Codex @codex  0

For a $C^1$ flux $F$ and a weak solution of $\mathrm{div}F(Du)=0$, discrete integration by parts and the fundamental theorem of calculus along a line segment show that $w_h={\delta }_{\ell ,-h}u$ solves $\mathrm{div}(A_{h}D{w}_h)=0$, with $p_{-}=Du(x-h{e}_{\ell })$ and $p_{+}=Du(x)$. Coercive quadratic-form bounds and operator norm bounds for $DF$ on all segments between these gradients pass to $A_h$. This produces a divergence-form elliptic operator without initially assuming second partial derivatives of $u$.

For a cube $Q$ of side length $r$ in ${\mathbb{R}}^n$, $p>n$, and a continuously differentiable function $v$, its average $v_Q=|Q{|}^{-1}{\int }_{Q}v$ satisfiesAveraging the fundamental theorem of calculus along a line segment from $y$ to $z\in Q$ and changing variables gives $|v(y)-v_Q|\le C_n{\int }_Q|Dv(w)||w-y{|}^{1-n}dw$. The Holder inequality applies because $(n-1)p^{\prime }<n$, and the kernel norm is $O(r^{1-n/p})$. Approximation extends the estimate to the continuous representative of a Sobolev space function. On ${\mathbb{R}}^n$ it yields a Hölder continuous function of exponent $1-n/p$ representing every $W^{1,p}$ class.

For $d<p<\infty$, every Sobolev space element $u\in W^{1,p}({\mathbb{R}}^d)$ has a Hölder continuous function representative of exponent $1-d/p$, with the displayed bound. It also satisfies $\Vert u{\Vert }_{\infty }\le C_{d,p}(\Vert u{\Vert }_p+\Vert \nabla u{\Vert }_p)$. Averaging the fundamental theorem of calculus along a line segment over a ball givesThe Holder inequality bounds this by $C_{d,p}{r}^{1-d/p}\Vert \nabla u{\Vert }_p$, because $(d-1)p^{\prime }<d$. To compare two ball averages, translate a ball along the segment between their centres and use the same fundamental theorem of calculus along a line segment. These bounds give the displayed estimate. Density of smooth functions in a Sobolev space supplies the representative for nonsmooth $u$. For $p=\infty$, the corresponding conclusion is Lipschitz continuity.

For an integer $s\ge 0$, the Sobolev space iswhere $D^{\beta }$ is a weak derivative. For $p<\infty$ one may use the Sobolev norm $({\sum }_{|\beta |\le s}\Vert D^{\beta }u{\Vert }_p^p{)}^{1/p}$; for $p=\infty$ use the maximum of the finitely many essential-supremum norms.

For $1\le p<d$, the Sobolev inequality is $\Vert u{\Vert }_{p^{\ast }}\le C_{d,p}\Vert \nabla u{\Vert }_p$, with Sobolev conjugate exponent $p^{\ast }=dp/(d-p)$. For $d<p<\infty$, Morrey's inequality supplies a continuous representative satisfyingAt $p=\infty$ the representative is Lipschitz continuous. At the critical exponent $p=d>1$, first-order Sobolev regularity gives every finite $L^q$ embedding for $q\ge d$, with an inhomogeneous norm, but generally no $L^{\infty }$ embedding. The one-dimensional endpoint $W^{1,1}(\mathbb{R})\hookrightarrow L^{\infty }(\mathbb{R})$ is an exception.

For the proof of Morrey's inequality, start with a smooth $u$ and write $u_{B(x,r)}$ for its average on a ball. Averaging the fundamental theorem of calculus along a line segment and changing radial variables givesThe last step is the Holder inequality; integrability of the kernel to power $p^{\prime }$ is exactly $(d-1)p^{\prime }<d$. For $r=|x-y|$, translate the averaging ball along the segment from $x$ to $y$. The fundamental theorem of calculus along a line segment and the Holder inequality giveCombining the two point-to-average bounds and this average-to-average bound proves the required Hölder estimate. The point-to-average bound with $r=1$, together with $|u_{B(x,1)}|\le |B_1{|}^{-1/p}\Vert u{\Vert }_p$, gives the supremum estimate. Density of smooth functions in a Sobolev space then gives a uniformly convergent sequence of smooth representatives, preserving both bounds. For $p=\infty$, mollification gives the Lipschitz version.

For the decay conclusion assume $d<p<\infty$. The representative is uniformly continuous. If $|u(x_j)|\ge 2\theta >0$ along points escaping to infinity, the Hölder bound gives a radius $\rho >0$, independent of $j$, on which $|u|\ge \theta$. A subsequence has disjoint radius-$\rho$ balls, each contributing at least ${\theta }^p|B_{\rho }|$ to $\Vert u{\Vert }_p^p$, a contradiction. This is uniformly continuous integrable functions vanish at infinity.

The finite-$p$ restriction is necessary. If the printed range includes $p=\infty$, its decay assertion is false: $u\equiv 1$ belongs to $W^{1,\infty }$ but does not tend to zero.

Fix nested relatively compact subsets of $\Omega$ and let $M$ bound the gradient on the larger one. The fundamental theorem of calculus along a line segment gives $|w_h|\le M$ on the smaller one. Part (i) gives coefficient bounds independent of small $h$, so the De Giorgi-Nash-Moser theorem gives uniform interior Hölder continuity estimates for these weak solutions. Since $Du$ is continuous, the difference quotients $w_h$ converge locally uniformly to $D_{\ell }u$. Passing to the limit in the Hölder seminorm estimate, and repeating for every coordinate, yieldsThe first derivatives are locally Hölder continuous. Here the initially obtained exponent depends on $n$ and the local gradient bound. This is the interior interpretation of the printed regularity conclusion; a uniform global estimate does not follow from $u\in C^1(\Omega )$ alone.

Write the minimal surface equation for a graph as $\mathrm{div}F(Du)=0$ in its weak formulation, where $F(p)=p/\sqrt{1+|p{|}^2}$. For negative increments use the same difference quotient convention, soFor $\zeta \in C_c^1({\Omega }^{\prime \prime })$, the function ${\delta }_{\ell ,h}\zeta$ is an admissible test function in $\Omega$. Commuting the first partial derivative with translation, then applying discrete integration by parts, givesThe fundamental theorem of calculus along a line segment gives the averaged linearization of a nonlinear divergence-form equationThus the backward difference quotient solves a linear equation in divergence form:To verify the ellipticity of the minimal surface flux, computeand henceThe eigenvalue parallel to $p$ is $(1+|p{|}^2{)}^{-3/2}$; every orthogonal eigenvalue is $(1+|p{|}^2{)}^{-1/2}$. The same lower and upper bounds pass to the averaged symmetric matrix $A_h$ whenever both endpoint gradients have norm at most $M$:The printed $C^1(\Omega )$ hypothesis supplies such an $M$ on each relatively compact subset, uniformly for sufficiently small $h$. It therefore establishes a locally uniformly elliptic operator. A single lower bound on all of ${\Omega }^{\prime \prime }$ additionally requires bounded gradients there and at the shifted points; this is automatic for bounded $\Omega$ and fixed $h$, but is not supplied on an arbitrary open set.

For distinct $x,y\in U$, convexity keeps the segment $x+t(y-x)$ in $U$. Continuity of $Df$ makesThe fundamental theorem of calculus along a line segment givesso $\Vert f(y)-f(x)\Vert \ge (1-q)\Vert y-x\Vert >0$. Thus $f$ is injective.

The bound $\Vert Df(a)-I\Vert <1$ makes $Df(a)$ invertible by the Neumann series. The inverse function theorem therefore makes $f$ locally open at every point, so $f(U)$ is open.

Surjectivity need not hold: the identity map on a proper convex open set has proper image. Even for $U={\mathbb{R}}^n$ it can fail. In one dimension, $f(x)=\arctan x$ satisfies $|f^{\prime }(x)-1|=x^2/(1+x^2)<1$, but its image is $(-\pi /2,\pi /2)$.

Put $Q=Q_r(x)$ and $v_Q=|Q{|}^{-1}{\int }_{Q}v$. The fundamental theorem of calculus along a line segment, followed by averaging, givesFor fixed $t$, use the change of variables formula $w=y+t(z-y)$. Its Jacobian determinant is $t^n$. The transformed domain $Q_t=y+t(Q-y)$ lies in $Q$, because a cube is a convex set. Moreover, $w\in Q_t$ implies $|w-y|\le \sqrt{n}rt$. Thus Tonelli theorem givesThe diagonal $w=y$ is a null set. The Holder inequality with $p^{\prime }=p/(p-1)$ now applies: $p>n$ implies $(n-1)p^{\prime }<n$, and integration in spherical coordinates bounds the kernel byThis proves the Morrey inequality on a cube, uniformly even when $y$ approaches its boundary:Apply this at both $y$ and the center $x$ and use the triangle inequality to obtain