Classification of solutions to the higher order Liouville's equation on R^{2m}

Abstract

We classify the solutions to the equation (- \Delta)^m u=(2m-1)!e^{2mu} on R^{2m} giving rise to a metric g=e^{2u}g_{R^{2m}} with finite total $Q$-curvature in terms of analytic and geometric properties. The analytic conditions involve the growth rate of u and the asymptotic behaviour of \Delta u(x) as |x|\to \infty. As a consequence we give a geometric characterization in terms of the scalar curvature of the metric e^{2u}g_{R^{2m}} at infinity, and we observe that the pull-back of this metric to $S^{2m}$ via the stereographic projection can be extended to a smooth Riemannian metric if and only if it is round.