A class of nonlinear elasticity problems with no local but many global minimizers

Abstract

We present a class of models of elastic phase transitions with incompatible energy wells in any space dimension, where an abundance of Lipschitz global minimizers in a hard device coexists with a complete lack of strong local minimizers. The analysis hinges on the proof that every strong local minimizer in a hard device is also a global minimizer which is applicable much beyond the chosen class of models. Along the way we show that a new proof of sufficiency for a subclass of affine boundary conditions can be built around a novel nonlinear generalization of the classical Clapeyron theorem, whose subtle relation to dynamics was studied extensively by R. Fosdick.