A_h\le MI$ independently of $h$. The Caccioppoli inequality and the standard bound $\Vert {\delta }_{h}u{\Vert }_2\le \Vert D_{k}u{\Vert }_2$ bound $D{\delta }_{h}u$ on every smaller interior set. Quoting the Sobolev characterization by bounded difference quotients yields $u\in H_{\mathrm{loc}}^2$.

Now $DF$ is globally Lipschitz continuous, so the Sobolev chain rule and commutation of distributional derivatives allow differentiation of the weak equation. Each $v_k=D_{k}u\in H_{\mathrm{loc}}^1$ satisfiesThe De Giorgi-Nash-Moser theorem states that weak solutions of this scalar divergence-form equation with bounded measurable uniformly elliptic coefficients are locally Hölder continuous. It gives a common $\beta \in (0,1)$ depending only on $n$ and the ellipticity ratio $M/\lambda$, with $D_{k}u\in C_{\mathrm{loc}}^{0,\beta }$ for every $k$. A Sobolev function whose weak gradient is continuous has a $C^1$ representative, as follows by local mollification and integration of its gradient. HenceThe higher-regularity conclusion comes from differentiating an autonomous scalar equation; it does not rely on boundary regularity or a higher derivative such as $D^{3}F$.

Write $R=\Lambda /\lambda$. The coefficient is measurable, so interpret the divergence-form elliptic operator weakly: $\int A{u}^{\prime }{\varphi }^{\prime }=0$ for compactly supported $H^1$ tests. Testing with $\varphi ={\zeta }^{2}u$ givesDivide if the first integral is positive; the zero case is immediate. Since $\zeta =1$ on the inner interval,This Caccioppoli inequality applies in particular to the smooth solutions in the question. No derivative of $A$ is taken.

Choose a fixed smooth cutoff function with $\Vert {\zeta }^{\prime }{\Vert }_{\infty }=C_0$ and set $J=(-1/2,1/2)$. The Caccioppoli inequality gives $\Vert u^{\prime }{\Vert }_{L^2(J)}\le 2R{C}_0\Vert u{\Vert }_{L^2(-1,1)}$. Since the length of $J$ is one, the corrected interval Sobolev supremum estimate yields $\Vert u{\Vert }_{L^{\infty }(J)}\le \Vert u{\Vert }_{L^2(J)}+\Vert u^{\prime }{\Vert }_{L^2(J)}$, and the Hölder seminorm is at most $\Vert u^{\prime }{\Vert }_{L^2(J)}$. ThereforeFor locally $H^1$ weak solutions with $u\in L^2(-1,1)$, density of smooth functions in a Sobolev space justifies the test ${\zeta }^{2}u$, and the previous representative estimates already apply to $H^1$. Mollifying a solution need not preserve the equation with the same measurable coefficient, so approximation is used for admissible tests and Sobolev estimates, not to assert that the mollified function solves the original equation. The required constant depends only on $R$.

For a real weak solution $u\in H_{\mathrm{loc}}^1(B_1)$, $\int A\nabla u\cdot \nabla \varphi =0$ for compactly supported $H^1$ tests. The symmetric coefficient bounds give $A\xi \cdot \xi \ge \lambda |\xi {|}^2$ and $|A\xi |\le \Lambda |\xi |$. Test with $\varphi ={\zeta }^{2}u$ and apply the Cauchy-Schwarz inequality:Thus $E\le 4R^{2}I$, including $E=0$. As $\zeta =1$ on $B_{r_1}$ and has support in $B_{r_2}$,This Caccioppoli inequality is valid for smooth solutions and, by density of admissible tests, for locally $H^1$ weak solutions with bounded measurable coefficients.

Take $\alpha =1+1/\ell >1$. Then $2\alpha <p^{\ast }$ in every $\ell \ge 2$, including $p^{\ast }=\infty$ for $\ell =2$. The supplied Sobolev embedding theorem, by the fixed scaling from $B_{1/2}$ to $B_1$, gives $\Vert w{\Vert }_{L^{2\alpha }(B_1)}\le C_{\ell }\Vert w{\Vert }_{H^1(B_1)}$.

Choose $0\le \zeta \le 1$, equal to one on $B_{r_1}$, supported in $B_{r_2}$, with $|\nabla \zeta |\le C/(r_2-r_1)$. Extend $w=\zeta u$ by zero to $B_1$. The Caccioppoli inequality before discarding the cutoff weight givesAlso $\Vert w{\Vert }_2\le \Vert u{\Vert }_{L^2(B_{r_2})}$. Since $R>1$ and $r_2-r_1\le 1$, both terms are controlled by $CR(r_2-r_1{)}^{-1}\Vert u{\Vert }_2$. Applying the Sobolev embedding theorem to $w$ givesUsing a fixed ambient ball prevents the Sobolev constant from acquiring an unintended dependence on either radius.

The original PDF assumes $u\ge 0$ at the beginning of this question; the TeX conversion omits that hypothesis. First replace a smooth nonnegative solution by $v=u+\epsilon >0$, which solves the same homogeneous divergence-form elliptic equation. For $w=v^{q/2}$, the chain rule gives the favorable termin the distributional sense. Thus $w$ is a weak subsolution. Testing its subsolution inequality with ${\zeta }^{2}w$ yields the same Caccioppoli inequality as before. More precisely, testing the equation for $v$ with ${\zeta }^2{v}^{q-1}$ givesIndeed the main term is at least $(q-1)\lambda \int {\zeta }^2{v}^{q-2}|\nabla v{|}^2$, and the cross term is bounded by twice $\Lambda$ times the square roots of this weighted gradient integral and $\int v^q|\nabla \zeta {|}^2$. Let $\epsilon \downarrow 0$ to obtain the stated power energy estimate.

Apply the fixed-domain Sobolev embedding theorem to $\zeta u^{q/2}$. The crucial constant stays uniform before taking the $2/q$ power:where $D_{\ell }\ge 1$ is independent of $q$. This is uniform power gain for elliptic solutions. The exponent is $q\alpha$, not the TeX conversion's $q^{\alpha }$. The PDF's weaker prefactor $C_{\ell }$ outside the $2/q$ power follows from this stronger estimate, but that weaker form alone cannot be iterated infinitely.

For completeness, the estimate also extends to nonnegative locally $H^1$ weak solutions without assuming they are already bounded. For $s\ge 0$ define $F_M(s)=s^{q/2}$ up to $M$ and continue it linearly with slope $(q/2)M^{q/2-1}$ above $M$; set ${\Psi }_M(s)={\int }_0^s{F}_M^{\prime }(r{)}^{2}dr$. Both have bounded derivatives for fixed $M$. Direct calculation gives ${\Psi }_M/F_M^{\prime }\le F_M$ and $F_M(s)\le (q/2)s^{q/2}$. Test the weak equation with ${\zeta }^2{\Psi }_M(u)$, using smooth approximations to these Sobolev chain rule functions if needed. The resulting weighted energy bound is $\int {\zeta }^2|\nabla F_M(u){|}^2\le 4R^2\int F_M(u{)}^2|\nabla \zeta {|}^2$. If $u\in L^q(B_{r_2})$, dominated convergence on the right and the Fatou lemma on the Sobolev left give the boxed gain as $M\to \infty$, with the same uniform constant. Starting with $q=2$, this justifies every subsequent iteration step.

Choose a smooth cutoff function $\eta$ supported in $B_2$, equal to one on $B_1$, with $0\le \eta \le 1$ and $|D\eta |\le C$. For $i<n$, put $v_i=D_{i}u$. The zero Dirichlet boundary condition implies that the tangential boundary derivative $v_i$ vanishes on the flat face. Differentiating the Poisson equation gives $\Delta v_i=D_{i}f$. Test this equation with ${\eta }^2{v}_i$. The boundary terms vanish because $v_i=0$ on the flat face and $\eta =0$ near the curved face. Integration by parts in the tangential direction moves $D_i$ off $f$, yieldingThis is the essential Caccioppoli inequality step: it involves $f$, rather than $Df$. Expanding $D_i({\eta }^2{v}_i)$ and using the Cauchy-Schwarz inequality and the Young inequality givesThe term $f\eta (D_i\eta )v_i$ is bounded by $C{f}^2+C|D\eta {|}^2{v}_i^2$. Absorbing the first term and summing over $i<n$ proves the hinted estimate:All mixed second partial derivatives are now controlled, since $D_{ni}u=D_{in}u$. The remaining normal derivative is recovered from the equation:The Cauchy-Schwarz inequality bounds its squared L2 norm by $n$ times the sum of the squared L2 norms on the right. Including the already controlled zeroth and first partial derivatives, and taking square roots, gives the second-derivative estimate at a flat Dirichlet boundary:The full second-order Sobolev norm is controlled without any norm of $Df$.

First prove the hinted Caccioppoli inequality. Testing the weak formulation with $u_k{\phi }^2$ is legitimate by approximation in the zero-boundary Sobolev space. Let ${\Lambda }_{\ast }=\mathrm{esssup}\Vert a(x){\Vert }_{\mathrm{op}}\le n\Lambda$. Thenby Young inequality. HenceNo derivative of the measurable coefficient matrix is taken.

Set $w_k=u_k/{\sup }_{B_1}|u_k|$. The denominator is finite and positive because $u_k$ is continuous on the compact closure and nonzero. Each $w_k$ solves the same linear equation and $|w_k|\le 1$. For every $\theta <1$, choose a cutoff function equal to one on $B_{\theta }$ and supported in a slightly larger interior Euclidean ball. The energy bound gives a uniform $W^{1,2}(B_{\theta })$ bound.

Take radii ${\theta }_j\uparrow 1$. Weak compactness and a diagonal subsequence argument produce one subsequence converging weakly in $W^{1,2}(B_{{\theta }_j})$ for every $j$, with consistent restrictions defining $v\in W_{\mathrm{loc}}^{1,2}(B_1)$. Part (b) and the Arzelà-Ascoli theorem allow a further subsequence converging uniformly on $\overline{B_{1/4}}$. Its uniform limit agrees almost everywhere with the weak limit and supplies its continuous representative there.

For every smooth compactly supported test function, choose $j$ containing its support. Since $a^{ij}{D}_i\phi \in L^2$ and $D{w}_k$ converges weakly there,Thus the compactness of normalized weak elliptic solutions givesThe diagonal step is needed to retain the equation beyond the small Euclidean ball of uniform convergence. The limit need not be nonzero: for the Laplacian in dimension at least two, the normalized harmonic functions $\mathrm{Re}(x_1+i{x}_2{)}^k$ tend uniformly to zero on each smaller Euclidean ball.

NormalizeThen $0\le v_k\le 1$, and $v_k$ remains a weak supersolution. The ordinary Caccioppoli inequality with a cutoff supported in $B_R$ gives a uniform $W^{1,2}(B_{\rho })$ bound whenever $\rho <R<1$. The Rellich-Kondrachov compactness theorem and a diagonal subsequence therefore give, for every $\rho <1$,The strong convergence preserves nonnegativity. Passing to the limit in the linear supersolution inequality against every nonnegative compactly supported test function shows that $v$ is a weak supersolution in $B$.

On a relatively compact ball, mollification commutes with the Laplacian, so $u_{\epsilon }=u\ast {\eta }_{\epsilon }$ is a smooth harmonic function. Repeated interior derivative estimates, together with the Caccioppoli inequality, bound every derivative of $u_{\epsilon }$ on a smaller ball by the local $L^2$ norm of $u$, uniformly as $\epsilon \downarrow 0$. The Arzelà-Ascoli theorem and a diagonal argument give a smooth local limit, while mollification gives $u_{\epsilon }\to u$ in $L_{\mathrm{loc}}^2$. Thus the limit equals $u$ almost everywhere. After choosing this smooth representative, $u$ is harmonic pointwise. This is the Weyl lemma for an $H^1$ weak solution.

Choose a cutoff function $\eta$ supported in $B_{\rho }(x)$, equal to one on $B_{{\rho }^{\prime }}(x)$, and satisfying $|D\eta |\le (\rho -{\rho }^{\prime }{)}^{-1}$. Use ${\eta }^{2}u$ as a test function in the weak formulation:The Cauchy-Schwarz inequality followed by Young inequality givesand henceThis is the Caccioppoli inequality. The numerical constant is convention-dependent and is normally absorbed into the displayed estimate; replacing the radii by fixed intermediate radii gives the stated form with one universal constant.

Put $v=\log u_{\epsilon }$, so $Dv=Du/u_{\epsilon }$. Choose a cutoff $\eta$ which equals one on $B_{\rho }(z)\cap B_1$, is supported in a comparable ball inside $B_2$, and satisfies $|D\eta |\le C/\rho$. Repeating the calculation from part (i) with ${\eta }^2$ and using $|q|\le \mu$ gives the Caccioppoli inequalityThe same construction works for balls meeting $\partial B_1$ because the cutoff is supported in $B_2$. Hence

For a classical solution of $\Delta u=f$ on a half-ball with zero data on its flat face, a tangential Caccioppoli inequality controls every second partial derivative having at least one tangential index. The equation recovers the remaining second normal derivative. The resulting Sobolev norm estimate has a dimension-only constant for the fixed radii one and two. Nonzero data are handled by homogenization of Dirichlet boundary data, adding the $W^{2,2}$ norm of the supplied boundary extension. No condition is imposed on the curved face because the smooth cutoff function vanishes there.

Solutions of one fixed bounded-coefficient uniformly elliptic equation $Lu=f$ that are bounded in global $L^2$ have a subsequence converging strongly in $H^1$ on every relatively compact subdomain. Local energy bounds and the Rellich-Kondrachov compactness theorem first give local strong $L^2$ and weak $H^1$ convergence on a smooth exhaustion. Pass to the weak equation to identify the limit. Differences solve $L(u_k-u)=0$, so the interior Caccioppoli inequality upgrades the local strong $L^2$ convergence to strong gradient convergence. Global weak $L^2$ convergence preserves the original global bound.