An Endpoint Alexandrov Bakelman Pucci Estimate in the Plane

Abstract

The classical Alexandrov-Bakelman-Pucci estimate for the Laplacian states $$ \max_{x \in \Omega}{ |u(x)|} \leq \max_{x \in \partial \Omega}{|u(x)|} + c_{s,n} \mbox{diam}(\Omega)^{2-\frac{n}{s}} \left\| \Delta u\right\|_{L^s(\Omega)}$$ where $\Omega \subset \mathbb{R}^n$, $u \in C^2(\Omega) \cap C(\overline{\Omega})$ and $s > n/2$. The inequality fails for $s = n/2$. A Sobolev embedding result of Milman & Pustylink, originally phrased in a slightly different context, implies an endpoint inequality: if $n \geq 3$ and $\Omega \subset \mathbb{R}^n$ is bounded, then $$ \max_{x \in \Omega}{ |u(x)|} \leq \max_{x \in \partial \Omega}{|u(x)|} + c_n \left\| \Delta u\right\|_{L^{\frac{n}{2},1}(\Omega)},$$ where $L^{p,q}$ is the Lorentz space refinement of $L^p$. This inequality fails for $n=2$ and we prove a sharp substitute result: there exists $c>0$ such that for all $\Omega \subset \mathbb{R}^2$ with finite measure $$ \max_{x \in \Omega}{ |u(x)|} \leq \max_{x \in \partial \Omega}{|u(x)|} + c \max_{x \in \Omega} \int_{y \in \Omega}{ \max\left\{ 1, \log{\left(\frac{|\Omega|}{\|x-y\|^2} \right)} \right\} \left| \Delta u(y)\right| dy}.$$ This is somewhat dual to the classical Trudinger-Moser inequality; we also note that it is sharper than the usual estimates given in Orlicz spaces, the proof is rearrangement-free. The Laplacian can be replaced by any uniformly elliptic operator in divergence form.