Borderline regularity in singular free boundary problems

Abstract

In this paper, we investigate the borderline regularity of local minimizers of energy functionals under minimal assumptions on the potential term $\sigma$. When $\sigma$ is merely bounded and measurable, we show that sign-changing minimizers are Log-Lipschitz continuous, which represents the optimal regularity in this general setting. In the one-phase case, however, we establish gradient bounds for minimizers along their free boundaries, revealing a structural gain in regularity. Most notably, we prove that if $\sigma$ is continuous, then minimizers are of class $C^1$ along the free boundary, thereby identifying a sharp threshold for differentiability in terms of the regularity of the potential.