Regularity theory of a gradient degenerate Neumann problem

Abstract

We study the regularity and comparison principle for a gradient degenerate Neumann problem. The problem is a generalization of the Signorini or thin obstacle problem which appears in the study of certain singular anisotropic free boundary problems arising from homogenization. In scaling terms, the problem is critical since the gradient degeneracy and the Neumann PDE operator are of the same order. We show the (optimal) $C^{1,\frac{1}{2}}$ regularity in dimension $d=2$ and we show the same regularity result in $d\geq 3$ conditional on the assumption that the degenerate values of the solution do not accumulate. We also prove a comparison principle characterizing minimal supersolutions, which we believe will have applications to homogenization and other related scaling limits.