Homogenization of energies defined on $1$-rectifiable currents

Abstract

In this paper we study the homogenization of a class of energies concentrated on lines. In dimension $2$ (i.e., in codimension $1$) the problem reduces to the homogenization of partition energies studied by \cite{AB}. There, the key tool is the representation of partitions in terms of $BV$ functions with values in a discrete set. In our general case the key ingredient is the representation of closed loops with discrete multiplicity either as divergence-free matrix-valued measures supported on curves or with $1$-currents with multiplicity in a lattice. In the $3$ dimensional case the main motivation for the analysis of this class of energies is the study of line defects in crystals, the so called dislocations.