Conformally invariant equations with negative critical exponents on the three dimensional hyperbolic space

Abstract

We establish a symmetry result for positive entire solutions with a prescribed growth rate to the following fourth order equation on the 3-dimensional hyperbolic space $\mathbb{H}^3$: \[ P_2 u = - u^{-7}, \] where $P_2$ denotes the fourth-order Paneitz operator. We prove that any positive solution $u$ on $\mathbb{H}^3$ exhibiting exponential growth at infinity must, up to hyperbolic isometries, be radial and strictly decreasing with respect to some point $P \in \mathbb{H}^3$. Fourth order equations with negative critical growth on 3-dimensional Euclidean space $\mathbb{R}^3$ has been studied by Choi and Xu in \cite{CX09 }, and subsequently by McKenna and Reichel \cite{MR03} and Xu \cite{Xu05}. Unlike the Euclidean case, the behavior of the Green's function of $P_2$ is substantially different, which prevents us from using the moving plane (sphere) method directly.