(Modern Birkhäuser Classics) Bethuel, Fabrice - Brézis, Haim - Hélein, Frédéric - Ginzburg-Landau Vortices-Birkhäuser (2017) PDF

Modern Birkhäuser Classics
Fabrice Bethuel
Haïm Brezis
Frédéric Hélein
Ginzburg-
Landau
Vortices
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Ginzburg-Landau
Vortices
Fabrice Bethuel
Haïm Brezis
Frédéric Hélein
Reprint of the 1994 Edition

Fabrice Bethuel Haïm Brezis
Laboratory Jacques-Louis Lions Rutgers University
Pierre and Marie Curie University Piscataway
Paris, France New Jersey, USA
Frédéric Hélein
Université Paris Diderot - Paris 7
Paris, France
ISSN 2197-1803 ISSN 2197-1811 (electronic)

ISBN 978-3-319-66672-3 ISBN 978-3-319-66673-0 (eBook)
DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-66673-0
Library of Congress Control Number: 2017951852
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Fabrice Bethuel
HalmBrezis
Frederic Helein
Ginzburg-Landau Vortices
Springer Science+Business Media, LLC

Fabrice Bethuel HaimBrezis
Laboratoire d'Analyse Numerique Analyse Numerique
Universite Paris-Sud Universite Pierre et Marie Curie
91405 Orsay Cedex 4, place Jussieu
France 75252 Paris Cedex 05, France
and
Frederic Helein Department of Mathematics
CMLA, ENS-Cachan Rutgers University
94235 Cachan Cedex New Brunswick, NJ 08903
France
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Bethuel, Fabrice, 1963-
Ginzburg-Landau vortices I Fabrice Bethuel, Halm Brezis, Frederic
Helein.
p. em. -- (Progress in nonlinear differential equations and
their applications ; v. 13)
Included bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-8176-3723-1 ISBN 978-1-4612-0287-5 (eBook)
DOl 10.1007/978-1-4612-0287-5
I. Singularities (Mathematics) 2. Mathematical physics.
3. Superconductors--Mathematics. 4. Superfluidity--Mathematics.
5. Differential equations, Nonlinear--Numberical solutions.
I. Brezis, H. (Haim) ll. Helein, Frederic, 1963- III. Title.
IV. Series.
QC20.7.S54B48 1994 94-2026
530.1'55353--dc20 CIP
Printed on acid-free paper a)®

© Springer Science+Business Media New York 1994 ll{]l)
Originally published by Birkhauser Boston in 1994
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or transmitted, in any fonn or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording,
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addressed directly to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC.
ISBN 978-0-8176-3723-1
Typeset by the Authors in AMSTEX.
9876.5432
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Introduction xi
I. Energy estimates for 8 1-valued maps
1. An auxiliary linear problem 1
2. Variants of Theorem 1.1 6
3. 8 1-valued harmonic maps with prescribed isolated
singularities. The canonical harmonic map 10
4. Shrinking holes. Renormalized energy 16
II. A lower bound for the energy of 8 1-valued maps
on perforated domains 31
III. Some basic estimates for u"
1. Estimates when G = BR and g(x) = x/lx! 42
2. An upper bound for Ee (Ue) 44
3. An upper bound for -bfa(lu"l 2 - 1)2 45
4. luel ~ 1/2 on "good discs" 46
IV. Towards locating the singularities:
bad discs and good discs
1. A covering argument 48
2. Modifying the bad discs 49
V. An upper bound for the energy of u" away from
the singularities
1. A lower bound for the energy of u" near ilj 53
2. Proof of Theorem V.l 54
CONTENTS
VI. ut:,. converges: u* is born!

1. Proof of Theorem VI.l 58
2. Further properties of u* : singularities have degree
one and they are not on the boundary 60
VII. u* coincides with THE canonical harmonic map
having singularities (aj) 65
VIII. The configuration (aj) minimizes the renormal-
ized energy W
1. The general case 76
2. The vanishing gradient property and its various
forms 82
3. Construction of critical points of the renorma.lized
energy 93
4. The case G = B 1 and g(O) = ei0 95
5. The case G = B 1 and g( 8) = ediB with d ~ 2 97
IX. Some additional properties of Ue

1. The zeroes of Ut: 100
2. The limit of {Ee(ue)- ?Tdjlog eJ} as E __. 0 101
3. fa j'VJuE IJ 2 remains bounded as e __. 0 103
4. The bad discs revisited 104
X. Non minimizing solutions of the Ginzburg-Landau
equation
1. Preliminary estimates; bad discs and good discs 107
2. Splitting IV' vt: I 109
3. Study of the associated linear problems 112
4. The basic estimates: fa JV've \2 :-:::; CJlog ej and
] 0 jV'veiP :-: :; Cp for p < 2 119
5. Ven converges to v* 125
6. Properties of v* 132
CONTENTS
XI. Open problems 137
Appendix I. Summary of the basic convergence re-

sults in the case where deg(g, aG) = 0 142
Appendix II. Radial solutions 145
Appendix III. Quantization effects for the equation

-av = v{1 - lvl 2 ) in 1R2 147
Appendix IV. The energy of maps on perforated do-

mains revisited 148
BffiLIOGRAPHY 154
INDEX 159
Acknowledgements
We are grateful to E. DeGiorgi, H. Matano, L. Nirenberg and L. Peletier for very

stimulating discussions. During the preparation of this work we have received
advice and encouragement from many people: A. Belavin, E. Brezin, N. Carl-
son, S. Chanillo, B. Coleman, L.C. Evans, J. M. Ghida.glia, R. Hardt, B. Helffer,
M. Herve, R. M. Herve, D. Huse, R. Kohn, J. Lebowitz, Y. Li; F. Merle, J. Ock-
endon, Y. Pomeau, T. Riviere, J. Rubinstein, I. Shafrir, Y. Simon, J. Taylor and
F. Treves.
Part of this work was done while the first author (F .B.) a.nd the third author
(F .H.) were visiting Rutgers University. They thank the Mathematics Department
for its support and hospitality; their work was also partially supported by a Grant
of the French Ministry of Research and Technology (MRT Grant 9080315). Part of
this work was done while the second author (H.B.) was visiting the Scuola Normale
Superiore of Pisa; be is grateful to the Scuola. for its invitation. We also thank Lisa
Magretto and Barbara Miller for their enthusiastic and competent typing of the
manuscript.
INTRODUCTION
The original motivation of this study comes from the following questions
that were mentioned to one of us by H. Mata.no.
Let
G = B1 = {~ = (~1.~2) E R2 ; ~~ +~~ = /z/ 2 < 1}.
Consider the Ginzburg-Landau functional
(1) Ee(u} = ~ L/Vu/ 2 + ~ 2 L(lu/ 2 - 1)2
which is defined for maps u E H 1 (G;C} also identified with H 1 (G;R2 ).

Fix the boundary condition
g(x) =x on OG
H: = {u
and set
E H 1 (G;C}; u= g on OG}.
It is easy to see that
(2)
is achieved by some Ue that is smooth and sa.tisfies the Euler equation
(3) { -Llue = : 2 ue(1 -lue/ 2 ) in G,

Ue =g on OG.
The maximum principle easily implies (see e.g., F. Bethuel, H. Brezis and F.
Helein (2]) that any solution ue of (3) satisfies /uel ~ 1 in G. In particular,
a subsequence (ue.,) converges in thew*- L 00 (G) topology to a limit u*.
Clearly, /u*(a:)/ ~ 1 a.e. It is very easy to prove (see Chapter III) that
(4) L(/uel 2 -1) 2 ~ Ge2 /loge/

and thus /ue., (.:c)/ -+ 1 a.e. This suggests that /u*{x)/ = 1 a.e. However,
such a claim is not clear at all since we do not know, at this stage, that
ue., -+ u* a.e. It turns out to be true that /u*(x)l = 1 a.e. -but we have
no simple proof. This fact is derived as a consequence of a delicate analysis
(see Chapter VI).
xii Introduction
The original questions of H. Matano were:

Question 1: Does lim u~(x) exist a.e.?
~ ......o
Question 2: What is u*? Do we have u*(x) = xflxl?
Question 3: What can be said about the zeroes of ue? If they are isolated
do they have degree ±1 (in the sense of Section IX.l)?
These questions have prompted us to consider a more general setting.
Let G C R 2 be a smooth, bounded and simply connected domain in R 2 •
Fix a (smooth) boundary condition g: CJG-+ 8 1 and consider a minimizer
Ue of problem {2) as above. Our purpose is to study the behavior of u~ as
s-+ 0.
The Brouwer degree
(5) d = deg(g, 8G)
(i.e., the winding number of g considered as a map from CJG into 8 1 ) plays
a crucial role in the asymptotic analysis of u~.
Cased= 0. This case is easy because n;(G; 8 1 ) ':f: 0 and thus the mini-
mization problem
(6)
makes sense. In fact, problem (6) has a. unique solution uo that is a. smooth
harmonic map from G into S 1 , i.e.,
Moreover (see e.g., Lemma. 1 in F. Bethuel, H. Brezis and F. Helein [2})
where l{)o is a. harmonic function (unique mod 21rZ) such that
We have proved in F. Bethuel, H . Brezis and F. Helein [2) (see also Appendix
I at the end of the book} that u~ -.... Uo in C 1 •0 (G) and in Ct,c(G) Vk; in
particular,
(7) LIVu~ 12 remains bounded as e -+ 0.
We have also obtained rates of convergence for Uu~- uol! in various norms.
Introduction xiii
Case d¥0. Throughout the book we assume that d > 0 since the case
d < 0 reduces to the previous case by complex conjugation. Here, the main
difficulty stems from the fact that
(8)
Indeed, suppose not, and say that n; (G; S 1) ¥ 0, then we could consider,
as above,
{9)
A minimizer exists and is smooth up to 8G,e.g., by a result of C. Mor-

rey [1J,[2J. In particular, there would be some u E C(G; 8 1 ) such that
u = g on &G. Standard degree theory shows that this is impossible since
g can be homotopied in S 1 to a constant. Alternatively, one could also
use H 112 (S1 ;S 1 ) degree theory (see a result of L. Boutet de Manvel and
0. Gabber quoted in A. Boutet de Monvel-Berthier, V. Georgescu and
R. Purice [1), [2}) to show that n;(G;S 1 ) = 0.
In this case, problem (9) does not make sense. In order to get around
this topological obstruction we are led to the following idea. Enlarge the
class of testing functions to
n:(G;C).
(Clearly this set is always nonempty.) But on the other hand, add ape-
nalization in the energy that "forces" lui to be close to 1. The simplest
penalty that comes to mind is
Therefore, we are led very naturally to
Min E~.
HJ(G;C)
Here, in contrast with the previous case,
(10) L1Vu~l 2 --+ +oo, as E --+ 0,

(otherwise, u~,. __. u weakly in H 1 and ul!: .. --+it a.e., so that
lui= 1, a.e.; thus u E H~(G;S 1 )- impossible by (8)). However, we may
still hope that
u.(x) =lim Ue:,. (x) exists for a.e. x E G

xiv Introduction
(naturally, with fc IY'u.,l 2 = oo). If this is indeed the case then u., can be
viewed as a "generalized solution" of problem (9).
Of course, many other "penalties" can be devised. They all seem to lead
to the same class of generalized solutions. For example, one other natural
penalty consists of drilling a few little holes B (ai, p) in G and consider-
ing the domain Gp = G \ UB(ai,p). In this case there is no topological
i
obstruction and
(we do not impose a Dirichlet condition on 8B(ai, p)). Then, one may
consider the problem
and analyze what happens as p -+ 0. Here, the points (ai) are free to
move and some configurations will turn out to be "better" than others (see
Section 1.4 and Chapter VIII).
Going back to a minimizer u~ of the original functional Ee, our main

results are the following:
Theorem 0.1. Assume G is starshaped. Then there is a subsequence

en -+ 0 and exactly d points a1, az, ... , ad in G and a smooth harmonic
map u., from G \ { a 1, a2, . .. , ad} into S 1 with u. = g on 8G such that
Ut:,. -+ u., inCiocCG \ L,J{ai}) 'Vk and in C 1 •Q(G \ L,J{a,}) 'Vo: < 1.
• •
In addition, each singularity has degree +1 and, more precisely, there are
complex constants (O:i) with la:i I = 1 such that
(11)
This theorem answers, in particular, Question 1 above. In this theorem

it is essential (in general) to pass to a subsequence. For example, if G is
the unit disc and g = e2i 6 then, for e small, u., is not unique and various
subsequences converge to different limits (see Section VIII.5). However, in
some cases, for example g( 0) = ei 9 , the full sequence (Ue) converges to a
well defined limit (see Section VIII.4).
So far, we have not said anything about the location of the singularities.
Our next result tells us where to find them. For this purpose, we introduce,
Introduction XV
for any given configuration b = (b 1 ,~, . .• ,bd) of distinct points in G, the

function
(12) W(b) = -1T L log lbi -

i#j
bjl +~ f
}8G
~(g x g.,) - 1T t
i=l
R(bi)
where ~ is the solution of the linear Neumann problem
: = 2~ ,t, 6,, in G,
{
011 = 9 X 9-r on 8G,
(v is the outward normal to 8G and r is a unit tangent vector to 8G such

that (v, r) is direct) and
d
R(x) = ~(x)- Llogjx- bil·
i=l
Note that R E C(G), so that R(bi) makes sense.

The function W, called the renormalized energy, has the following
properties (see Section 1.4):
(i) W -+ +oo as two of the points b.t coalesce,
(ii) W-+ +oo as one of the points bi tends to 8G
(since R(b,) -+ -oo as bi -+ 8G).
In other words, the singularities bi repel each other, but the boundary con-
dition on 8G produces a confinement effect. In particular W achieved its
minimum on Gd and every minimizing configuration consists of d distinct
points in Gd (not Qd).
The location of the points (ai) in Theorem 0.1 is governed by W through
the following:
Theorem 0.2. Let (ai) be as in Theorem 0.1. Then (ai) is a minimizer
for Won Gd.
The expression W comes up naturally in the following computation.

Given any configuration b = (bt. ~ . .. . , bd) of distinct points in G, let
Gp = G \ UB(bi, p). Consider the class
i
(13)
xvi Introduction
One proves (see Theorem 1.2} that there exists a unique minimizer up for
the problem
{14)
and that (see Theorem 1.7) the following expansion holds:
(15) ~ f IV'upl 2 = 11" djlog pj + W(b) + O(p) asp-+ 0.

la"
In other words, W is what remains in the energy after the singular "core
energy" 71' djlog PI has been removed. (The idea of removing an infinite
core energy is common in physics; see e.g., M. Kleman [1}). Moreover, as
p -+ 0, up converges to some uo that has the following properties:
(16) uo is a smooth harmonic map in G \ L:J{bi}

'
(17) Uo=g on &G
(18)
for some complex numbers f3i with IPt:l = 1 Vi.
In fact, given any configuration b E Gd of distinct points, there is a

unique uo satisfying (16), (17) and (18) (see Corollary I.l). We call this uo
the canonical harmonic map associated to the configuration b.
There is an explicit formula for uo (see Corollary 1.2):
(19)
where r.p is the solution of the Dirichlet problem
~r.p=O inG
(20) {
r.p = tpo on8G
and tpo is defined on &G by
{21)
i'Po(z) _ ( ) lz- bd lz- ~~ Jz- bdj
e - g z (z- bl) (z - ~) · · · (z- bd) ·
Introduction xvii
(Note that the right-hand side in (21) is a map from 8G into 8 1 of degree
zero so that v>o is well defined as a single--valued smooth function.)
For a general configuration b estimate (18) cannot be improved.
However, for the special configuration as described in Theorem 0.1 we
have the better estimate (11). That property, which may be written as
(22)
is related to the fact that a = (a 1 , a2, ... , ad) is a critical point of W on

Gd. It is extremely useful in localizing the singularities of 14 (see Section
VIII.4).
The role of condition (22) has been strongly emphasized (in the case of
a single singularity) by J. Neu(l] and by P. Fife and L. Peletier [lj. They
show that (22) must be satisfied in order to be able to carry out a matched
asymptotic expansion argument for (3).
Equation (22) also bears some resemblance with the results concerning
the location of the blow-up points for the problem
or -Au = uP + cU in nc Rn
with critical exponent p = (n + 2)/(n- 2). There, the blow-up points a

satisfy
VH(a)=O
where H is the regular part of the Green's functions (see H. Brezis and
L. Peletier [I] and 0. Rey [1], [2J).
To complete the description of u. we have:

Theorem 0.3. Let (ai) and u* be as in Theorem 0.1. Then u* is the
canonical hannonic map associated to the configuration
Conclusion: In general, W may have several minima. However, once

the location of ai is known, then u* is completely determined. In some
important cases W has a unique minimizer that can be identified explicitly;
for example when G = B 1 and g(x) = x:
Theorem 0.4. Assume G = B1 and g(x) = x. Let U,; be a minimizer for
{1), then, \fx =F 0,
xviii Introduction
This answers Question 2 above.

Theorem 0.4 can be viewed as the 2-dimensional analogue of a result
of H. Brezis, J. M. Coron and E. Lieb [1), which asserts that the unique
minimizer of the problem
is u(x) = xflxl. More generally, F.H. Lin [1) has obtained the same con-
clusion for the problem
Min f 1Vul2 for any n ;:::>: 3.

uEH~(B";S"- 1 )}B"
Next, we study the zeroes of u,.. Let us recall some earlier works on
that question. It has been proved by C. Elliott, H. Matano and T. Qi [1]
that (for every e > 0) the zeroes of any minimizer u" of (2) are isolated.
P. Bauman, N. Carlson and D. Phillips [1] have shown, in particular, that
if G = B 1 and deg(g, 8G) = 1 with g(O) strictly increasing then (for every
E > 0) there is a unique zero of any minimizer u" of (2).
Our main result concerning the zeroes of u" is the following:

Theorem 0.5. Let G be a starshaped domain and let d = deg(g, 8G).
Then, for e < eo depending only on g and G, u" has exactly d zeroes of
degree +1.
Remark 0.1. If d ~ 2 we give an example in Section VIII.5 showing that
the conclusion of Theorem 0.5 fails when c is large. The following happens:
when c is large u" has a single zero of degree d and, as c _,. 0, this zero
splits into d zeroes of degree +1.
Finally we analyze the behavior as E -+ 0 of solutions v.. of the Ginzburg-
Landau equation {3), which need not be minimizers of Ec-. We prove
that some of the results presented above for minimizers still hold for solu-
tions of (3). In particular, v .... converges to some limit v ... in ct,c(G\Uj{aj})
where {aj} is a finite set. However, by contrast with the previous situation,
we have no information about card(Ui{aj}) and deg(v*,a;) need not be
+1. More precisely, we have
Theorem 0.6. Assume G is starshaped. Then there exist a subsequence
en __. 0, k points a1, a2, ... , ak in G and a smooth harmonic map
v*: G \ U{aj} __. S 1 with v* = g on ac such that
j
Introduction xix
Moreover, there exist integers d1 , d2 , ••• , d~: E Z \ {0} and a smooth har-
monic function cp : G -+ R such that
(z- a~:)d*
lz- a~:ld"'.
In addition, we have
'\1 (v.(z) t- a;~~)

z- a; J
(a;)= 0 "Vj,
which expresses that (a;, dj) is a critical point of some appropriate renor-
malized eneryy W.
Remark 0.2. We emphasize that k need not be equal to d. However

there is a bound for k in tenns of g and G, and similarly for 2:; ld;l·
We also emphasize that Theorem 0.6 is of interest even in the case where
d = deg(g, 00) = 0 (we recall that the result of F. Bethuel, H. Brezis and
F. H~Hein [2] concerns only the analysis, as e -+ 0, of minimizers of E"'
when d= 0).
Analogies in physics. The results discussed in this book present strik-
ing analogies to numerous theoretical and experimental discoveries in the
area of superconductors and superfluids over the past 40 years. FU.nction-
als of the form E£(u) were originally introduced by V. Ginzburg and L.
Landau [1] in the study of phase transition problems occurring in super-
conductivity; similar models are also used in superftuids such as helium II
(see V. Ginzburg and L. Pitaevskii [1]) and in XY-magnetism. There is a
considerable amount of literature on this huge subject; some of the stan-
dard references are: P. G. DeGennes {1], R. Donnelly [1], J. Kosterlitz and
D. Thouless (1], D. Nelson (1], P. Nozieres and D. Pines (1], R. Parks [1],
D. Saint-James, G. Sarma and E. J. Thomas [1], D. Tilley a.nd J. Tilley
[1], M. Tinkham [1]. The unknown u represents a complex order param-
eter (i.e., with two degrees of freedom). In the physics literature u -
often denoted 'fjJ - is called a condensate wave function or a Higgs
field. The parameter e, which has the dimension of a length, depends
on the material and its temperature. In the physics literature it is called
the (Ginzburg-Landau) coherence length (or healing length or core
radius) and is often denoted bye= e(T}. For temperatures T < Tc (the
critical temperature) with T not too close to Tc , e(T) is extremely small,
typically of the order of some hundreds of angstroms in superconductors,
and of the order of a few angstroms in superftuids. Hence, it is of interest
to study the a.symptotics as e - 0, even though the limiting problem (at
XX Introduction
e = 0) has no physical meaning. Note that ~(T) plays the role of a charac-
teristic length: the values of l'I/J(x)j may vary significantly at two points
x11 x2 whose distance !x1 - x2l is of the order of ~(T).
[Warning: Instead of equation (3), i.e.,
some authors work with
This amounts to a dilation in the space variables: -if;(x) = 1/J(>..x) where

).. = >..(T) is the (London) penetration depth (another constant, having
the dimension of a length, which also depends on the material and the
temperature) and "' = )..jf. is the Ginzburg-Landau parameter, which is
dimensionless {and need not be very large)).
In superconductors I'I/JI 2 is proportional to the density of superconducting
electrons (i.e., 11/JI ~ 1 corresponds to the superconducting state and 11/JI ~ 0
corresponds to the normal state). In superfluids I'I/JI 2 is proportional to the
density of the superfluid. If one writes 1/J = 11/JieiS where S is the real-
valued phase, then its gradient V'S is proportional to the velocity of the
supercurrents or the superfiuid.
Our analysis deals with the study of a 2-dimensional cross-section of a
cylinder (a solid torus would also be of interest). In physical situations
the Dirichlet condition is not realistic. However, it is striking to see that
the degree d = deg(g,oG} of the boundary condition creates the same
"quantized vortices" as a magnetic field in type-11 superconductors or as
an angular rotation in superftuids.
Vortex lines (or filaments) are produced in helium II by cooling a
rotating bucket around the z-a.xis at constant angular velocity 0. The
vortex lines are parallel to the z-axis and they have a core radius of order
f.. The theory was initiated by L. Onsager (1) and R. Feynman (1]; the first
experimental evidence came in the work of W. Vinen {1]. At high velocity
n the number of vortices is proportional to n and they arrange themselves
in a regular pattern-a triangular array; see e.g., the numerous pictures in
the book of R. Donnelly [lJ . Near the cores of the vortices the superfluid
density 1'1/112 is almost zero; away from the cores, I1/JI 2 ~ 1.
Vortex lines are induced in type-II superconductors by applying a mag-
netic field H. For large H the number of vortices is proportional to H. This
Introduction xxi
is the so-called mixed state (or vortex state) characterized by the coex-
istence of two phases: near the cores of the vortices 1¢1 ~ 0, i.e., normal
state; away from the cores of the vortices 1¢1 ~ 1, i.e., superconducting
state. Again, vortices have a core radius of order e.
As H increases the
vortices arrange themselves in a regular pattern, the Abrikosov lattice
{predicted on a theoretical basis by A. Abrikosov [1]).
In the cross-section picture '¢ seems to have basically the same behavior
as our uc fore small with vortices located around (and close to) the zeroes
of uc (or in theE - 0 limit at the singularities of u.). The conclusion of
Theorem 0.1 is consistent with the observation that all vortices have the
same circulation +1 (in our language degree +I). Moreover, our analysis
yields cores of radius e that correspond to the physical cores of size e.
Remark 0.3. The conclusion of Theorem 0.1 bears some resemblance
to earlier results motivated by the theory of nematic liquid crystals (see H.
Brezis [1], [2], H. Brezis, J. M. Coron and E. Lieb [1], R. Hardt and F. H. Lin
[1], D. Kinderlehrer [1]). Let G C R3 be a smooth bounded domain and let
g: EJG- S2 be a (smooth) boundary condition. We now consider maps
u: G- R 3 (not JR2 ); in the theory of liquid crystals u corresponds to the
"director", which is an order parameter describing the orientation of the
optical axis of the (rod-like) molecules. As above, set
and
In contrast with the above situation, here,
for example, if G is the unit ball then
since, now,
Consider the same energy Ee as above on H:(G; JR3 ) and let Ue be a

minimizer of EE. It is easy to prove that uE,. - uo in H 1, where u 0 is a
minimizing harmonic map from G into S2 i.e., uo is a minimizer of fa 1Vul2
on H~(G; $2). An important result of R. Schoen and K. Uhlenbeck [1], [2]
xxii Introduction
asserts that uo has a finite number of singularities. But, it is extremely

difficult to estimate the number of singularities (in terms of g and G); see
however an interesting contribution in that direction by F. Almgren and
E. Lieb [1). Moreover, H. Brezis, J. M. Coron and E. Lieb [1) have proved
that near a singular point a, Uo has a simple behaviour:
uo(x) ~ ±R ( lx
x-a)
_ al as x --+ a
for some rotation R. As a consequence, the degree of each singularity is +1

or -1. Singularities of degree +1 and -1 may coexist (see e.g., R. Hardt
and F. H. Lin [1], H. Brezis [1]). This is a striking difference with our
Theorem 0.1 which excludes such coexistence. Roughly speaking, this
phenomenon is related to the fact that in the 2-d problem singularities
have infinite energy while in the 3-d problem they have finite energy (see
the precise analysis of Chapters V and VI).
Another striking difference is that nothing is known about the location
of singularities in the 3-d problem while Theorem 0.2 (and (11)) provides
a very precise information about the location of singularities of u*.
Theorem 0.1 is also in agreement with the numerical simulations of Carl-
son and Miller presented in J. Neu [1]:
(i) a pair of singularities of degrees +1 and -1 is unstable and tends
to coalesce;
(ii) a singularity of degree d > 1 is also unstable and tends to split
into d singularities of degree +1.
Remark 0.4. The results presented here differ considerably from the
conclusions obtained by numerous authors when u is a scalar func-
tion,i.e., u: G- R; the motivation there comes from the Vander Waals
and Cahn-Hilliard theory of phase transition (seeM. Gurtin [1), L. Modica
[1], P. Sternberg {1], R. Kohn and P. Sternberg {1], E. DeGiorgi [2]). In
the scalar case u€ --+ u* which takes only the values + 1 and -1; the sets
[u... = +1] and [u* = -1] are separated by an interface S having mini-
mal area. The phase transition region [-1 + 8 < Ut: < 1 - 8] consists of
a thin layer enclosing S (see Figure 1). By contrast, in our situation the
phase transition region flue I < 1-6) occurs in small neighborhoods of point
singularities (see Figure 2).
The difference in the analysis stems from the fact that, in the scalar case,
the potential (lul 2 -1 ) 2 is a two-wells potential while in the complex case
the same potential has an S 1-well. In the scalar case it is easy to pass to the
limit a.e. once the natural estimate fa IVcp(ue)l S C, for some appropriate
Introduction xxiii
FIGURE 1.
lu I: I
~,,,, (. b
(/ (j)
FIGURE 2.
function <p, has been established (such an estimate is obtained by a simple,

although ingenious device; see L. Modica jl]). In our situation, it turns
out that fa IVu€1 is bounded (and even fa !VudP for any p < 2), but the
argument is much more involved (see Chapter X).
A final comment:
Remark 0.5. Most of the results presented here hold (with identical
xxiv Introduction
proofs) if the energy Ee(u) is replaced by
where F is a {smooth) convex function on R such that F(O) = 0 and

F(t) > 0, V t > 0; see however, Open Problem 2 in Chapter XI.
The book is organized as follows:

In Chapter I we consider maps u from a domain n c JR2 with holes
(possibly shrinking to points) with values into S 1 . We study
under various boundary conditions on of'l: Dirichlet condition, prescribed

degree on the boundary of the holes, or a combination of both. The main
property is that
where is a scalar function that satisfies .!lei> = 0 together with boundary
conditions. The Dirichlet condition for u transforms into a Neumann condi-
tion for , while the degree condition on u transforms into a Dirichlet-type
condition for <P.
We also study in detail the behavior of the minimizer u and its energy as
the size of the holes shrinks to zero. More precisely, given any configuration
b = (bt. ~ •... , bd) of distinct points in G, set Gp = G \ U B(bi, p) and
consider the class C.p defined by (13). We prove that, asp - t 0,
where W(b) is the renormalized energy defined by (12).

In Chapter II we estimate Jn IVci>I 2 from below, where
n = G \ Ui B(bi, p), under a Dirichlet-type condition for <P. The main
result (Theorem ll.l) is somewhat technical, but it plays a crucial role in
the proof of Theorem 0.1. The underlying idea is that a singularity of
degree m has a "core energy" of the order
This leads to the important observation that one singularity of degree

m > 1 carries more energy than m singularities of degree 1.
Introduction XXV
In Chapter III we start the study of Problem (2) and we derive some
elementary but basic estimates. The main estimates are the following:
(23}
Under the additional assumption that G is starshaped we obtain a better

estimate for the second term in Ee(ue), namely, we have
(24)
where the constants C and C* depend only on G and g.

Estimate (24} plays a fundamental role in our analysis. In particular, it
is used to prove that luel ~ 1/2 outside a finite number of discs of size e
{see (25) below).
The proof of Theorem 0.1 (except for estimate ( 11}} runs through Chap-
ters IV, V and VI. We briefly describe the strategy of the proof.
We first use {24) together with a simple covering argument to isolate,
for every e, a finite number of "bad discs" B(x1,M),i E Je, with x1 E G
such that
1
{25) luel ~ 2 in G \ UaeJ. B(x:, ,\e)
and
{26)
where the constant>.> 0 and the integer N depend only on G and g {they
are independent of e).
As e-+ 0 {along a subsequence) the points x~ converge to some points
denoted (aj}jeJ with aj E G and card J $ N. The points (aj) are the
natural candidates for being the singularities of lim Ue,. (assuming such a
limit exists- which we don't know yet!).
A central part of the proof consists in showing that, for any fixed f1 > 0,
if we set
then
(27)
xxvi Introduction
where C(17) depends only on 17, G and g (but not on en)· This is the content
of Theorem V .1.
For this purpose, we establish, in Chapter V, lower bounds for
Set
(28)
Note that this degree makes sense since

1
lu~:,.l ~ 2 on lJB(ai, 17) by (25).
(In principle ~i = K'J depends on n, but we provide a bound for K'J inde-
pendent of n so that, by passing to a further subsequence, we may always
assume that K'J is independent of n. Another difficulty stems from the fact
that ai may lie on lJG; to get around this difficulty it is convenient to en-
large a little bit G, say by a domain G', and to extend U~: by a fixed map
G on G' \ G with 1~1 = 1 on G' \G).
Roughly speaking, we prove that, for every fJ > 0,
[The actual estimates presented in Chapters V and VI are technically more

complicated, but (29) represents a. good heuristic way of understanding
them].
Combining {29) with the basic estimate (23) we see that
(30)
On the other hand, we clearly have
{31)
From {30) and {31) we deduce that
L:(ttJ- ltj) ~ 0.
jEJ
Introduction xxvii
Since we obviously have~~:~- K; ~ 0 Vj, it follows that
~~:~- "'i =0 Vj, i.e., ~~:; E {0, 1} Vj.
Using the results of F. Bethuel, H. Brezis and F. Helein [2], we are able to
exclude the possibility that "'i = 0. We are thus left with
(32} Vj
and
(33) card J =d.
If one of the points a;, say alt belongs to 8G we may improve (29).
Instead of (29) (with 11:1 = 1) we now have
(34)
Repeating the same argument as above we are led to
(2 -1) + L(K~- l'i.j) ~0

jf.l
which is impossible. Hence a; E G 'Vj.

We may now derive (27) very easily since
~ I 1Vue,.l 2 = ~ I 1Vu~.. l2 - ~ L I jVu~,.l 2

la., la i JB(a3 ,,)
~ 1rdjlog en I- 1rdjlog en I+ C = C
by (23) and (29).

Once (27) is established, we conclude by a standard diagonal argument
that, for a subsequence of en, we have
The convergence in stronger norms announced in Theorem 0.1 follows from

(27) and the results of our earlier work, F. Bethuel, H. Brezis and F. Helein
[2] (see Chapter VI). This yields a smooth harmonic map u.* on G\ U{a;}
with precisely d singularities in G, each one of degree +1.
xxviii Introduction
Theorem 0.2 and estimate (11) in Theorem 0.1 are proved in Chapters
VII and VIII. In Chapter VII we use the stationarity of Ur; with respect to
defonnations of ue induced by the group of diffeomorphisms of G (in the
same spirit as Pohozaev-type identities). This leads to a precise description
of the Hopf differential
I&* l2 - I8x2
w = 8x1
au.. l2 2 . au. au.
- 1 8x1 . 8x2
of the limiting map u* near its singularities a;. (Warning: Here the dot
product refers to the scalar product, not complex multiplication). These
infonnations yield a good control of the behavior of u* near a;, which,
combined with the results of Chapter I, allows us to identify u. with the
canonical harmonic map defined above (see (19)).
In Chapter VIII we prove that the configuration (a;) minimizes the
renonnalized energy W using appropriate comparison functions and the
strong convergence of u,_., in Ck nonns away from the singularities. We
also discuss the relationship between the fact that a= (a1. a2, ... , ac~) is a
critical point of W and property (22) (or equivalently (11)). In Sections
VIII.4 and VIII.5 we study two specific examples: G = B 1 with g(O) = ei9
and g(8) = ed'9 • In particular, we prove Theorem 0.4.
Section IX.l is devoted to the proof of Theorem 0.5. In Section IX.2 we
prove that (see Theorem IX.3)
(35}
where 'Y is some universal constant.

In view of (35) it would be interesting to study the minimization problem
(2) in the framework of the r-convergence theory introduced by E. DeGiorgi
(see e.g., E. DeGiorgi [1], E. DeGiorgi and T. Franzoni [1], L. Modica and
S. Mortola [1]). Our results suggest that the functionals
r-converge to some kind of renormalized energy
Fo(u) - li~f { ~ L. IVul' - ~dllog PI}

where b; E G, j = 1, 2, .. . ,d,u E Hl~(G \ U{b;}; S 1 ), u = g on fJG and
j
Gp = G \ UB(b; , p).
j
Introduction xxix
Finally, in Chapter X, we prove Theorem 0.6. The starting point is again

a covering argument that isolates bad discs as in (25)-(26). But, next we
use a different strategy: we prove that
where Cp depends only on g, G and p. This involves the use of estimates

for linear elliptic equations in divergence form a Ia Stampacchia (1).
We conclude, in Chapter XI, with a list of numerous open problems
related to (2) and (3).
Some of the main results were announced without proofs in F. Bethuel,
H. Brezis and F. HtHein [1],[3J.
CHAPTER I
Energy estimates for S 1 -valued maps
1.1. An auxiliary linear problem

Let G be a smooth, bounded and simply connected domain in 1R2 , and let
w,, fori= 1, ... ,n, be open, smooth and simply connected subsets of G,
n
with w, c G and w, n wi = 0 fori f j. Let 0 = G\ Uwi. Consider the
i=l
class of maps
deg(v, 8G) =d and }

(1) &= { v E H 1 (0; S 1 )
deg(v, aw,) = c4 fori= 1, 2, ... , n
n
where di E Z are given and d = _E di.
i=l
We study the minimization problem
(2) E = Inf f 1Vvl2 •

vEE Jn
At this stage, it is not clear that the infimum is achieved since the function
v ~---+ deg(v,8wi) is not continuous under weak H 112 (8wi) convergence; the
existence of a minimizer will be derived as a consequence of the discussion
below.
The value of E is related to the solution «P of the following linear problem:
~<ll=O inn,
c) = Const. = C, on OWi, i = 1,2, . .. ,n,
(3) <ll=O on 8G,
f
law;
c:: = 21rdi
uJJ
i = 1,2, ... ,n,
where vis the outward normal to Wi and also the outward normal to G.
Here the Ci 's are not given but are unkown constants that are part of the
problem. It is well known (seeR. Temam [1], H. Berestycki and H. Brezis

F. Bethuel et al., Ginzburg-Landau Vortices, Modern Birkhäuser Classics,
DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-66673-0_1
2 I. Energy estimates for 5 1 -valued maps
[1], [2]) that problem (3) has a unique solution. Moreover, ~ is obtained
by minimizing
(4)
in the class
V = {rp E H 1 (S1:;R);rp = Oon oG,rp = Const. = 'P)aw, on each 8wi}.

Our main result is the following.
Theorem 1.1. The infimum in {2) ia achieved by a map that ia unique
up to a phase, i.e., if Ut and u2 are two minimizers, then u1 = au2 where
a E C with ial = 1. Moreover
(5)
We split the proof into two steps.

Step 1: For any v in £,
Proof of Step 1. Since v takes its values in 8 1 , we have
hence
{6)
Set
From {3) and {6) we have
(7) div D = 0.
On the other hand we also have
(8) f D .v = 0 for each i.

laW},
Indeed,
8~
D·v=-(vxv.,.)+ 011 ,
where -r is the unit tangent vector to &wi such that (v, -r) is direct (see
Figure 3). Then (8) follows from the fact that
f v x v.,. = 21r deg(v,owi) = 211' ~

law,
and
FIGURE 3.
We now use the following standard lemma.

Lemma 1.1. Let 0 be any smooth open domain in R 2 {not necessarily
simply connected) and D be a vector field on n such that
div D = 0,
and
{ D·v=O
lr,
for each connected component ri of 00. Then there exists a function H on
n such that
Sketch of the proof. If n is simply connected, this is well known

(Poincare's lemma). In the case of a general domain n (which we may
always assume to be connected) we solve in each domain w1 enclosed by ri
the problem
Aw, =0 inw,
{ IJw.
- ' =D·v on 8w,.
811
The vector field
inn,
in wa , i = 1, 2, ... , n,
satisfies div D = 0 in G = 0 U (.u w,), which is simply connected.

1=1
Proof of Step 1 completed. By Lemma 1.1, there exists a function H

such that
av aH a~
{ v x 8x1 = - ax1 - 8x2
(9)
av aH a~
VX-=--+-.
8x2 ax2 ax1
Thus,
Note that
(11)
since ~ is constant on each component of 00. From (10) and (11} we

conclude that
Step 2: There exists some u in E such that
k1Vul LIV~I2 •
2 =
Proof of Step 2. In view of (12) we shall try to find some u in£ that
satisfies
(13)
More generally, consider the problem on an a.rbitra.ry smooth connected

domain 0
in 0,
(14)
in 0.
This problem has a solution u : 0 -+ 8 1 if and only if
(15)
and
(16) l, F · r E 211" Z
for each connected component ri of 00. Note that in our situation (15)
holds since c) is harmonic and (16) holds since F · r = ~~.
Indeed we may write locally u = ei.P, and then (14) becomes
which has a local solution by {15). Moreover if u 1 and u2 a.re two local
solutions of (14) then u1 = au2, where a is a complex constant with lal = 1.
The local solution 1/J is continued globally by integrating over paths. The
corresponding integrals may differ, but the difference belongs to 21rZ, and
thus u = ei1/J is well defined up to a constant phase. Moreover u belongs to
£,since
6 /. Energy estimates for 8 1 -valued maps
1.2. Variants of Theorem 1.1

With G, n, d, and d as above, consider the class
v =gon fJG and }

Et = { v E H 1 (f2;S1)
deg(v,&wi) = di,i = 1,2, ... ,n
where g : 8G - 8 1 is given such that
n
deg(g,&G) =d =L d,.
i=l
We study the minimization problem
(17}
As above, the value of E 1 is related to the solution of another linear problem.

~cpl =0 inn,
<P1 = Canst. = c. on aw•. i = 1, 2, ... 'n,
(18) [ Mt = 21f" d, i = 1, 2, ... ,n,
l&w; av
Mt {)g
8v =!JX {}T on fJG.
This problem has a unique solution (up to an additive constant). Moreover

cpl is obtained by minimizing
Inf { -21 {
~~ k
IVcpj 2 + 21T t
~1
di 'P!8w; - {
~
cp (g X ~g)
~
}
where}}= {cp E H 1 (f2;JR); cp = Const. = lf'l8w; on each {)wi}·
We have
Theorem 1.2. The infimum in {17) is achieved by a unique solution.
Moreover
Sketch of the proof. We follow the same argument as in Theorem I.l.

The only difference in Step 1 is that f H Ma 1 = 0 since
loa T
f Hf»t =- { ~ 1 8H
lac 8T laa 8r
2. Variants of Theorem 1.1 7
and, by (9),
{)H =-
&r
(gx OT
89 ) + Mt
01/
=0 on8G.
In Step 2, we first find some v in £ that satisfies
inn,
inn.
For this v we have
V X V.,. = Mt
{),_, = g X g.,. on8G
and it follows that v = o.g on aa,

where 0. is a complex constant with
lal = 1. Then u = a- 1 v satisfies all the required properties.
This last device works because we have prescribed a Dirichlet condition
for u only on one component of an,
namely 80. If a Dirichlet condition for
u is prescribed on more than one component the situation becomes more
complicated. For simplicity, let us consider the case where u satisfies a
Dirichlet condition on all components of an,
i.e., consider the class
£2 = {v E H 1(0; S1); v = g, on 8w,, i = 0, 1,2, ... ,n}
with 8w0 = 8G and (g,) given such that
n
deg(go, 8G) = L deg(g,, ow,).
i=l
Set
(19)
The value of E2 is related to the solution of the linear problem
inn,
(20)
on aw,, i = 0,1, 2, ... ,n.
Theorem 1.3. We have
where
and 1/Ji is the solution of
inn,
on8wh
on 00\8w;.
Proof.
Step 1: We prove that
We proceed as in the proof of Theorem 1.1. Given v in £2 , there exists a

function H on n such that
inn
inn.
By (20), 0:: = 0 on 00, and thus, as in the proof of Theorem 1.1,
Step 2: We first find some v : n __. 8 1 that satisfies
This problem has a unique solution up to a phase. Moreover v satisfies
Ov 8"P2 &g;
v x {h = &v = g; x ar on Ow; for i = 0, 1, ... , n.
e. Variants of Theorem 1.1 9
Choosing an appropriate phase we may always assume that

v = 90 on awo = aa,
and then v = e"6; 9) on 8wj for j = 1, ... , n, for some Bj in [0, 21r].
Let '1/J be the solution of
{ ~::~j
'1/J=O
inn,
on Ow;, for j = 1,2, .. . ,n,
on8G.
Hence
JVul 2 = IV'I/JI 2+ IV~2I 2 - 2 ( 8<P 2 81/J - a<P 2 8'1/J)
OX! OX2 ax2 8xl
~2
= IV'I/JI 2 + IV~2I 2 + 2 dtv
. [
'1/J ox2 , -'1/J 8~2]
OXt
and therefore, as in (11), we obtain
fo1Vul 2= kIV'I/J[ 2 + fn!Y'~2I 2

since 1/J is constant on each component of 00. Finally, we see after an
expansion and integration by parts that
LIV'I/11 2 ~ 471' 2
n
t
i=l
capwi.
Using exactly the same argument as in the proof of Theorem 1.3 we

may handle still another useful variant. Assume, as above, that 9i, i =
0, 1, 2, ... , n, are given with
n
deg(go, 8G) = L deg(gi, lJwi)i
i=l
and set
(21)
Theorem 1.4. The infimum in {21} is achieved by a map that is unique

up to a phase. Moreover
E; = fo IV~21 2
where cll2 is the solution of {20}.
1.3. S 1-valued harmonic maps with prescribed isolated singulari-

ties. The canonical harmonic map
As previously let G be a smooth, bounded and simply connected domain
in JR2 • Fix n points aha2, ... ,an in G, and n integers dt.~ •... ,dn in
Z. Set d = E:=l c4 and let g be a map from 8G into 81 , such that
deg(g, oG) = d. We propose to describe the class C of all smooth harmonic
maps u from n = G\ { a 1 , •.• , an} into S 1 , such that:
(i) deg{u,a;) = di (where deg(u,ai) denotes the degree of u restricted
to any small circle centered at a;),
(ii) u is continuous up to oG and u = g on 8G.
Let clio be the solution of
in G,
(22)
oniJG.
Since 4>0 is unique up to an additive constant, we shall normalize f)o by

adding the condition that
f q,o = 0.
loa
There exists a unique harmonic map tiD inC associated to q,o, namely
inn,
{23}
inn.
This follows from the fact that Aq,o = 0 inn, 8 0 = g !, X 9-r on IJG, and
~ E Z (see the arguments in the proof of Theorem 1.2).
This u0 will play an essential role. We shall call it the canonical har-
monic map associated to (g, a, d).
3. 8 1 -wlued harmonic map.s 11
Consider the class £. of all real-valued harmonic functions ¢ on 0, that

are smooth up to 00, possibly very singular at the points <Ji, and equal to
0 on 00, i.e.,¢ E £.means
(24) { a.,p=o inn,

¢=0 onOO.
Theorem 1.5. There is a one-to-one correspondence between C and .C.

More precisely, given any u inC, there is a unique¢ in£ BtJch that
(25)
Proof. Given u inC, consider the system
in 0,
(26)
in 0.
The local existence of -¢ follows from the fact that
In fact, fb is globally defined, since for every closed curve C inn enclosing
a domain w,
f
lc
F·-r= f
lc
uxu.,.-1c Mo 8v
where vis the outward unit normal tow, and (v,-r) is direct.
1
We have
u xu.,. = 21r deg(u, C) = 21r L di.
c ~~
On the other hand (by {22}) we see that
and therefore
LF·T=O.
Finally, on aG, we have by (26) and (22)
at/; a~Po
a, = g X 9T - ov = 0.
Thus t/J is constant on aG.
Set
This t/J belongs to C. Indeed, by (26),
~'1/J = -a
OX}
(u x -au) +a- (u x
ax. OX2
-au) = u
ax2
x Au= 0.
We claim that (25) holds. Indeed, we may write locally u = ei"' and
uo = ei'l'o.
Then (23) becomes
ar.po
--=---,
8-Po
OXt 0X2
8r.po &<Po
ax2 = OXt
and (26) becomes
o'ljJ acp a~o
- = -ax. -,
+ -OX2
OXt
81/; &cp a~o
= OX2 - OXt .
OX2
Thus 'V (cp 0 + 1/J- cp) = 0. Hence cpo + 'ljJ - cp is locally constant and vanishes
on 8G. It follows that I{Jo + 'lj;- cp ::: 0. This completes the proof of the
theorem.
Remark 1.1. Since I'Vuol = IY'~ol and I'V-Pol :::: lxl:i~il near ai then
Uo E W 1•1(G) and even tto E W 1•P(Q) for any p < 2, but u 0 fj. W 1•2 (G).
Moreover u 0 satisfies the equation
(27) 8~ 1 ( uo x :~) + a~ 2 ( uo x : : ) = 0 in 'D'(G).
More generally, let u be in W 1 • 1 (G)nC. The function 1/J, which is associated

to this u via Theorem 1.5, belongs to W 1 •1 (G) and we have
(28) 0~ 1 ( u x ::1 ) + 0: 2 ( u x : :2 ) = ~1/J in V'(G).

3. 8 1 -valued hannonic maps 13
Since tJ.¢ E 'D'(G), and supp(tJ.¢) C U{lli}, we know, by a celebrated

result about distributions (see L. Schwartz [1]), that
a,p = L Ca,iD 0 (0a,)·

finite
In fact, here, we have only a,p = 21f E CiOa, I because the left-hand side of
(28) is a sum of (first order} derivatives of L 1 functions. Hence
where xis a smooth harmonic function on G, and the Ci'S are some real
constants. This means that any u E W 1•1 (G) nC is of the form
In particular, u.o is the unique element in W 1•1 (G}nC satisfying in addition

(27).
Remark 1.2. Connection with holomorphic and meromorphic
functions on G. Given any u inC, there exists a (possibly multivalued)
meromorphic function F on G, which is unique up to a positive multiplica-
tive constant, such that
F
(29) u= IFI in 0.
Moreover, the zeroes and the singularities of F are necessarily contained

in {at, ... , an}· This follows from a result of Carbou [1]. Here is a simple
proof. We may write locally u = ei'f' where <p is harmonic. Then <p satisfies
the following system:
(30) {:~ =-:~

8cp
-=
8x2
ax
-,
8x1
where X is the local harmonic conjugate of <p. Thus x + icp is holomorphic.
Hence
F= ex+i'f'
is also holomorphic, and

F .
IFI = e''P = u.
14 I. Energy estimates for 8 1 -!IGlued maps
A similar global construction yields a possibly multivalued function on

G. Note that in the case where u = u 0 , then F is single valued, and
(31) F = {(z - a1)c11 ••• (z - an)d..
where {is a nonvanishing holomorphic function on G. Indeed, in this case

we may choose x = ~ 0 in view of (23), which is uniquely globally defined
on G, and F =
e• 0 uo. We now study F near a point a~c, say a~c = 0.
By (22) we have
(32) ~o(x) = d~c log lxl + R(x)

where R is a smooth harmonic function in some neighborhood of 0, includ-
ing 0. From (23) we derive that
(33)
Thus, we have, using polar coordinates,
(34)
where Sis a harmonic function. Combining {32) and (34) we obtain
This proves (31).

Remark 1.3. In view of the above discussion it is convenient to introduce
the following definition:
Definition. Let G be an open set and let a1. a2, ... , an E G be n points in
G. Let u: G\U{ai} ~ S 1 be a smooth harmonic map. Set di = deg(u,ai)·
i
We say that u is proper if, for every i,
.
1liD lz- ail~ 1J
(z ) exists.
z-+a, (z - Bi)d•
Note that, by (31), uo is a proper harmonic map.

15
Corollary 1.1. Assume G is a smooth, bounded, simply connected domain.

Fix n points a1ta2, ... , an in G, fiz n integers dt, d2, ... ,dn in Z and fi:J; a
boundary condition g : 8G -+ S 1 such that
n
deg(g, 8G) = Ed..

i=l
Then there exists a unique proper harmonic map such that
deg(u,~)=d. Vi andu=g onaG.
Proof. The existence is clear (take u = u.o). We only need to prove

uniqueness. By Theorem 1.5 we know that any solution can be written as
for some real valued function 1/J such that
and
1/J = 0 on aa.
The condition that u is proper (since uo is proper) says that
lim et:V-t(.-:) exists.

z-a,
This implies that lim

.Z--+Gi
1/J(z) exists. By standard results it follows that 1/J = 0.
Finally, it is convenient to bear in mind the following construction of the
canonical map uo. Assume G, (at:), (dt:) and g are as above.
Define, on 8G,
Note that deg(g, l:JG) = 0 and hence there is a well defined single--valued
(smooth) function r.p 0 : 8G-+ R such that
We also denote by 'Po its harmonic extension in G.

16 I. Energy estimates for 8 1 ·valued maps
Corollary 1.2. We have, on G,

uo(z) = ei'Po(z) (z- al)d 1 (z- a2)d2 (z- an)dn
lz- alld1 lz- a2ld2 ••• lz- anldn.
Proof. Note that the right-hand side is a proper harmonic map satisfying
the appropriate boundary condition on 8G and degree conditions at the
a, 's. By Corollary 1.1 it must coincide with uo.
Remark 1.4. It is sometimes more convenient to work with the expression
for uo given in Corollary 1.2 rather than the construction of uo via. ~o (see
(23) ). In Corollary 1.2 uo is related to the solution of a Dirichlet linear
problem while in (23) uo is related (via ~ 0 ) to the solution of a Neumann
linear problem. In some concrete situations where an explicit representation
formula for uo is required, it is easier to work with the Dirichlet condition
(see e.g., Section VIII.4).
1.4. Shrinking holes. Renormalized energy

As in Section 1.3, let G be a smooth, bounded and simply connected
domain in R 2. Fix n points a1, ... , t1n in G, and n integers dt, ... , dn in Z.
n
Set d = 2::: di, and let g be a map from 8G to S 1 such that deg(g, oG) =
i=l
d. Let p be a positive constant that we will let tend to 0. Set np =
n -=-:---,-
G\ U B(ai,p), and consider the minimization problem
i=l
Min { 1Vul2 ,
uEEp lo.P
where t'p = {v E H 1 (0p; 8 1 ); deg(v,8B(a,,p)) = di and v = g on 8G}. We
already know (by Theorem 1.2) that there exists a unique minimizer, which
we denote up.
Theorem 1.6. Asp tends to 0, Up converges to uo (the canonical harmonic
map) uniformly on every compact subset of n UaG.
Proof. Let 4)0 be the solution of (22) and ~P be the solution of

~~P =0 in Op,
~P = Canst. on ea.ch Owi with wi = B(G.t,p),
f Mp=2tr~ i=1,2, ... ,n,
law, 8v
a:=
a~
g x g.,. onaG.
r ~p = o.
laa
Lemma 1.2. As p tends to zero, ~P convef!JeS to 'Po, unifonnly. More

precisely, we have
llq,P- q,oiiL 00 (0p) $ Cp.
The proof is based on the following lemma.
Lemma 1.3. Let G be a smooth bounded domain in R 2 , and let wi, i =
n
1, 2, ... , n, be smooth disjoint subdomains of G, such that 0 = G\ U w, is
i=l
connected. Let v be a junction satisfying
inn,
for each i = 1, 2, ... , n,
onaG.
Then
n
(35) Sup v- In£ v $ :L)Sup v- Inf v).
n n i=t Bw; Bw;
Proof of Lemma 1.3. Set
We claim that
n •
(36} U li 1s connected.
i=l
For otherwise there would be some toE Rand some integer k,

1 ~ k < n, such that (after relabelling the intervals)
i = 1,2, ... ,k
and
i = k + 1, ... , n,
for some 6 > 0. Choose any smooth function (} : R -+ R such that
if t $ t 0 o
={ ~
-
O(t)
ift~t 0 +6
and O'(t) > 0 Vt E (to - 6, to+ 6). We have
0 =- f (~v)O(v) = f O'(v)!Vv! 2 - f ':: O{v) + i=l law;

Jn Jn lac v v
t
f ':: O(v).
But : : = 0 on 8G, O(v) is constant (either 0 or 1) on each 8wi and
r ~ =0
law, ull
fori= l,2, ... ,n.
Thus we obtain
i O'(v)!Vvl 2 = 0
and therefore Vv = 0 on the set B = {x E fl;t 0 - 6 < v(x) < t 0 + 8}.

Hence v is locally constant on B and consequently it assumes at most a
countable number of values between t0 - 8 and to + 8. On the other hand,
n is connected and thus v assumes all its values between Inf n
v a.nd Sup v.
n
In particular, v assumes all its values between t 0 - 6 and to+ 6. This yields
a contradiction and the proof of {36} is complete.
We now turn to the proof of (35). From (36) we deduce that
n
(37) Max R. - Min a·1
l<i.<n
< ""(f3·
L.J '
-a·).
'
l<i<nf-'1 -
-- -- i=l
By adding a constant to v we may always assume that M;in

l$•$n
O"i = 0. Set
A= Max {3•.
l::;t$n
Multiplying the equation L\v = 0 by (v- A)+ and integrating we see that
In IV(v- A)+l 2 +~law, : (v- A)+ = o.

But (v- A)+= 0 on each ow,
and therefore (v- A)+=: 0 on n, i.e., v:::; A
on 11. Similarly v- = 0 on each 8w1 and therefore v 2:: 0 on n. Hence we
obtain
lnfv = 0
n
and n
Supv :5 A= M!).X /3i:::; ""({3.;- ai} by (37).
0 l$1$n {;;t
This completes the proof of (35).
A variant of Lemma 1.3 that we find useful is the following:

,j. Shrinking holes. &normalized eneryy 19
Lemma 1.4. Let G be a smooth, bounded domain in R2 and let (wi) be

n
smooth disjoint subdomains of G such that 0 = G\ U w; is connected. Let
i=l
v be a function satisfying
dv=O in 0
(38) { av
!l)w1
--0
8v- for j = 1, 2, ... , n.
Then
(39) Supv- Infv $

n n
t
.
J=l
(supv-
&w
'
Infv) + Supv- Infv.
&.~ oo 8G
In particular if v =0 on 8G then
{40)
Note that, here, we do not assume (as in Lemma 1.3) that : = 0 on

aG; but, on the other hand, the conclusion is weaker and also involves the
oscillation of von fJG. The proof of Lemma 1.4 is almost identical to the
proof of Lemma 1.3 and we shall omit it. It is convenient to introduce
Io = [ao, .Bo} where ao = Inf v and .Bo = Sup v and to follow the same
8G 8G
argument as in the proof of Lemma 1.3 where the index i runs between 0
and n.
We may now return to:

Proof of Lemma 1.2. We apply Lemma 1.3 to v = ~P -· ci>o on Op. Since
Cl>p =Canst. on each 8B(aitp) we have
(41) Sup(4»p- «»o)- Inf(cl>p- cl>o)

Op Op
$I:
n
Sup ci>o- Inf cl>o $ Cp.

i=l 8B(o;,p) 8B(o.,,p)
On the other hand, we know that

and thus there is a point on 8G where ~P- ~o = 0. From this and (41),
we deduce that
(42)
Proof of Theorem 1.6 completed. It follows from Lemma 1.2 and elliptic
estimates that
and
(43}
for any compact set K of OUOO. We recall that
and
inn
inn.
Clearly (43} implies that
(44)
This completes the proof of Theorem 1.6.

Theorem I. 7. Set
L
n
(45} Ro(x) = ~o(x)- d; log lx- a;!
j=l
so that Ro is a smooth harmonic function on G. Then, asp-+ 0,

4. Shrinking holes. Renonnalized energy 21
where
= -11' L f4d; log )a,- a;\+ 2 }8 L c4&(ai)

1 { n
W .Po(g x g.,.)- 11'
if.j 8G i=l
(47)
= W(a,d,g).
Note that W is independent of p and depends only on G, (a.), (di) and
g. W will be called the "renormalized energy". Here O(p) stands for a
quantity X such that [X[~ Cp where C depends only on G, (ai), (di) and
g.
Proof. By Theorem 1.2 we know that
Since I) p is harmonic in Op we have
8cP
Recall that a: = g X gT on aa, «Pp =Canst. on 8B(a,, p) and that
Thus, we obtain
From (42), we deduce that
where Xi is any point on tJB(a.,p). Inserting (45) in (48), we are led to

(46).
Since the renormalized energy W plays an important role in our analysis
it will be convenient to have several other expressions for W.
Theorem 1.8. Lettt0 be the canonical harmonic map associated to (g, a, d),
then, as p - 0,
Proof. Note that, by (23), !Vuol = IV4>ol and therefore,
(50) iI l'lp
Vuol 2 = 1I
Op
V4>ol 2 = 1 &G
lJ4>o
a4>o- ~
L..t
II i=l
l
&B(a;,p)
lJ4>o
a4>o.
II
Recall that, (see (22)},
84>o
011 = g x g.,. on 8G
and that n
Ro(x) = 4>o(x)- L d; log lx- a; I
j=l
is a smooth harmonic function on G.

Set
(51)
Note that Si is a. smooth harmonic function in some neighborhood of ai

(including at.} and that
Si(x) = 4>o(x)- di log p on lJB(ai, p),

as. lJiPo d,
011 = 011 - p
and
s.(a•> = Ro(a·> +I: d; tog Ia•- a; I.
j:f'i
Thus, we have
i 84>o 0
-4>
BB(a,,p) 811
= h &B(a,,p)
(lJS·
_t
811
+ -£4) (Si + dt.
P
log p)
4- Shrinking holes. Renormalized enefYY 23
and, using the fact that Si is harmonic in B(a,, p), we deduce that
(52)
Combining (50) and (52) we are led to
(53} ln. IVUol 2 - 2" (~ elf) log(l/p) + 2W- ~ l(.,,p) IVS,I 2
which yields the desired conclusion.
Next, we present a variant of Theorem I.7 which will be useful in Section

VIII.l. Consider the minimization problem
Mip. { 1Vul2
uE£p lnP
where
v = gon OG and 'Vi, 3o:i E C with fa,f = 1 }

£p = { v E H 1 (0p; 8 1 ) .
such that v(z) = ;; (z- ai)d' on 8B(C!i, p)
We already know, by Theorem 1.4, that there is a unique minimizer, which

we denote ilp.
Theorem 1.9. We have, asp-+ 0,
Proof. By Theorem 1.4 we know that
(55)
where ~ P is the solution of the linear problem
a~p=O
M onaG,
(56) a:=gxg'T
8~p £4
()v = p on fJB(ai,p), i = 1, 2, ... , n.
24 I. EnertnJ estimates for 8 1 -valued maps
+
Since P is unique up to an additive constant we may normalize it by
assuming that
r •p = o.
loc
Set
n
(57) 'lllp(z) =+p(x)- Ld;logJx-ajl·
j=l
We shall use the following lemma., the proof of which was suggested to
us by L. Nirenberg:
Lemma 1.5. We have, asp- 0,
(58)
and
(59) ll'l1PijL""(8B(a,,p)) ~C.

Proof. The function iJ! P satisfies
11'111p = 0 inf!p,
8lfl n {)
P
__ = g x 9-r- Ed;- log lx- a; I= I onlJG,
(60) 8v 8v
.i=l
lJil!p =-Ed;~ logJx- a; I= gi, Vi on8B(ahp).

lJv j#i 8v
Let w; be a harmonic conjugate of litP• i.e., lit; is a solution of

8'111: 8litp
(61) { 8xl =- 8x2 in Op,
ow;
--=
8'll1 p
-- inf!p.
8z2 8xt
Note that w;
is well defined globally (see Lemma 1.1) on llp as a. single--
valued function since
alitp = o r
Jr 8v
for each connected component r of lJO.p. The function 'Ill; satisfies
!1'111*-
p- 0
1 8\11*
_P=j
lJr
{}iJ!*
on 8G,
__ P =gi on 8B(ai, p), i = 1, 2, ... , n.

lJr
4. Shrinking holes. Renonnalized energy 25
Hence, we have
in Op,
onaG,
(62) on8B(ai,p), i=1,2, ... ,n,
i = 1,2, ... ,n,
where F (resp. Gi) is a primitive with respect to arc length of I (resp. 9i)
on 80 (resp. 8B(ai, p)), i.e.,
8F =f
8r
[Note that F (resp. Gi) is well defined as a single-valued function since

JCJG I = 0 (resp. faB(o;,p) 9i = 0)].
Let w* be the solution of
(63) { !l.w* = o in G,
'II*=F on8G.
Applying Lemma 1.4 to v = w; - 'II* we see that
L
n
Sup (Gi- 'II*)- lnf (Gi- w*) = O(p)

i=l OB(o;,p) OB(o;,p)
From (62), (63), (64) and standard elliptic estimates (see e.g., D. Gilbarg
and N. Trudinger [I]) we deduce that for every compact subset
K c G\U{ai}
i
{65)
Let W be a harmonic conjugate of \If*, i.e.,
in G
{66)
in G
so that W satisfies
in G
{67}
on 8G.
Recall that Ro also satisfies (67) and since the solution of {67) is unique up
to an additive constant we may as well choose
(68) 'II=~.
From (61} and (66) we deduce that
and, using (65) together with (68), we conclude that
{69)
Finally, we recall that, by our normalization choice,
(70)
(since J80 ~P = J00 ~Po= 0).

It follows from (69) and {70) that
(71)
In particular, we have proved (58).

We now turn to the proof of {59). Set
Wt(X) = L di log lx- ail·

j;ti
Fix any cr > 0 so that B( eli, cr) C G and B( ai, cr) does not contain any
other point aj, j i- i. From (60) we deduce that
and
,4. Shrinking holes. Renormalized energy 27
It follows from the maximum principle that
by {71). In particular,
a.nd this implies (59).

Proof of Theorem 1.9 completed. We may now turn to (54). Using
(55) and (57) we write
Therefore we have
Integrating by parts, using (60) a.nd Lemma. 1.5 we obtain
a.nd
28 1. Energy estimates for 8 1 -valued maps
Combining (72), (73) and (74) we are led to
J../lf•,l' ~ J.., tv (Ro + t, d, log lx -a,l) I' + O(p)
= 11V~ol 2 + O(p) = f IVUol 2 + O(p).

np lop
Applying Theorem 1.8 we obtain the desired conclusion.
Remark 1.5. One could also work with a still more restrictive class of
testing maps:
We have, as p _. 0,
~ ~ !.., 1Vul ~" (t, d~) log(l/ p) + W+ 0(1/llog pi)

2
where
v =g on 8G and }
ip = { v E H 1 (0p;S1 ) (
z -a· )d·• .
v(z) = pd,' on 8B(a,,p), Vi
This follows from Theorems 1.3 and 1.9 and the fact that cap(B(ai,p)) =
0(1/llog pi).
Remark 1.6. Suppose now that the integer nand the points (a,) are not
prescribed: they are free to move in G. Suppose that the degrees (di) are
n
not given; they are only constrained by the relation :L;£4 = d = deg(g, BG)
i=l
where g : 8G _. 8 1 is given. If we want to minimize Jn p 1Vupl 2 (for p
small) among all possible choices of n, (a1) and (d1) we are led to:
(i) Choose n = d and each dt = +1. This follows from the obvious fact
that
is achieved when n = d and each d, = + 1.

(ii} Choose a configuration (a 1) that minimizes W.
The existence of a minimizer for W is guaranteed by the following:

Theorem 1.10. Assume d-t = +1 Vi. Fix a boundary condition g and

consider W = W(a) only as a function of the configuration a.
Then
W(a)-+ +oo as min { ~f llli- a;l,mJn dist(ai,8G)}-+ 0.
In other words, W - t +oo as two of the points (ai) coalesce or as one of the
points ai tends to 8G. Therefore, Min W is achieved and every minimizing
configuration consists of d distinct points in Gd (not (id).
Theorem 1.10 is a. consequence of the following two lemmas and the

explicit expression for W given by {47).
Lemma 1.6. There is a constant C independent of a such that
f j(>ol ::; C.
laG
Proof. Let 1/J be the solution of
{ d'I/J = 271" L~=l Da,

inG
1/J=O on8G
so that, by the maximum principle, '1jJ::; 0 in G and ~~ ;:::: 0 on 8G. Thus,
On the other hand, we have
in G,
on8G.
It follows from standard elliptic estimates that
which yields the desired estimate for (>o.

Lemma I. 7. We have
Ro(a)-+ -oo as m~n dist(a;,&G)-+ 0.

I
Proof. For simplicity, we shall only consider where d = 1 (i.e., the con-
figuration (a;) consists of a. single point). We shall sketch the proof in the
case of a fiat boundary. Assume that 0 E &G and that, locally, near 0, G is
the half-plane, G = {(x1, x2)i Xt < 0}. Let (an) be a sequence in G such
that an -+ 0. Consider the function
(75)
where a: is the reftected point of an about the x2-a.xis and o:n is a constant
chosen such that
r
loc
Vn = 0.
Note that lanl :5 G since J00 pog lxll < oo. We have (calling ~n the
function 4>o associated to an),
in G,
{76)
on {}G.
Using (75) we see that a;; = 0 on {x 1 = 0} n &G; it follows easily that
I Ovnll <G.
011 L""(BG) -
From (76) and standard elliptic estimates we conclude that
Recall that Rn(x) = 4>n(x) -loglx- ani and thus

IIRn(x)- log lx- a:IIIL""(G) :5 a.
In particular, we have
and the desired conclusion follows since log !an- a:l- -oo.
CHAPTER II
A lower bound for the energy of Sl-valued

maps on perforated domains
Let G c R 2 be a smooth, bounded and connected domain. Let

Xb x2, ... , Xn be n points in G. Let p be a positive number and set
Wi = B{zi,p),
n
O=G\ .u w;.
J=l
n
Let di E Z, fori= 1, 2, ... , n, be given and set d = Ed&.
i=l
We assume
(1) dist(z;,8G) ~ 2p, i = 1,2, ... ,n, for some p > 0,

(2) p~ ~ dist(x;,IJG) i = 1,2, ... ,n,
and
(3) for all i =F j.
The main purpose in this chapter is to provide a lower bound for the
energy of maps v: 0 - S 1 in terms of their degrees on 8wi· In view of the
results of Chapter I it is natural to introduce the solution ~ of the problem:
l!l~=O inO
~ = Const. = C; on 8w;, j = 1,2, ... ,n,
(4)
f M =211'd;, j = 1,2, .•. ,n
)&13 8v
~=0 on8G
where v denotes the outward unit normal tow•.

DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-66673-0_2
32 II. A lower bound for the energy
Theorem 11.1. Under the o.ssumptions (1), (2}, (3) and also d > 0 we
have
(5)
where P = {j E {1,2, ... ,n}; d; > 0} and the minimum in (5) is taken
over all choices of integers 6; such that 0 :S 6; ~ d; and E 6; = d, and
jEP
C = 6w (t.ld;l) 2
( Wg (rua;G) +n log 2).
Before proving Theorem II. I we derive some easy consequences for the
energy of the S 1-valued maps. Consider, as in {1.1), the class
£= {vEH (0;S ldeg(v,

1
&G)=
1)
deg(v,&wi) di =
d and
i = 1,2, ... ,n
}
.
Corollary II.l. Assume {1), (2}, (3). Then, for every v E £, we have
where a depends only onE ldil,diamG/ttand n.

Proof of Corollary 11.1. Without loss of generality we may assume that
d > 0. From Theorem I.1 we know that
where ~ is the solution of (4). We may then apply Theorem ILl and note
that
to infer that
z=c; ~ z=c; =d.
jEP jEP
A lower bound for the eneryy 33
Corollary 11.2. Assume {1}, {2}, {3) and also
dj ~ 0 Vj = 1,2, ... ,n.
Then, for every v E £, we have
fo 1Vvl 2 2! 2w (t.dJ) Iog(p/p)- c

where C depends only on d, diam G / JJ and n.
Proof of Corollary II.2. Consider P = {j E {1,2, .. . n};di > 0}. Note
that L;eP dj = d and therefore the only choice in Theorem 11.1 for 6i is
61 = dj Vj E P. Combining Theorem 1.1 and Theorem 11.2 we see that
n
and the conclusion follows since E dJ = E dJ.
jEP j=l
The proof of Theorem 11.1 relies on the following lemma which concerns
the solution 'Pi of the problem:
Arpi = 0 in 0
'Pi= Const. on each awj,j = 1, 2, ... ,n,
(6) { orpi = {211'
d, if j = i
law; lJv 0 if j =/d
'Pi= 0 on lJG.
Lemma 11.1. Let !/)i be the solution of {6}. Then
(7)
with, for every X E 0,
diamG)
(8) I.Rt(x)l :5 log ( JJ + {n- I) log 2 =A.
Moreover
{9)
Proof of Lemma 11.1. We may always assume that di = 1. Applying

Lemma 1.4 with
v(x) = <Pi(x) -log(jx- x;lJJl)
we obtain
(10) Supv- Infv

n 0
~ t.
J=l
(supv- lnfv) + Supv- Infv.
8w; 8w,; 1JG lJG
t
Set
X= (supv- Infv).
. &w; 8wJ
J=l
Note that for j f:. i

Supv- Infv = -Inf log lx- Xil +Sup log lx- xi I
8w; 8w,; 8w,; lJw;
~ log ( lx; - Xj I +
lxi- xil- p
p) :-=::; log 2
by assumption (3}.
Also
Supv- Infv = 0 since v is constant on ow;.
8w; 8wo
Thus
X~ (n- 1} log 2.
Finally, we have, by (10),
Supv
n
< lnfv
- n
+ Supv- Infv +X lJG
80
< Infv + Supv- Infv +X
- 8G 8G IJG
= Supv +X.
lJG
But
Supv = - Inf log (lx -x;l) ~ 0 by (1).
8G :z:E8G Jl
Thus
Supv ~X.
Sl
Similarly
Inf v > Inf v - X > - log ( diamG) - X.
Sl -IJG - J.&
A lower bound for the energy 35
llviiL""(fl) : :; X+ log ( diamJl G) ·

Hence
This proves (8).
:i
We now prove (9). We have
rJVtpiJ2 = - t lewj
ln
r tp;,
J=t
= -271' 'Pi(awi>·
Applying (7) and (8) we have
I'Pi(awi) -log(p/p,)j:::; A
and thus
kiV<.Oil 2 ~ 271' log(p,/p)- 211'A.
Lemma II.2. Let (J'i be the solution of (6). Assume di > 0.

Then
(11) (J'i :::; 0 inn
and
{12) otp;, > 0 !l. .
Ol/ _ On VWi•
Proof. We have
o = - { (atpi)tpt = f IV'tptl2 + { otpi tpt
ln ln lew, ov
= fn1Vtptl 2 +21rdi'Pt(owi) ~ fo!V''Pti 2 -
Thus tpt = 0 in 0 and hence tpi :::; 0 in 0.
We now turn to the proof of (12). Set Ci = tpi(8wi)· We claim that
{13) (J'i. ~ ci on n.
This clearly implies (12).
=-In
We have
0 A(Ci- tpi)(Ci- tpi)+ = fo!V(Ci- tpi)+j 2 +
nla . 8{})Ci- (J'i)(ci- (J'i)+- Ia 8{})Ci- (J'i.)(ci- (J'i)+.
I:
j"'l 8w3 8G
Note that all boundary integrals vanish. Indeed if j -::/= i, then (C, - <,Oi)+
is constant on ow; and few.
3
8!i
vV
= 0. On 8w; (Ci - (J's) = 0, while on
00, (Ci- 'Pi)+= ct = 0 by (11). Therefore (Ci- tpi)+ = 0 in 0 and this
proves (13).
Lemma 11.3. (Partition "molecules·ions"). Let M be a metric space

with:
(i) k points n1, n2, ... , nk (called the -1 points),
(ii) (k +d) points P11P2,. · · ,PIHPk+lt · · • •Pk+d
(called the +1 points).
We assume that d(p,,n;) > 0 Vi,j, but we may possibly have ni = n;

or Pi = Pi if i :F j. In other word8, the -1 points and the +1 points are
repeated according to their multiplicity.
Then there exists a permutation of the +1 points, which are relabelled as,
such that
d(P;, ni) 1 .
{14) d(P;,7r&) ~ 2 VJ = 1,2, ... ,d, Vi= 1, 2, ... ,k
(with possibly d(Pj,11"i) = 0).

Proof. Starting with n1, there is a +1 point, say Pi, such that
(15)
Set
We have
d(p;,nl) 1 . k d
(16) . ) ~ -2 VJ = 1, 2, ... I + .
d(PJ,7rl
For, if not, there would be some j, 1 $ j $ k + d, such that
Thus
d(p;, ni) < d(n1, 1r1)
which contradicts (15). Thus we have proved (16).
Next, we eliminate the pair {n 1 , 1r1 } and we reiterate the same procedure
with n 2. This yields some +1 point denoted 1r2 E {Pt.P2 •... ·Pk+d}\{p,},
such that
Vj f. i.
A lower bound for the enerm~ 37
Then we start with n 3 and so on. When we have exhausted all -1 points
we are left with +1 points denoted P1, P2, ... , Pd. By construction, we see
immediately that (14) holds.
Proof of Theorem 11.1. Consider the points (xi) with their associated
integers (d1). We say that a point x; is a negative point if di < 0; the
negative points are repeated according to their multiplicity ld, I and we
denote them by
n1,n2, ... ,nk withk= 2: ldtl.

d;<O
We say that Xi is a positive point if dt > 0; the positive points are repeated
according to their multiplicity dt and we denote them by
P1 1 P2, ..• 1 Pk+d with k + d = L d,

d;>O
(note that d = Ed,>O d;- Ed;<O ldtl = :E7=l di)· The remaining points Xi,
associated to di = 0, are denoted
We relabel the positive points, using Lemma 11.3, as
in such a way that
'r/j = 1, 2, ... 'd, Vi = 1, 2, ... , k.
We say that
(7rt. nl), (1r2, n2), ... , (7rk, nk)
are ''neutral molecules" and that
are "positive ions". We regroup the positive ions according to their multi-
plicity and write them as
with E~=l 6-t = d. We now define corresponding functions
(1ri, n,) ~ '1/Ji

[Pi,c5&] -11,
qi~o,
in the following way:

(i) The function Wi associated to the neutral molecule (7ri, n,) is the solution
of
6.1/J, = 0 inn
1/Ji = Const. on each 8w;, j = 1,2, ... ,n
1/Ji = 0 on8G
and
21r if w is the disc centered at 1ri,

r mp, = {
)8w 01/
- 21r if w is the disc centered at n,,
0 otherwise.
(ii) The function t]i associated to the ion fPt, 6t] is the solution of
Ll.1]i =0 inn,
TJi = Const. on each 8w;, j = 1, 2, ... , n,
1Ji =0 on8G,
and
if w is the disc centered at Pi,
otherwise.
(iii) The function Oi associated to q, is the solution of
A.O, =0 inn
Oi = Const. on each 8wj, j = 1, 2, ... , n,
ei = o on ac
and
r
Jawj av
ao, = 0 Vj = 1,2, ... ,n.
So that, in fact, 9, = 0.
A lower bound for the ene'!IY 39
By construction, we obtain
I; t
c)= E""i + L'1i·
i=l j=l
Hence
I; t
(17)
{ IV~I' = IE V'f/Ji 12
i=l
+ IE
i=l
VTJ; 12 + 2EV.,P, VTJ;
i,j
t
~IE V'7;1 2 + 2EV¢, V'l;·
i=l i,j
Step 1: We have
where A is defined in Lemma. II.l.

Proof of (18). Write
But
where w is the disc centered at P.. By Lemma 11.2 we know that '7; :5 0 in
In
n and thus V1J; v'l. ~ 0.
On the other hand, we deduce from Lemma 11.1 that
This proves {18).

Step 2: We have Vi, j
{19}
Proof of (19). Write
where w; = B(P;,p). Recall that t/J; is associated to the neutral molecule

(1rj, n;). By Lemma II.l we have, inn,
(21)
Two cases may occur:

Case 1: 1r; = P;.
Case 2: 71'j I: P3.
Case 1. On 8w; we have
and therefore
Case 2. On 8w; we have
By Lemma 11.3 we have

171';- P;l < 2.
In;- P;l -
Therefore we finally obtain, for X E ow;,
t/J;(x) :::; log 4 + 2A.
In both Case 1 and Case 2 we conclude that
'¢; (8w;) ::; log 4 + 2A.

A l0t11er bound for the energy 41
Going back to (20) we find
k \1'¢•\l'rfi 2 -211'6j(2A +log 4).
Thus Step 2 is proved.

Proof of Theorem 11.1 completed. Combining Step 1, Step 2 and (17)
we are led to
{22) fo IV«)I 2 f; oj 2 21r

l l
log(l-'/p)- 21rA ~ cj
l
- 21rk(2A +log 4) 2: Cj·
j=l
Note that
and n
k ~ Eldil·
i=l
Finally we obtain
fo1V4tl 2 2 211" f; cJ log(l-'/p) - 21r{3A + log 4)

l (
~
n )2
!dj I
CHAPTER III
Some basic estimates for 11c
Let G C 1R2 be a smooth, bounded and simply connected domain. Consider

the functional
(1) Ee:(u) = ~ L1Vul + ~2 k(lul

2 2- 1)2
which is defined for maps u E H 1 ( Gi C) and let
where g: 8G-+ Cis a prescribed smooth map such that jg(x)l = 1

v x Eon.
Throughout the rest of the book we assume that d = deg(g,80) > 0.
(2)
is achieved by some Ue: that satisfies the Euler equation
(3) {
-~Ue: = : 2 u£(1 - luel 2 ) in G,
Ue =g on8G.
The maximum principle implies (see e.g., F. Bethuel, H. Brezis and

F. Helein 12]) that any solution ue: of (3) satisfies
(4)
111.1. Estimates when G =BRand g(x) = xflxl

The following quantity will play an important role. Given c > 0 and
R > 0 set
(5)

DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-66673-0_3
1. Estimates whfln G = BR and g (x ) = :t/lxJ 43
where g(x) = xflxl on 8BR and

(6) I(t) = I(t, 1) fort> 0.
By scaling it is easy to see that
(7) I(t,R) =I(~)= I (1, ~).

Remark 111.1. Note that I(t) ~ +oo as t ~ 0. Suppose not; say that
there is a sequence tn ~ 0 such that J(tn) $C. By choosing a minimizer
in {5) we would have a sequence Un : Bt ~ C such that
{ 1Vun[ 2 $ C,
lnl
{ (lunl 2 - 1) 2 $ C t~
ln1
and
un(x) =x on 8B1.
Passing to a subsequence we would find some u E H 1 (B1 ; 8 1 ) such that
u(x) = x on 8Bt. This is impossible (see the Introduction).
Lemma 111.1. We have, 'Vtt $ t2,
I(tt) :$ 1r log(t2/tt) + /(t2)
i.e., the function t ~--+ (I(t) + 1r log t) is nondecreasing.
In particular
/(t) :5 1t log(l/t) + 1(1) Vt E (0, 1}.
Proof. Let u2 be a minimizer for /(t2} =I ( 1, t).

Set
u2(x) if lxl < .!.,
{ t2
ttt(X) = _.:.. 1 1
if - < !xl < -.
lxl t2 tl
= ! 1
2 Btte 2
[Vu2l 2 + ! f
4 j Bl/t~
(lu2l 2 - 1) 2 + ! 1
2 Btto 1 \B. 1, 2
lv (.!...)
lxl
2
1
= l(h) + 1r log(t2/tt).
44 III. Some basic estimates for~
Remark III.2 One may also prove that there is a universal constant C
such that
(8) l(t) 2:: 1r log(l/t) - C Vt E (0, 1).
We do not have a simple proof of (B)-see Theorem V.3.
111.2. An upper bound for E~( u~)
Let Ue be a minimizer for (1).
Theorem 111.1. We have, for c < eo,
(9)
where co and C depend only on g and G.
Proof. Fix d distinct points a1o a2, ... , ad in G and fix R > 0 so small that
B(ai, R) c G Vi and B(Ui, R) n B(a;, R) =0 Vi fj.
Let S1 = G\ ( Uf= 1 B(ai, R)) and consider the map g: 00- 8 1 defined by
if x E ac,
9-( X ) -- { g(x)
et·(J if x =a;+ Re* 9 E 8B(a;, R).
Since
deg(g, 00) = 0
there is a smooth map v:0 - S 1 such that v = g on 00.

We have, by Lemma 111.1, for c < R,
which is the desired estimate.

45
Theorem 111.2. Assume G is starshaped about the origin (i.e.,

x · v ~ a > 0 'Vx E oG). Then there is a constant C depending only on g
and G such that any solution Ue of {3) satisfies
(10)
Estimate (10) plays a crucial role in our analysis. Therefor e we as-

sume througho ut the rest of the book that G is starshape d.
Proof. As in the proof of the Pohozaev identity one multiplies (3) by
au£ au£
uX1
8 .
x·"Vue=x 1 ~+x 2 -
X2
This yields, dropping the subscript e,
(11)
But
(12) 8u · Vu) = (x · v)
-(x
av
(8u)
-
ov
2
&u ou
+ (x ·T)--
{h- oz,•
and
(13)
Combinin g {11), (12) and (13) we obtain
~ { (x. v) (8u)2 + ___!_2

ov 2e
{
la
(lul2- 1)2
2 } 80
au 8g
= 1IJG
1
-(x·v)
2
-
OT
(og) 2
-(x·T) --.
OVOT
This directly implies (10).

46 Ill. Some basic estimates for ~
111.4. lu<!'l ;::: 1/2 on "good discs"
Theorem 111.3. There exist positive constants .Ao and p.0 (depending only
on G and g) such that if u<!' is a solution of {9) satisfying
(14) 12 r
e lanB3L
(lu~l2 - 1)2 :5 J.I.O
where B 2 l is some disc of radius 2£ in 1R2 with

f
(15) - ;::: .\o and f :5 1,
e
then
(16)
Proof. It follows from Lemma A.2 in the Appendix ofF. Bethuel, H. Brezis
and F. Helein [2] that
I!Vu<!'IIL""(G) :5 C/e,
where C depends only on G and g. Therefore, we have
(17) lu~(x)-
c
u!"(y)j :5 -jx- Yl "''x, y E G.
e
We argue by contradiction and assume that lu~(x 0 )1 < 1/2 for some
x0 E G n Bt. Then we have
and thus
Consequently
We choose p = e/ 4C, so that
and consequently
47
On the other hand there is a positive constant o: (depending only on G),

such that
meas(GnBr(x)) ~ o:r 2 Vx E G, Vr ~ 1.
Hence, we have
1GnB~t4c(xo) u 2
(I ~I - ) -
1 2 > o:e
{16C}2
2
provided (e/4C} :5 1. Note that Be; 4c(xo) c Bu when (e/4C) :5 l (since

xo E Bt).
Therefore
1 GnBu (lu~l
2
-
2 o:e 2
1) ~ (16C)2.
If we choose >.o = l/4C and ~Jo < o:/(160)2 we are led to a contradiction.
CHAPTER IV
Towards locating the singularities:

bad discs and good discs
For some technical reasons it is convenient to enlarge a little the given

domain G. Fix a smooth, bounded and simply connected domain G' such
that G c G'. Also fix arbitrarily a smooth map g: G'\G _, S 1 such that
g=g on 8G.
Clearly, such a construction is always possible. We extend systematically

any map u : G ~ C with u = 9 on 8G, by a map, still denoted u,
u : G' _, C, such that u = g in G'\G. In particular, ue: introduced in
Chapter III is now defined on G'.
IV.l. A covering argument

Let uE be a minimizer for Ee in H:. We shall now use a covering ar-
gument that helps to locate the (small) regions where uE has a singular
behavior.
Consider a family of discs B(x., .Xoc)ieJ, where .Xo is defined in Theorem
III.3, such that
(1) Xi E G, ViE/,
(2) B (xi, .Xoe/4) n B (xi, >..oc/4) = 0, Vi -:f: j,
(3) U B(xi, .Xoe:) ::>G.

iEl
For this purpose, it suffices to consider a maximal family satisfying (1) and
(2).
We say that the disc B(x., .Xoe) is a good disc if
12 r
e 1B(xi,2Aoc)
(lu£12 - 1)2 < Jlo
where IJ.o is defined in Theorem III.3.

DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-66673-0_4
The collection of bad discs is labelled by
J = {i; B(x;, Aoc) is a bad disc}.
The following lemma plays an essential role:

Lemma IV .1. There exists an integer N that depends only on g and G
such that
(4) cardJ :5 N.
Remark IV .1. Strictly speaking we should have denoted the points (Xi)ie J
by (xDieJ.· The main content of Lemma IV.1 is that card J~ remains
bounded independently of e.
Proof. There is a. universal constant C such that
2: r (lue:l2- 1)2 :5 c r (lue-12- 1)2

iEI 1B(xi, 2Aoc) 1c
since each point in G is covered by at most C discs B(xi> 2Aoc ). It follows
that
/4J card J :5 ~
1ar(lue-1 1) 2
2 -
c
and by Theorem III.2. we deduce that (4} holds.
Lemma IV .2. We have
luE(x)l ~ -21 Vx E G'\ U B(x,, Aoc).

iEJ
Proof. Let x E G\ UiEJ B(x,, Aoe: ). By {3), there is some j E 1\J such
that
x E B(x;, .Aoe:), which is a good disc.
It follows from Theorem III.3. that luc(x)l ~ 1/2.
IV .2 Modifying the bad discs
In this section we shall replace the bad discs B(xi, Aoe)ieJ by slightly
larger discs (deleting if necessary some of the points (Xi)) in such a way
that the points Xi are far apart (relative toe:).
so IV. Towards locating the singularities
Theorem IV. 1. We may choose a subset J' c J and a constant>. ~ >.0 ,

depending only on g and G, such that
(5)
and
(6)
Proof. The argument is by induction on card J. If (5) holds with J' = J

and >. = >.o we are done. Otherwise there is a pair, say x1. x2, such that
(7)
We take>.= 9.>.0 and J' = J\{1}. We are reduced to the previous case.
After a finite number of steps (at most N) we are led to the conclusion of
the theorem with Ao :::; >. :::; Ao gcard J.
Roughly speaking the points (xi)iEJ' = (xDieJ' correspond to points
where u~ may have a singular behavior. To simplify the notation we shall
write J = J~ instead of J'. We summarize the main properties of the family
(xi):
(8) 'r/x E G'\ iEJ

U B(xi, >.e)
(9) lx·-
• x·lJ >- 8.Ae 'Vi, j E J, i ::f j
(10) cardJ :5 N
and
(11)
Given any sequence en -. 0 we may extract a subsequence (still denoted

en) such that
{12)
and
{13) 'Vi= 1,2, ... N1.

We cannot exclude the possibility that some of the points li are the
same, i.e., it may happen that x~" and xj" converge to the same limit.
We denote by
the collection of distinct points in (ii)· We are going to prove in Chapter

V that for every compact subset K of G\ U{ ai}
L 1Vue:,.l 2 remains bounded
and this, in turn, will imply that, on K, ue:,. --+ u. uniformly. Then we
shall prove in Chapter VI that aj ¢. oG.
CHAPTER V
An upper bound for the energy of ~

away from the singularities
Fix 17 > 0 such that

(1) '11 < dist( G, OG')
1
(2) '11 < 21ai - ai J Vi -::f: j
so that the discs B(ai•'ll) are disjoint and contained in G'.
Clearly, we have, for n sufficiently large, say n ~ N("'), depending on 1],
(3) U B (x;", >.e-n) c UB(a3·, 71/4).
iEJ • j
In what follows we shall often write Xi instead of x:".

Recall that, by (IV.8),
1
lu.r,. (x)l ~ 2 for x E oB(a;, f]/2), n ~ N('ll)
and thus
deg(ue,., 8B(a;, 71/2})
is well defined and it remains bounded (as n--+ +oo) by the following
Lemma V.l. We have, Vi E J,
(4) Ideg (u.r, oB(x~' Ae)) I :5 c, independent of e.
Proof. Recall that

deg (ue,8B(x~, >.e))= 21 { I Uel 2 I\ (u.r)-r·
1r l&B(zt ,At) Ut
The conclusion follows from the fact that lu.rl ~ 1/2 on 8B(xf, >..e) and
JIVutllL<><> :5 C/e (see Lemma A.2 in the Appendix of F. Bethuel, H. Brezis
and F. Helein {2]).
Passing to a subsequence we may assume that
di = deg (Ue.,' oB(x~", Aen)) is independent of n.
For the same reason
K-j = deg (ue,., oB(ai> 17/2)) is also independent of n.
The main result in this chapter is:

DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-66673-0_5
1. A lower bound for the energy ~ near aj 53
Theorem V.l. There exist a constant C (depending only on g and G, but

independent of 11 and n} and an integer N(17), such that, for all n ~ N(f1),
(5)
The proof of this theorem is indirect; it relies on a lower bound for the
energy near ai which is presented in Section V.l. We will return to the
proof of Theorem V.1 in Section V.2.
V.I. A lower bound for the energy of Ue near ai

For every j = 1, 2, ... , N2, we set
and consequently
L di = Kj Yj = 1,2, ... ,N2.

iEAJ
Set
(0; also depends on n, but for simplicity we drop n).
An important estimate is given by the following
Theorem V.2. There exists a constant C (independent of n and q) such

that, for every j and every n ~ N(1'J), we have
(6) fo.1~ue,.l 2 ~ 21l"l~~:jllog(q/cn)- C.

I
Proof. We write on ni
Since is 5 1-valued and deg( Ve:,. I oB(x~"' >.en))

Ve,. = di we know by Corol-
lary 11.1 that
(7)
54 V. An upper bound for the energy of Uc
and therefore
Next, we claim that
(9)
Using the fact that luc,.l ~ 1/2 on Oj we see that
and therefore, by Cauchy.Schwarz,
(10) L. (1-lueni )1Vvc,.l

J
2 2 $ Cll(l-luc,.l 2 )jj 2 IIVue.,ll!·
Recall that (see Theorem III.2)
(ll)
From the Euler equation (III.3) we have
(12)
Combining (12) and the estimate lluelloo $ 1 we derive, with the help of
the Gagliarda.Nirenberg inequality, that
{13)
Going back to (10) and using (11) with (13) we are led to (9).
Finally, (7), (8) and (9) yield (6).
V.2. Proof of Theorem V.l

Before proving Theorem V .1 we must derive some consequences of
Theorem V.2.
2. Proof of Theorem V.l 55
Lemma V.2. We have

K.i 2= 0 Vj.
Proof. Applying Theorem V.2 we see that
(14) L. ~
1Vut:nl 2 2= 211"1Kjlllog cnl- C(1J).
Hence
(15} '"2; ln. 1Vu~J 2 ~ 21rjlog cnl '"2; l~~:il- C(1J).

J J J
On the other hand, we recall that, by Theorem 111.1,
(16)
Combining (15) and (16) we see that
As n-+ oo (since~~:; is independent of n) we find
(17}
On the other hand we have
It follows that /'i,i 2= 0 Vj.
Going back to Theorem V.2, in the light of Lemma V.2, we may now
state
56 V. An upper bound for the eneryy of 'Ue
Theorem V.3. There exists a constant C, depending on g and G such

that
(18)
Proof. Suppose, by contradiction, that (18) does not hold. Then there
exists a sequence en ~ 1 such that
(19)
By Theorem V.2 and Lemma V.2 we know that
Summing over j we obtain
(20)
This yields a contradiction with (19) since '1 is fixed.

Proof of Theorem V.l. Combining (20) with the upper bound of The--
orem 11!.1 we see that
CHAPTER VI
'lien converges: u.. is born!
To summarize the result of Chapter V we have now fotmd a subsequence

(u~:.. ) and a finite set (aj) in G such that on every compact subset K of
G' \ U3{aJ} we have
(1)
and
(2)
Passing to a further subsequence (and using a standard diagonal proce-

dure) we may now finally (!) assert that
{3) U~:,.-+ u* a.e.on G.
Since
faout,.l 2 -1)2 :5 Ce!
we deduce that lu.l = 1 a.e. We also have
(4) uEn ~ u. weakly in H 1 (K) for every K as above.
Recall that "'* = g on G' \ G (see the beginning of Chapter IV).

The first result in this chapter is
Theorem VI.l. We have
(5)

DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-66673-0_6
58 VI. Ut:n converges: u.. is born!
(6) u* is a harmonic map, i.e.
(7) u* = g on {)G,
(8)
(9) :Ldeg(u*,aj) = d,
j
and, for every compact subset K C G \ U{aj}, for every integer k,

j
(10}
(11)
Remark VI.l. More precisely, we prove that given any sequence en - 0,

there is a subsequence, still denoted en, and a finite set (ai), and a map
u*, such that all the conclusions of Theorem Vl.l hold.
VI. I. Proof of Theorem VI.l

Fix xo E G \ Ui{ai}· ChooseR> 0 such that B(xo, 2R) C G \ U;{aj}·
By Fubini's theorem we may find some R' E (R, 2R) such that (by passing
to a further subsequence if necessary)
(13}
and
(14)
1. Proof of Theorem VI.1 59
From (13) we deduce that
uEn --+ u. uniformly on 8B(xo, K).
Since
deg ( ue.. , 8B(xo, R')) = 0,
because lue,.l ~ 1/2 in B(xo,U), we deduce that
(15) deg ( u., 8B(xo, R')) = 0.
We are now in a position to apply Theorem 2 in F. Bethuel, H. Brezis and

F. Helein [2] (which was written for this purpose!); see also Appendix I at
the end of the book. This yields (5),(6),(10) and (11).
Property (9) follows from the fact that u. is smooth away from the
singularities.
In order to prove (8) it suffices, in view of Lemma V.2, to check that
{16)
This is clear if ai E G, by (10). In case a; E 8G we may choose, as above,

/( > 0 such that
{ 1Vuc,.l 2 ~ C
j8B(o.J,R')
and such that B(a;, R') contains no other singularity. As above,
ue:,. -t u* uniformly on 8B(a;, K)
and thus
for n large.
Proof of (12}.
Step 1: uE,.- u* in H 1!x(G' \ U;{a;}) and in Gtc(G' \ U;{a;}).
It suffices, in view of (10), to consider a point xo E 8G that is not
a singularity (a;) and to show that for some /(, ue:,. converges to u. in
H 1 (B(x 0 , R') n G) and in CO(B(x 0 , R') n G).
Fix R < ~ dist (G, 8G'} such that B{xo, 2R) does not contain any singu-
larity. By Fubini we may find.« E {R, 2R) such that (up to a subsequence)
f 1Vue:,.l 2 ~C
i&B(:~:o,R')
60 VI. ~ .. converges: u... is born!
and
Since deg(ut:,., 8B(xo,R')) = 0 we may apply Theorem 2 of F. Bethuel,

H. Brezis and F. HcHein [2] in GnB(xo, R') (see also Appendix I at the end
of the book) to conclude that
Ut;,.- 1.1.* in H 1 ( G n B(xo, R!)) nco(G nB(xo, R'))

and also that
21
en
1 B(xo,R')
(lut:,.l 2 -1) 2 -0.
Step 2: uE,. -u* inC1~:(G\U;{a;}).

We shall use the fact that the points aj are not on the boundary fJG. This
will be proved in the next Section {and of course the argument there does
not depend on Step 2). Let U = G\UB(aj,8) with 6 > 0 sufficiently
small. We already know that uE .. - u* in H 1 (U) and in C(U). Following
the same argument as in F. Bethuel, H. Brezis and F. Helein [2] (part B in
Section 2) we prove that ut: is bounded in H 2 (U). As in Step B.4 of the
above reference we let
and we have
Multiplying this inequality by 1/Jq-l we see that
l 1/Jq
u
5: 4flvu~l'I/Jq-1 + 2e2
u
r
lou av
&'lj; .,pq-1_
We split au as au = r u 8G. Note that

1/;=0 onoG
while
e2 l :~ 11/Jq-l 5: c on r
since 1/J is bounded in L00 (r) by (11) and f:2 :~ = - :)ul 2 is bounded in
L 00 (r) by (10). We then argue as in Step B.4 to conclude that 1/J is bounded
in L 00 (U).
VI.2. Further properties of u* : singularities have degree one and

they are not on the boundary
The main result of this section is
2. Further properties of u. 61
Theorem VI.2. We have
(17)
(18)
Consequently, there are exactly d distinct points in the collection (ai).
Step 1: K.j = deg(u., aj) > 0.

We already know (see Lemma. V.2) that ""i ~ 0, Vj. We a.re going
to prove that ""i = 0 is impossible. Suppose not a.nd sa.y that for some
j, K.j = 0. We may find, a.s above, some R such that (by passing to a
subsequence if necessary)
a.nd moreover B(aj, R) does not contain any other singularity, so that
deg(ue:,.,oB(aj,R)) = K.j = 0. We may now apply Theorem 2, Step 1,
of F. Bethuel, H. Brezis and F. Helein [2] in B(ai,R) n G to conclude that
(19)
On the other hand, by the definition of ai, there exists at least one bad
disc B(xi,2.\cn) contained in B(a;,R). Recall that (see the beginning of
Section IV.1)
(20) 21
en
1
B(z,,2.>.e:,.}
( IUe,.l 2 - 1) 2 2:: /to > 0, for every i.
Combining (19) and (20) we have a. contradiction.

Step 2: ""i = 1.
Fix 11 > 0, such that
62
Applying Corollary II.2 in G' with
n = G' \ l.,JB(a;, TJ)

1
and J.l = 4dist(G,aG'), we obtain

{21}
where C depends only on d, G and G'. We may rewrite (21) as
(22}
On the other hand, if we pass to the limit in Theorem V.l as n--+ oo, we
are led to
(23)
where C in (22) and (23) is independent of TJ. Note that the passage to the
limit is justified by Step 1 in the proof of Theorem VI.l.
Combining (22) and {23), we find
2)KJ- K;)!log 171 ~ 0.

j
Letting 11--+ 0, we see that
L(KJ- K.j) ~ 0.
j
This yields Kj = 1 (by Step 1).

Step 3: a; E G, 1:/j.
Up to now, the only information that we have is a; E G. We are going
to exclude the possibility that a; E 8G. Assume not and say that a; E 8G,
for some j. For convenience suppose a 1 E 8G.
Let R > 0 be such that
B(a1, R) C G' \ {a2, ... , ad}·
In what follows we choose '1 E (0, R), which will tend to zero, as in Step 2.
Our next lemma plays an important role.
B. FUrther properties of u* 63
Lemma VI.l. Let a E 8G. For every map u that belongs to

q~c (B(a,R) \{a}; 8 1 ), such that
(24) u = g in (G'\G)nB(a,R)
and
(25}
we have
~ r
j B(a,R)\B(a,f1)
IV'ul 2 ~ 27rllog TJI- C, 'VTJ E (0, R}
where C depends only on g and R.
We postpone the proof of Lemma Vl.l.

Proof of Step 3 completed. As in Step 2 we apply Corollary II.2 in
d
G' \ B(at. R) with 0' = (G' \ B(at,R)}\ U B(ajtq}. We obtain
j=2
(26)
where C depends only on R, d, G and G'. By Lemma VI.l we have
{27}
Hence, combining (26} and (27), we see that
where 0 = G' \ Ut= 1 B(a;, TJ), and C depends only on R,d, G, G' and R.
We now proceed as in the proof of Step 2, and conclude that
Ilog 111 :::; C, 'VTJ E (0, R},
where C is independent of 11· Impossible.

Proof of Lemma VI.l. By a conformal change of variables we may
always assume that, locally, G is the half-space {(x1,x2); x2 > 0}, and
that a = {0, 0).
64 VI. Ue,. converges: u* is born!
In the conformal transformation B(a, R) \ B(a, '17) is transformed into a

domain containing B{O, R') \ B(O, 1J1 ), with R' ~ R and TJ' ~ '1·
Consider a circle St of radius t centered at zero, with '11 < t < R.
We have
1 = deg(u, St) = 21 ru X u.,. = 21 f u X u.,. + 21 r g X g.,.

71" ls. 71" 1st ?r ls,
where St = St n {x2 > 0} and S't = St n {x2 < 0}. Note that
j fs_ ux u.,.j5 Clg(t,o}- g(-t,O)I ~ c.;t,

•
since g E H 1 (8G). Hence,
Therefore
471"- -a<
-
t .;t- s,
Ll
2
Vul.
Integrating this inequality on (TJ, R) we obtain the desired conclusion.

CHAPTER VII
u...
coincides with THE canonical harmonic
map having singularities (a;)
In Section 1.3 we have introduced the notion of a canonical harmonic map

associated to given singularities with prescribed degrees. We shall only
consider the case of prescribed degrees +1. We recall its main properties.
Given d points at, a2, ... , ad in G, let C be the class of all smooth harmonic
maps from G\ {a1 ,a2, ... ,ac~} into S 1 such that
(i) deg(u,a;) = +1 Vj E {1,2, ... ,d}
(ii) u is continuous up to oG and u = g on oG.
Given any distinct points alt a 2 , ... , ad in G, there exists a unique uo in

C n W 1•1 (G) satisfying in addition
{1) c!l (uo X::)+ = X;:)= 0 2 ( UC 0 in V'(G).
This Uo is called the canonical harmonic map associated to the prescribed

singularities (a;). This Uo also satisfies
(z-a·) . (
1 e'"'j ~>, near a;
(2} uo(z) =
lz-a;l
where t/J; is a real valued harmonic function, smooth in some neighborhood
of a; (including a;). In other words, uo(z) behaves like e•<B+Bj) for some
constant phase 0; = tP;(a;).
The main result in this Chapter is the following:
Theorem VII.l. Let a; and"* be as in Chapter VI, then u. = u 0 = the
canonical harmonic map associated to the singularities (a;).
Proof.
The strategy is the following: we first prove that u. is in W 1 •1 (G). By
Remark 1.1, we then know that
(3) u. ~uo- (i~c;loglz-a,l) e;•,

DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-66673-0_7
. - - - - _
66 VII. u,. coincides with THE canonical harmonic map
for some real constants c;, a.nd x is the solution of

Ax=O in G
(4) {
x(x) + ;=c; log Jx- a; I= 0 on &G.
The next step will be to prove that c; = 0, Vj. Hence X= 0, and u* = u0 •

Step 1: Consider for every n
which is the so-called Hop£ differential. (Warning: the dot product refers to
the scalar product of vectors, not the multiplication of complex numbers.)
This quantity was first introduced in the framework of minimal surfaces,
and plays a crucial role in many two-dimensional problems that are invari-
ant under conformal transformations (see e.g., J. Sacks and K. Uhlenbeck
[1], M. Griiter [1], R. Schoen [1]). Set
Wn = 4en
\ (Jue,.J 2 - 1) 2 •
A straightforward computation shows that any solution of
1 2
-Aue,. = 2'Ue,. (1- Jup;,. I ),
en
satisfies
(5) az = .!!...
awn
{)z
(2W. )
n
where, as usual,
and
a= 21(a ~.a)
{)z &xt - fJx2 ·
Lemma VII.l. The sequence (Wn) is bounded in L 1 (G), and converges,

up to a subsequence, in the weak * topology of C( G) to
(6) w* = L m;6aj, with m; 2:: o.

;
In other words,
l Wn(x)((x)-+ ~ m;((a;),
J
V( E C(G).
VII. u.. coincides with THE canonical harmonic map 67
Proof of Lemma VII.l. The fact that Wn is bounded in £ 1 (G) follows

from Theorem III.2. Recall that, by (11) in Theorem Vl.l,
{1-lue,.l 2 ) ~ CK e! inK,
for every compact subset KinG\ U{a;}. Therefore,

j
and consequently Wn converges, up to a subsequence, to n measure f-l, with
On the other hand, we know (see Step 1 in the proof of Theorem VI.l)
that for every point Xo on aa,
there exists a constant R' > 0, such that
f Wn-+ 0;
JB(xo,R')
this implies that supp(Jl) C U{a;}, and f-l has the required form.
j
Back to Step 1: Consider the distribution
T = .!!_
8z
(...!._)
1rz
=~(~log
8z 1r 2
r).
Set
in the sense of distributions,
where W n = Wn in G, and W n = 0 outside G.
We have
(7)
since aa-Z (...!._)

11'Z
= aa:a
Z Z
(!log
11'
r) = 2_Ll{log
211'
r) = 6o.
From (5) and (7) we obtain that
(8)
a
az(wn- 2an) =0 in V'(G).
Set
68 VII. u.., coincides with THE canoniedl harmonic map
Let K be a compact subset in G \ U{a;}.

j
Claim: /3n is bounded in L 00 (K).
Proof of the Claim. Actually, both Wn and a:,. are bonnded. The bound-
edness of Wn follows from the boundedness of"'~" in C 1 (K) (see Theorem
VI.l).
To prove the boundedness of On, set
Nn(K) = {x E G; dist(x,K) $ R}
and choose .R sufficiently small in order to have
(this is possible by (11) in Theorem VI.l). Fix a function

( E C~(B(O, R)) such that ( =: 1 in B(O, R/2) and write
O:n = ((T) * Wn + [(1- ()T] * Wn.

Clearly ((T) • W n is bounded in L 00 (K). On the other hand,
((1 - ()T) • W n is bounded in L 00 (R2 ) since (1 - ()T E L 00 (R2 ) and W n
is bounded in L1 (R2 ). This completes the proof of the Claim.
Since !3n is a holomorphic function on G, it is bounded in Cfoc(G), "1:/k.
Thus, up to a subsequence, we may assume that
(9)
for some holomorphic function fJ on G.

On the other hand, since W n converges toW* in V'(IR2 ), we conclude
that
{10)
Thus,
(11) Wn = /3n + 2o:n- fJ + 2a* in V'(G).
From the definition of Wn, it is clear that
(12)
VII. ~ coincides with THE canonical harmonic map 69
and this convergence holds in ct,c (G \ U{a;}).

j
From (11) and {12) we obtain
(13)
We now derive further properties of w* and a*. Because of (6) we have

in 'D'(G \ U{a;})
j
(14)
(15)
Indeed, by (12),
and (15) follows.

Applying (13), (14) and (15), we find
(16} 1Vu*l2 ~ 11'1 + ~ 1rl:~~il 2 •
An important consequence of {16) is that
a
{17) IVu.l ~ lz _a; I near each aj;
in particular,
(18) "'* E W 1•P(G), Vp < 2.
Step 2: "'*= UO·

We are now in position to apply Remark 1.1, which asserts that (3) holds,
for some real constants c;. We will now prove that
Cj = 0, Vj.
70 VII. U;. coincides with THE canonical harmonic map
Fix one of the points a;; for simplicity take a1 = 0. Recall that, in polar
coordinates, (see (34) in Chapter I),
{19) Uo = ei8 eiS, near zero,
where Sis a harmonic function. From (3) and {19) it follows that
(20) u* = exp[i9 + i c; log r + i x'J, near zero,
where x' is some harmonic function near zero (and including zero). We
now compute w* using (20). Note that if, locally, u = ei'P then
Applying this with rp = 9 + c; log r + x', we obtain
(21) w* = [<c;- i)~ + x"r,

where x." = 2
ax'
az .
We expand {21) and compare with (13) and (14); this
yields, for z near 0, z ::f:. 0,
(c; - i) 2 2x"(c; - i) ( ") 2 2m; {3'

(22) z2 + z + X =- 7rz2 + ,
.h
Wlt /3' = f3 - "'
L..J ( 2mt )2 •
t'fj 1r z - at
Multiplying (22) by z 2 and letting z -+ 0, we deduce that
{23) (c;- i)2 = - 2mj.

'/!'
Since c; is real we see that

'/!'
(24) c; =0 and m; = 2.
During the course of this proof, we have also established the following
theorem:
Theorem VII.2. We have, in the weak* topology ofC(G),
(25) \
4e:n (lut:,.l 2 - 1) 2 -+ i LDar j
In the same spirit, the following holds:

VII. u_. coincides with THE canonical harmonic map 71
Theorem VII.3. We have, in the weak* topology of C(G),
(26)
Proof. In view of Theorem III.1 we know that
(27)
On the other hand, Theorem Vl.l tells us that
1 2 1
llog ~n
JJVut:n I -o 0 in L (K)
for every compact subset K C G \ U{aj}.

Consequently (up to a subsequence)
(28)
with
(29) L mi ::; 21r d by (27).

j
From Theorem V.2 and Theorem VI.2 we deduce that, for every j and
every '17 > 0,
It follows from (30) that
(31) 'Vj.
Combining (31) with (29) we conclude that mj = 21r, 'Vj and the desired
result follows.
The last result of this chapter is
72 VII. ~ coincides with THE canonical harmonic map
Theorem VII.4. We have, near each singularity a;,

. ()
z- a·'.1 e•H;
(32) u*(z) = "",
lz-a;l
where Hj is a real harmonic function such th4t
In other words,
(33) VH;(ai) = 0.
Remark VII.l. Note that property (33) does not hold for the canonical
harmonic map uo associated to an arbitrary configuration of points (a;).
This additional property is related to the fact that "*
is the limit of a
sequence of minimizers for Ee, and that the configuration (a;) minimizes
the renormalized energy W (see Section VIII.2}.
Proof of Theorem VII.4. In view of {22) and (23) we must have, as-
suming ai = 0,
x" (O) = 2 ox'
{jz
(o) = o
(here we have used the fact that c; = 0 and mi = 11"/2).

This means, since x' is real valued, that
Vx'(O} = 0.
Recall that, near zero, u* = e•"' with cp = 9 + x' a.nd the desired conclusion
follows.
Remark VII.2. The method used in the proof of Theorem VII.l is in
the same spirit as the argument of H. Brezis and L. Peletier [1) concerning
the equation -Au= uP where p is the critical exponent (N + 2)/(N- 2).
There, precise information about the blow-up behavior-in particular the
location of the blow-up points-is obtained by multiplying the equation by
{j{Ju and using various Pohozaev-type identities.
Xi
We now present alternative proofs of Theorems VI1.2 and V11.4 assuming
Theorems VI.l, Vl.2 and VII.l. Recall that Ue satisfies
1 2
(34) -Aue = 2ue{l-luel ) in G.
c
VII. u.. coincides with THE canonical harnwnic map 73
1. Alternative proof of Theorem VII.2. Fix one of the points ai and

set Bn = B(ai, R) with R sufficiently small, so that Bn does not contain
any of the other points a;, j -=/= i. For simplicity, assume that ai = 0.
Multiplying (34) by E
k=l
Xk ~c
liXk
and integrating on Bn we find (as in Section
111.3)
(35)
Passing to the limit in (35) (using (10) of Theorem VI.l) yields
(36)
(Recall that ~(luc,.l 2 - 1) 2 converges to L.i mj6a;-)

Since u. is the canonical harmonic map associated to (ai) and deg( u*, ai) =
+1 Vj we know that
{37)
where His a smooth real-valued harmonic function in Bn. Thus, we have
(38) au.
8v
1=lao+
&v
2
&HI
&v
lonl
&v
2
=
2
and
'
Inserting (38) and (39) into (36) we find
(40) Rk
-2 I&HI
-
8Ba &v
2
+ 2ffii -- 71" + -2 Rk lanl
-
&BR &r
2
On the other hand, if we multiply the equation
(41) !1H=0
74 VII. u.. coincides with THE canonical harmonic map
by E
k=l
XJc ~H
VXk
and integrate on BR we obtain
2RlaBR
f '8H' RlaBn
{ '8H'
(42) 2 2
8v = 2 8r
Comparing (40) and (42) yields mi = 1rj2 which is the desired conclusion.
2. Alternative proof of Theorem VII.4. Multiplying (34) by 0Bue: and
Xk
integrating we find
(43)
Passing to the limit in (43) (using (10) and (11) of Theorem Vl.l) yields
(44)
But we have
(45)
and
(46)
Inserting (45) and (46) into (44) we obtain
(47)- 1 8Bn
(T ·ek 8H)
ov -R- +8xk
-{)H - + 1 (--+-IVHI2)
8Bn
1 {)H
R 8T
1
2
(v·ek)=O.
On the other hand, if we multiply (41) by 0°H and integrate on BR we are

Xk
led to
(48)
VII. "* coincides with THE canonical harmonic map 75
Comparing (47) and (48) yields
Since this is true for k = 1, 2 we find
(49)
But
(50)
aH
From (49), (50) and the mean-value theorem (recall that~ and -8 are
aH
v'XI X2
harmonic functions) we deduce that
VH{O) =0
which is the desired conclusion.
CHAPTER VIII
The configuration (a;) minimizes the

renormalized energy W
In Section 1.4 we have introduced the renormalized energy W = W (a, d, g)

for a general configuration of points (ai), 1 ::5: i $ n, with associated integers
d, E Z such that L:7= 1 d, = d. Throughout this chapter we consider only
configurations consisting of exactly d distinct points in G 1 each one
associated to di = +1.
VIII.l. The general case
The main result in this section is the following:
Theorem VIII.l. Let (a;) be as in Chapter VI, then the configuration
(a;) minimizes W.
The proof relies on the following two lemmas:

Lemma VIII. I. Let ii = (ii;) be any configuration of d distinct points in
G. Then there is some Po > 0 (depending only on a and G) such that, for
every p <Po and every e > 0, we have
(1) Ee( ue) ::5: d I(e, p) + W(a) + 1rd log(l/p) + O(p),

where O(p) stands for a quantity X such that IX I ::5: C p and C depends
only on G, ii and g.
Lemma VIII.2. Let a = (a;) be as in Chapter VI. Then, given any p

(sufficiently small, say p < p1 }, there is an integer N = N(p) such that,
for every n ~ N,
where O(p 2 ) stands for a quantity Y such that IYI ::5: Cp2 and C depends
only on G, a and g.
Recall that I(e,p) has been defined in Section III.l.
We postpone the proof of the lemmas and present the proof of the
theorem.

DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-66673-0_8
Proof of Theorem VIII. I. Fix p < min{J>o, Pt}· Combining (1) a.nd (2)
we obtain
(3) W(a) ~ W(ii) + O(p).
Letting p -4 0 we see that
W(a) ~ W(a)
and since a is an arbitrary configuration we conclude that a is a minimizing

configuration for W.
Proof of Lemma VIII.l. We apply Theorem 1.9 to the configuration a.
This yields, for every p < Po = T)r H
Iii; - iikl, dist(a;, 8G)}, some map
up from Op to S 1 such that up= g on 8G, up(z) = aj ~z- ii;: on8B(iij, p)

z-aj
with Ia; I = 1 and
(4) ! f 1Vupl2 = 1td log(1/p) + W(ii) + O{p).

2 Jnp
On the other hand, for each j, by definition of I(e,p) (see Section 111.1), we
{z- a·)
may find some Vj : B(a;, p) -4 C such that vj(z) =a; _3 I on 8B(a;, p)
Iz-a;
and
Set
fi.p in Op
{
w= v; inB(ii;,p}, j=1,2, ... ,d.
Combining (4) and (5) we see that
EE(w) = d I(c:, p) + W(ii) + 1td log(1/ p) + O(p)
and the desired conclusion follows.

Proof of Lemma VIII.2. Recall that uE,. converges in H1~c(G\ Uj{a;})
to u. (see Theorem VI.l) and therefore, for every fixed p, p < p 1 =
min;# Hlaj- akl, dist(aj,8G)},
(6) r IVuE,.I 2 -4~ lnpf 1Vu*l2 ·

~ lnp
78 VIII. The configuration (a;) minimizes
In particular, there is an integer N 1 = N1(p), such that, for every n;::: N1o
(7)
On the other hand, recall (see Theorems 1.8, VI.2 and Vll.l) that
(8)
Combining (7) and (8) we see that, for n 2::: N 1 (p), we have
We now turn to energy estimates on the balls B(aj,p). We claim that

given any p, p < p1, there is an integer N2 = N2(p) such that, for every
n2::N2,
Combining (9) and (10) we are led to the conclusion of Lemma VIII.2.
Therefore, it remains only to prove the Claim.
Proof of Claim (10). Recall (see Theorem VII.2) that near each a; we
have
{11)
where ei 8 = t- I
a; and H; is a real~ valued smooth harmonic function in
z-a;
a neighborhood of a1 , including aj, with
(12)
By Theorem Vl.l we know that, given any p < Pl, we may find some
integer N3 = Na(p) such that, for every n;::: N3, we have
(13)
and
(14)
Using the same theorem we may also 8SSume that, for n ;;::: N 3 , we have
(15)
From (11) and (12) we see that
2
(16) IVu*l :5- + O(p) in B(a;,p) \ B(a;,p/2).
p
Combining (15) and (16) we find, for every n ;:: N3,
1 - lue:,. 12 4 - .
(17) 2
Cn
:5 n2
lr
+C = K(p) m B(a;,p) \ B(a;,p/2)
where C denotes-here and throughout the rest of this section-a constant

independent of n and p.
Consider the map
defined for z E B(a;,p) \ B(a;,p/2). We summarize its main properties in

the following lemma:
Lemma VIII.3. There is an integer N4 = N4(p) such that, for every
n?: N4,
{19)
(20) 11 '\i"wn -Vue:" II Loo(B(aJ,p}\B(aJ,p/2)) -< c,)

and
Proof of Lemma VIII.3. We have, by (18),
lw n - I
u e:,. <
- lei(B+Hj(ai)) - u* I+ lu* - ue:.,. I·
Hence, we deduce {19) from (11), {12) and (13), for every n ~ N 3 . Differ-
entiating (18) we easily see that
IVw n
- Vu~;,. I < ~p !ei(8+H(ai))- u I+ !Vei(9+H(aj))- Vu I
- lln en •
Applying (11), (12), (13) and {14) we are led to (20) for every n ~ N3 .
The proof of (21) relies on the following variant of the parallelogram
identity
(22) Ita+ (1- t)bl 2 = tjal 2 + (1- t)lbl 2 - t(1- t)ja- bl 2
~ tlal 2 + (1- t)lbl 2 - ~Ia- W, Vt E [0, 1].
We apply (22) with a .

= et(B+HJ(ai)), b = u~;,. (z} and t = (2lz- a·l
p 3 - 1) ;
this yields, using (17},
We finally choose N4(p) ~ Na(p) such that
(24)
and then (21) follows from (23), (24), (ll), (12) and (13}.
We may now return to the proof of Claim (10).
Proof of Claim (10) completed. Set
(25) R = R(n,p) = y'1- K(p)e~.

We may always assume that n ~ N 4 (p} and p < 1 so that R is well defined.
Consider the map P = P(n, p) from C \ {0} into itself defined by:
if 1e1 ~ n,
if tel< R.
A standard computation shows that

if 1e1 ~ n,
(26)
if ]{I< R.
Consider the map Vn: B(a;,p)-+ C defined by
( ) = { Ut;,.(Z) if z E B(aj,p/2),
(27) z Pwn(z)
Vn if z E B(a1 ,p) \ B(ai,p/2).
On oB(aj,p) we have Wn(z) = ei(9+Hj(aj)) and thus

vn(z) = ei(8+H;(a;)),
It follows from the definition of l(cn.P) that
(28)
[Note that On oB(aj,p/2), Wn = Ut~., and thus Vn =Uti,. since

fue,.l ~ R by (17); hence Vn E H 1 (B{aj,p))].
From (27) and (28) we deduce that
(29)
where U = U(n, p) and V = V(n, p) are defined by
(30)
and
(31)
We first estimate V. Since fwn I $ 1 (because Wn is a convex combination

of Uc,. and ei(B+H;(aJ))) we have R $ lvnl $ 1 and therefore
(fvnl 2 - 1)2 $ (1 - R 2 ) 2 = K 2 (p)e!.

It follows from (17) and (24) that
(32)
We now estimate U. We have, in B(a1, p) \ B(a1 , p/2),

82 VIII. The configuration ( aj) minimizes
by (26) and (21). From (33) and (20) we deduce that
(34) /Vvn/ 2 ~ (l- ~p") (IVu~"f + 2CpiVu£,.1 + C 2 p2 ).

Hence
On the other hand, it follows from (11) and (12) that
c
{36) 11Vu*IIL 00 (B(ai,p)\B(a;,p/2)) ~ p·
Combining (36) with (14) we are led to
c
(37) IIVu!,. IIL 00 (B(a;,p)\B(a;,p/2)) ~ p"
Going back to (35) we obtain
(38)
The desired estimate (10), with N2(p) = N4(p), follows from (29}, {32) and
(38).
VIII.2. The vanishing gradient property and its various forms

Let u* be as in Chapter VI. Recall (see Theorem VII.4) that near each
singularity a; we may write
where Hi is a hannonic function in some neighborhood of aj, satisfying
(39) VHi(ai) = 0, Vj.
We shall now prove that the vanishing gradient property (39) ma.y also
be derived as a. consequence of the fact that the configuration a = (a;)
minimizes the renormalized energy W (see Theorem VIII.l). Indeed, (39)
is exactly equivalent, a.s we are going to see, to the assertion that a = (ai)
is a critica.l point of W, i.e.,
(40) V'W(a) = 0.
2. The vanishing gradient property 83
We need some preliminary results. Recall that, given any configuration

b = (bt,~, ... ,bn) with associated integers (dt,d2, ... ,dn) in Z, we have
introduced in Section 1.3 the solution «<>o of the problem
.64Jo = Ej= 1 2nd;ob; in G,

{41) {
Mo onf:JG
Oll = g X g,.
and the corresponding canonical harmonic map uo satisfying
inn= G \ U;{b;},
(42)
inn.
Moreover (see Corollary 1.2) we have, near each b;,
(43) tto(z) =( z- b·3 )d; .

e•H.;(:r}
lz- b;l
where H; is a smooth harmonic function in some neighborhood of b;.
Theorem VIII.2. Set
(44) S;(x) = cJJo(x)- d; log lx- b;l.
so that S; is a smooth harmonic function near b;. Then S; and H; are

harmonic conjugates, i.e.,
(45)
Proof. For simplicity we take b; = 0, and rewriting (43) using polar

coordinates we have
i.e.,
uo = (cos(H; + diO), sin(H; + d;O)).
Hence we find
(46)
Combining (42), (44) and (46) we obtain
&H·
-
ae
3 +d;- =
&S·
- -3 -d;-loglxl
a
{ &xl axl &x2 8x2
(47)
&H· 88 88· &
-8 3 + d;~ = !:>._
3 + d;~ log lx!.
X2 uX2 U",f;J uXt
Finally, we note that the functions () and log lxl are harmonic conjugates,
i.e.,
(48)
and thus we deduce {45) from (47) and (48).
Recall that the renormalized energy W(b) was defined in Theorem 1.7
where we found
n
-1r L: ~ Ro(b,)
i=l
and
n
{50) ~(x) = cl»o(x)- L ~log jx- b,j.
i=l
In the next result we present a simple formula for computing the differential
of W considered as a function of b = (bt.~ •... ,bn) E G".
Theorem VIII.3. We have
(51) DW(b) =
- 21r [ dt ( :~: (bt), :~~ (bt)) 1 .. • 1 dn ( ~!: {bn), ~!: (bn))] =
21r [d1 (- ~::(bt) 1 ~::(b1)) , ... ,dn (- ~~;(bn), ~~~(bn))].

Before proving Theorem VIII.3 we deduce a simple consequence:
Corollary VIII.l. The property that b = (b1, ~ •... , bn) is a critical point
of W has several equivalent forms:
{52) VS;(b;) = 0 'Vj
or
{53} VH;(b;) =0 'Vj
or
(54)
~ (b·- b-)
V.Ro(b;)+ L- d'lb~
i-#j
-b·i2
=0 'Vj.
J I
Note that the last condition comes from the fact (see (44) and (50)) that,
for each j,
(55) Ro(x) = S;(x)- L di log lx- bil

#i
and thus
V.Ro(x} = VSj{x)- " ' (x- b1}
L- d.; I _ b·l 2
#j X 1
Proof of Theorem VIII.3. For the convenience of the reader we first

describe the proof in the case n = d = 1, which is particularly simple. It is
useful to introduce more precise notations. Given y E G let ~(x,y} be the
solution of
a~ = 21r 6y in G,
a~
()v = g X 9-r on 8Q
with the normalization condition
f ib(a, y)da = 0.
laa
Note that ~(x, y) is well defined for x -# y. By analogy with (50) we
introduce
(56) R(x, y) = ~(x, y)- log !x- y!,

so that R(x, y) is well defined, even for x = y, and it is smooth on G x G.
86 VIII. The configuration {a;) minimizes
Given two points b =F binG we have
21r tP(b, b) = L tP(:z:, b)AtP(x, b)
= f tP(a,b)(gxg.,.)da- fV'tP(x,b)V<t>(x,b)
JaG jG
= { ((u, b)- tP(a, b)) (g X g,. )da + 21r(b, b)
ji)G
and therefore
Using (56) we deduce from (57) that
(58) 21r(R(b,b)-R(b,b))= f (tP(a,b)-tP(a,b))(gxg.,.)du.

j8G
Differentiating (58) with respect to b {for fixed b) yields
(59) 211" ( R:£(b, b)- Ry(b, b)) = - LG tP (u, b)(g x g.,. )da.
11
Since R is smooth in G x G we may take b = b and thus we find
(60) 211' (Rx(b, b)- Ry(b, b)) = - JlJG tP 11 (u, b)(g X g.,. )da.
Recall that (see (49)) in our special case
W(b) =~ iG tP(u, b}(g x g.,. )cia- 1r R(b, b)
and thus
(61) DW(b) = ~ JlJG tP11 (a,b)(g x g,.)da -1rRx(b, b)- 1rRy(b, b).
DW(b) = -21l"Rz(b,b).
Since in this special case we have (see (44)),
S1(:z:) = ~(x,b) -log lx- bl = R(x, b)

it follows that
VS1(b) = R:,(b,b),
and therefore
DW(b) = -21rVS1(b),

We now turn to the general case. Since our purpose is to compute the
differential of W as a function of b1, ~ •... , bn we shall fix all the points
bi except one of them-say b;-which will vary and we will denote it b for
simplicity. Given y E G we denote by cl»{x, y) the solution of
a«~» = 21r I: €46,, + 21rdj6v in G,

i-Ii
M
av=gxg'T on&G
with the nonnalization condition
JOG ~(u, y)du = 0.

We also introduce
llf(x, y) = «<»(x, y)- L d, log lx- b, I

i-Ii
and
R(x, y) = 11t(x, y)- d; log lx- yl,
so that R(x, y) is well defined, even for x = y, and it is smooth on G x G.
Note that
in G,
on&G.
Given two points b =f b in G we have, as above,
and consequently
88 VIII. The configuration ( Uj) minimizes
Next, note that the function
- -
((x) = c)(x, b) - 4)(x, b) = R(x, b) - R(x, b)+ d; log lx _ bj
~-~
satisfies
inG,
(64)
onOG.
Multiplying (64) by :Ed.: log lx- bal and integrating yields

i-:f;j
Inserting (65) in (63) we obtain
(66) 21rd; ( R(b, b)- R(b, b))

= { ( c)(a, b)- c)(u, b)) (g x gT)- 27r L di {R(~. b)- R(bi. b)) .
lao i-:Fi
Differentiating (66) with respect to b (for fixed b) we find, taking b= b,
(67) 211"dj (Rz(b,b)- Ry(b,b))

=- { W11 (u, b)(g x 9T )do"+ 211" L daR,(bi, b).
lao ;-:~;
Finally, we recall that the renormalized energy has the form
W(b) = -211" L d•d; log lb,- bl- 1r L d~cdt.log lb1c- bt.l

i-:f;j lc#l.
k
lc#j,l.f<j
+~ w(a, b}(g x 9-r )du- 1r L: d;R(b,, b) - 1rd;R(b, b).

8G i-#j
Hence, we obtain
Using (67) we see that
S;(x) = ci>(x, b)- d; log lx- bl = R(x, b)+ L ~log lx- btl
i~j
and consequently
which yields {51).

Alternative proof of Theorem VIII.3.
This approach relies on the following representation of DW, involving
the Hopf differential w associated with the canonical harmonic map u 0 ,
w =
lJuol2 - l&uol2
l&xl ax2 -
.8uo au0
2' &xl . &x2 '
where uo is as above (see (42)).

Theorem VIII.4. Let B = ( (a., ,BI), ... , (an, .Bn)) E (R2 )n be a variation
of the configumtion b. Let u > 0 sufficiently small such that all the discs
B(b;, u) are disjoint, then
(69) DW(b)(B) = lm Ln !a 1
2w(z)(a; + i,B;) dz.
j=l 8B(I>;,a)
In other words, DW is given by the residues of w around the singularities

b;.
Before proving Theorem VIII.4, we show how to derive Theorem VIII.3
from this result. Using (43) it is easy to see that, near each b;,
2
( )
wz = ( - .tz-
-d;- + &H;
b;
- - - t.&H;)
&xl
--
ax2
Hence
and the conclusion of Theorem VIII.3 follows from (69).

Proof of Theorem VIII.4. For simplicity we will assume that we have

only one singularity b with corresponding degree +1. Since we are going to
vary the point b, it will be important to emphasize the dependence of the
canonical harmonic map on b, by denoting u 0 and w0 instead of u 0 and w.
Let " > 0 be such that B(b, 2t1) c G, and X E Cgo(G; [0, lJ) which
satisfies
x(z) = 1 in B(b,tT)
(70) {
x(z) = o in G \ B(b, 2t1).
Given B = (a:, {3) E R2 , we let
and we choose t E R sufficiently small to ensure that
(71) Ut : z ~--+ x + tX(z) = x + tBx(x)

is a diffeomorphism from G to G. We set
bt = b+tB
and
(72)
It follows from Corollary 1.2 that

· ()z-be
{73} u11,(x) = e•'f'•c :r: lz _btl in G,
and
(74) Ub(x) = eirp,(z) (z- b) in G,

lz-bl
where rp0 and tpb, are smooth harmonic functions in G, and z = Zt + iz2.
Thus, since by (70) and (71) Ut coincides with a translation on B(b,e1),
(72) implies that
. { B)z-b
'Ub t(x) = e"P•a :z:+t - - in B(b, a)
' lz-bl
and hence
(75)
!!. The vanishing gradient property 91
where St E C 00 (GiR) satisfies
supp(6.St) C B(b, 2o-) \ B(b, u)

(76) {
St =0 on&G.
Moreover it is straightforward, because of (72) and (75), that for any k E N,
(77)
and thus, for any k E N,
(78)
We now have to compute
(79)
Note that since
we have, letting x = Ut 1 (y),

(80) fVub, f2 (y) = IVvb,t l2 (x)
_ 2t { 1tJvb,t
OX}
f\x) ax1
8yl
(y) + I avb,t 12 (x) ax2 (y)
OX2 Om
+ tJvb,t.
8x1
avb,t(x) (&X1
&x2 8y2
+ 8X2) (y}} +o(t).
&yt
We set y = Ut(x) in (79), and we get, using the fact that dy =

(1 +tdivX + O(t2 )) dx,
2Wp(bt) = f 1Vvb,tl 2 (x)dx

la\B(b,p)
(81)
-
t (
Jc\B(b,p)
{(18vb,tl2 18vb,tl2)
&x1 - &x2
(&Xt &X2)
&x1 - &x2
+ 2 &vb,t Ovb,t (&X1 + &X2)} dx + o(t).
8x1 8x2 8x2 &x1
We claim that
(82) f 1Vvb,tl 2 dx = { fVubf 2 + O(t 2 ) + O(p},

jG\B(b,p) jG\B(b,p)
92 VIII. The configuration {a;) minimizes
and
(83)
We then deduce from {82) and (83) that
(84) Wp(bt) = Wp(b)- t1

G\B(b,p)
Re [wb &(Xt ~ iX2 )]
8z
dx
+ O(t2 ) + O(p).
Thus
(85)
and
We remark that if x tends to the characteristic fnnction of B(b, u) and if

n = (nt,n2) is the outward normal to 8B(b,u) we find
or
(87) DW(b}(B) = lm [ f
laB(b,u)
~wb(a + i,B} dz].
Thus, to complete the proof, it remains to establish (82) a.nd (83).
Proof of (82). From {75) we deduce
which implies
3. Construction of critical points 93
and
(89) { 2(ub X V'ub) · V'St = { 28tUb X o:b

JG\B(b,p) 18G uV
-r 2St Ub X o:b - r 2St div(ub X V'ub)
1
laB(b,p) ull jG\B(b,p)
Oub
= -2 StUb X -8 = O(p).
lJB(b,p) V
The last equality holds because ';;: is bounded on 8B(b,p) by (74) and
because of (76}. Moreover (78) implies
(90)
and {82} follows from (88), (89) and (90).

Proof of (83). This is an easy consequence of (75) and (77).
VIII.3. Construction of critical points of the renormalized energy

The above characterization of critical points of the renormalized en-
ergy leads to the following description of these critical points. Let b =
(bt , ... , bn) be a collection of n distinct points in G, and d = (dt, ... , dn) in
zn. Assume that for some boundary condition g on 8G, (b, d) is a critical
point of the renormalized energy. Consider Ub, the associated canonical
harmonic map from G \ {bt, ... , bn} into S1 , and set
Then Wb satisfies the following properties:

(P 1} Wb is holomorphic on G \ {bt, ... , bn}·
{P 2) There exist n positive integers e 1 , ••• ,en such that near each point
b; we may write
e~
WIJ(z) =- (z -Jb;)2 + A;(z),
where A; is smooth holomorphic in a neighborhood of bj (and here e; =
ld;l).
(P 3) The order of each zero of w, is even. This means that if w,(zo) = 0,
then
W&(z) = (z- zo) 2 11: F(z) near zo.
for some integer k and some nonvanishing F.

Note that property (P 3) is just a consequence of the fact that on
G \ {bl•· .. , bn} we may write locally
where /b is real harmonic, and then
i.e., Wb is the (complex) square of some holomorphic function.

Thus we are led to define
1-l(b,e} = {w: G-+ C;w satisfies properties (P 1), (P 2) and (P 3)},
where e = {ell e2, ... , en} E Nn.

Conversely, we have
Theorem VIII.5. Assume that G is simply connected. Letw be in rt(b, e);
then there exist n integers d; in Z such that ld;l = e;, and there exists a
boundary condition g : 8G -+ S 1 , such that (b, d) is a critical point of the
renonnalized energy with boundary condition g.
Proof. Given some w in 1i(b, e), we shall construct some holomorphic
function f in G \ {blt ... , bn} that is meromorphic on G, such that /(z) 2 =
w(z) on G. We first have to check that this construction is possible locally.
Here, the only difficulties that occur are near the zeroes of w and near the
singularities of w. But note that condition (P 3) is precisely the necessary
and sufficient condition for constructing a holomorphic square root of w
near the zeroes of u.
Moreover near each singularity b;, we may write
(91)
and w is the product of ( z :; b;) 2

with a holomorphic function that does
not vanish near b;. Hence the square root of w exists at least locally.
Then the construction of a global square root f of w follows from the
fact that G is simply connected(/ is unique up to {1, -1}).
4. The case G ::::: Bt and g(6)=ei9 95
We now set
(92) F(z) = 1z
zo
f(()d(;
note that this function may be multivalued since near each singularity b;,
f has a pole
ie ·
f(z) = ± z -Jb· + R;.
J
Thus, the real part of F is defined up to 211' Z. Hence
(93) u(z) = ei Re(F(z))
is a single-valued map, that takes its values into 8 1 . Moreover, from the
fact that w is holomorphic, it follows that
(94) (.!!_-
8x1
i~) (Re(F)) =
8x2 8z
= J, {)F
and thus
( 8Re(F) _ i8R.e(F)) = w.
2
(95)
8x1 8x2
Since F is meromorphic, u is a harmonic map from G \ {bt, ... , bn} into
8 1 . From (95) we deduce that the Hopf differential of u is w. The degree
of u around each singularity b; is d; = ±e;.
In conclusion, if d = (d 1 , ... ,dn), (b,d) is, by construction, a critical
point of the renormalized energy with boundary condition u1 8 a .
Example VIII.l. Let
1 1 2(z- i)(z + i)
(96) w = - (z- 1)2 - (z + 1)2 =- (z2 - 1)2
Choose any simply connnected domain G that does not contain i and -i
(the zeroes of w). Then w belongs to 1t {(1, -1), (1, 1)). It is easy to verify
that the associated harmonic map u has two singularities of degree ±1: one
at the point 1, the other at the point -1, with opposite degrees.
VIII.4. The case G = B 1 and g(6) = e* 9

Throughout this Section we assume that G = Bt is the nnit disc and
that
{97) g(z) = z on 8G;
in other words g(9) = e*9 • Let Ue be a minimizer for
(98) Min { -1 f 1Vul 2 + A~ 2 f (lul 2 1)2 }

ueH~ 2 Ja ~ Ja
-
where H~ = {u E H (G; C); u = g on 8G}.

1
Our main result is

96 VIII. The configuration (aj) minimizes
Theorem VIII.6. We have
(99) uE(x)-- l:l = ei 9 in C~(G \ {0}) Vk;
The convergence also holds in C1~:(G \ {0}) Va: < 1.

Proof. From Theorems Vl.1 and VI.2 we know (since deg(g,&G) = +1)
that there is one point a E G and a subsequence such that
We first identify a. We claim that
(100} a=O.
Proof of (100). Recall that u. is the canonical harmonic map associated

to the singularity a (see Theorem VII.1). Thus, by Corollary 1.2 we know
that u. has the form
(101) u,.(z) = eirp(:) (z- a)

lz- al
where <p satisfies
inG
(102)
on &G.
and, by (101) and (97),
{103) eirpo(:) = z lz- al on &G.

(z- a)
Suppose by contradiction that a ::f. 0. Without loss of generality we may
assume that
{104) O<a<l.
Using polar coordinates in (103) we write
with 0 E [-11', +11'],
and
i'" (e) z(z- a) (1- a cosO)- aisinO
e ... o - -
- lz- al - (1- 2acos0 + a2)1/2 ·
~-----'-:.--------::-:-:-=
5. The case G = B1 and g(O) = ediB with d ~ 2 97
Thus
1- acos6
cos cpo(O) = (1- 2a cos 9 + a2)1/2 > 0 VO E [-71', +?r]
and
a sinO
sinrpo(O) =- (1- 2acos9 + a2)1/2 ·
It follows that
tpo(fJ) > 0 VO E ( -1r, 0),
{
( 105 ) cp0 {8) < 0 VB E {0, +1r).
We solve {102) explicitly using Poisson's formula (see e.g., F. Treves [1])
and we find, in polar coordinates,
0) - (1 - r2) 1+11" tpo(u) dn
cp(r, - 21!" -1r l-2rcos(O-u)+r2 •
In particular, we deduce that
otp (r O) = _ r(1- r 2) 1+.,.. cp 0 (u) sin{O- u)dn
{}(J ' 1r _.,.. (1 - 2r cos(O- u) + r 2 ) 2
and thus
ocp (a 0) = a(1- a 1+11" 2) rpo(u) sinu dn .
{}(J ' 1r _.,.. (1- 2acosu + a 2 ) 2
In view of (105) we see that
rp0 (u)sinu<0 'rluE (-1r,+1r),u#O.
and therefore
{)cp
(106) {)(}(a, 0) < 0.
On the other hand we know, by Theorem VII.4 (see also Section VIII.2)
that
Vcp(a) =0
This contradicts (106) and hence (100) is proved.
Proof of Theorem VIII.6. Going back to (103) with a= 0 we see that
tpo = 0 on {)G and thus cp = 0 on G. It follows from (101) that
z
u*(z) = j;T in G \ {0}.
So far, we have only proved the convergence of a subsequence u~,. to u*.

The convergence of the full sequence u~ follows from the uniqueness of the
possible limit via a standard argument.
VJII.5. The case G = B 1 and g(O) = ediB with d~2

We start with a simple observation about a general domain G and a
general boundary condition g : 8G -+ 8 1 •
98 VIII. The configumtion (a;) minimizes
Theorem VIII. 7. Assume

1
(107) e>--
- VXi
where At is the first eigenvalue of -A on G with zero Dirichlet condition.
Then there is a unique minimizer for problem {98).
Proof. We write the Ginzburg-Landau energy Ef: as
Ee(u) = ~ L (JVuj 2 - :2 juj 2 ) +4 !k

2 !
Juj 4 + 4 2 JGJ.
Recall that the function
1
is convex and therefore Ee is strictly convex for e ;::: JX!' In fact, a
monotonicity argument shows that the corresponding Euler equation
in G
on 8G
has a unique solution when (107) holds.

However, if e is small, problem (98) need not have a unique minimizer.
Here is a simple example:
Theorem VIII.8. Assume G = B 1 and
(108) g(O) = edi8 with d;::: 2.
For e > 0 sufficiently small there are infinitely many distinct minimizers
for problem {98}.
Proof. First we observe that there is an 8 1 -group action on the minimizers
of (98). For every a E R and every function u(z) set
Note that
E€(Rc.u) = E€(u) 'Va., 'Vu, 'Vc.
and if g = u1aa satisfies (108) then
on&G.
5. The case G = B1 and g(O) = ediO with d ~ 2 99
In order to show that problem (98) has infinitely many distinct minimizers
it suffices to find some minimizer that is not invariant under this group
action.
We argue by contradiction and assume that there is a sequence en --+ 0
such that every minimizer of E~n is invariant under Ra. By Theorem VI.l
we may assume (for a further subsequence) that Ue,. --+ u*. Hence u* is
also invariant under Ro. Recall that u* has precisely d singularities; since
d ~ 2, one of the singularities is not at the origin. This contradicts the
invariance of u* under Ra.
CHAPTER IX
Some additional properties of tte
IX.l. The zeroes of u£

The main result of this section is:
Theorem IX.l. Let G be a starshaped domain and let d = deg(g, &G) > 0.
Then, for every c < co (co depending only on g and G), u£ has exactly d
zeroes in G and each one is of degree +1.
The main ingredient in the proof of Theorem IX.l is the following result,
which is a particular case of a theorem due to P. Bauman, N. Carlson and
D. Phillips [1].
Theorem IX.2. Let G = B., and let g(O) = r(O)ei<Po(O), with <po increasing
from [0, 21r] onto [0, 21r] and r(O) > 0. Then, for every c there is a unique
zero of any minimizer u£ of EE on H~.
Proof of Theorem IX.l. We argue by contradiction; we assume that
there is a sequence u£n with en - 0, such that, for every n, u£" does not
have d zeroes of degree +1. By passing to a subsequence we may assume
that
(1) u.n- u* in cl~c (a\ ':/{aj} ).

(see Theorem VI. I). Recall that there are exactly d points in the collection
(aj) (see Theorem VI.2) and that in addition
(2)
where Hj is a harmonic function in some neighborhood of ai. We fix p > 0

sufficiently small so that
(3) 'r/j.
Thus, we may write
(4)

DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-66673-0_9
2. The limit of {Ee( ~)-7r djlogel} as e-+ 0 101
with
cpj(fJ} = (} + Hj(aj + peiU ).
Hence
1
dcp· >-
_)
(5) d(} - 2"
Using (1) we may write for n sufficiently large
(6)
with rn(O) > 0.

Moreover
rn(O)-+ 1 in C(!O, 211"])

(7) {
Cf'j,n{O)-+ 'Pi(9) in C 1 ([0, 21r)).
Combining (5) and (7) we may assume that, for n sufficiently large,
dcpj,n > ~
(8)
dO - 4"
Applying Theorem IX.2 we deduce that U~:n has exactly one zero of degree
+1 in each disc Bp(aj). On the other hand we also know from {1) that, for
n sufficiently large,
Thus U~:n has exactly d zeroes of degree +1. Contradiction.
IX.2. The limit of {EE(ul!") -1rdllog el} as e-+ 0

Theorem IX.3. Assume G is starshaped, then
(9)
where -y is some universal constant.

Before proving Theorem IX.3 we derive an easy consequence of Theorem
V.3:
102 Some additional properties of ~
Lemma IX.l. Assume G = B1 and g(O) = eie. Then,
(10} 'Y = t:->0

lim {EE(ue:)- 1rllog e:l} exists and is finite.
Proof of Lemma IX.l. Recall that
Ee:(uor) = J(e:)
and that t ~---+ I (t) + 1r log t is nondecreasing (see Lemma 111.1). Hence
lim { I(e:)- 1rpog e:l} exists in [-oo, +oo}.

!!i-0
By Theorem V .3 we know that this limit is finite.
Proof of Theorem IX.3. We shall use the estimates of Lemma VIII. I and
Lemma VIII.2 in conjunction with Lemma IX.l. First, by Lemma VIII.l,
we know that there is some Po such that for every p < Po and every e: > 0,
we have
Hence
lim sup { E 10 (u10 ) - 1rdllog e:l} ~ d"f +Min W + O(p).

e-o ~
Since this is true for any p < Po we have
(12)
We now claim that
(13) lim in£ { E,.(ue:)- 1rdllog el} ~ d1 +Min W

e:-+0 Gd
We argue by contradiction; suppose that
liminf { Ee:(ue)- 1rdllog e:l} < d'Y +Min W.

!!i-+0 Gd
Hence, there is a sequence en --+ 0 such that
(14) lim { Ee .. (ue: .. )- 1rdllog en I}= i < d1 +Min W.

n-+oo Gd
103
By passing to a subsequence we may assume that
as in Theorem VI.l. We are now in a position to apply Lemma VIII.2. It

says that given any p(< p 1 }, there exists an integer N(p) such that for any
n ~ N(p),
(15) Ee,.{Ue:,.) + 1rd log En~ d [1 ( 10; ) + 1rlog ( E;)] + ~~n W
+0(p2).
Hence
Since this is true for any p, we have a contradiction with (14).
IX.3. fc 1VIuell 2 remains bounded as 1::--+ 0

Theorem IX.4. Assume G is starshaped, then
(16)
Proof. We return to the proof of Theorem V.2. Instead of (V.B) we have,

in fact, a better estimate:
As in the proof of Theorem V.l we deduce with the help of (V.7) that
(18)
On the other hand we have
(19)
since IIVueiiL"" ~ Cfe:..

(20)
104 Some additional properties of u.:
The desired conclusion follows from (20) and Theorem V.l.
IX.4. The bad discs revisited

In Chapter IV we have constructed a family of (modified) bad discs
B(x;., .Xe)ieJ with x;. = xf" and J independent of e, card J = N 1 , such that
(21) Vx E G \ UB(x;., .Xc),

iEJ
(22) lx-- x·l

1 3 >- 8-Xc Vi, j E J, i # j,
(23)
(24)
Recall that
ViE J
and that the collection of distinct points in (l;.);.eJ coincides with { a 1 , a 2 , ..• , ad}·
We have introduced, for every j = 1, 2, ... , d,
Aj = {i E J; xf - a;}
and we have proved that, for every j,
{25) Kj = deg(uen,8B(a;,7J/2)) = deg(u*,8B(a;,7J/2))

= L: d;. = +1.
iEA;
Theorem IX.5. We have
d;.E{O,+l} ViE J.
Moreover, for every j = 1, 2, ... , d, there is exactly one i E A; such that

di = +1.
Proof. From (25) we see that, for every j, there is at least one index i E A;
such that d;. :j: 0. In particular, ue.. has at least one zero near each a;.
We have to show that, for every j, there is precisely one i E A; such that
d;. :j: 0. Suppose, by contradiction, that for some j, there are two indices
it, i2 E A; such that dit :/: 0 and d;. 2 # 0. Then Ue" would have a zero both
in B(x;. 1 , >.en) and in B(x;. 2 , A£n). Hence, Ue,. would have at least (d + 1)
zeroes in G and this is impossible by Theorem IX.l.
4. The bad discs revisited 105
Theorem IX.6. For every j = 1, 2, ... , d, we have
limsup
lx.e:"- xt:"l < oo
{26) k t
n--->oo en
Proof. We argue by contradiction. Assume that, for some j, there exist
k E A; and lEA; such that (passing to a further subsequence)
(27) lim
lxe-"
k
-x.e:"l
t = +oo.
n-oo C:n
lxk,n - Xt,nl
Pn = en
•
Vk,n(Y) = Uen (xk,n + C:ny),
Vt,n(Y) = Ue,.(Xt,n + C:ny).
These functions are defined for y E B(O, Pn/3) and they satisfy
(28) -~v = v{1 - lvl 2 ) in B(O, Pn/3).
Since B(xk,n, enPn/3) n B(xt,n,C:nPn/3} = 0 we have, by Theorem VII.2,
Changing variables we obtain
As n ___, oo we have
Both Vk and Vt satisfy
{31)
Applying a result of H. Brezis, F. Merle and T. Riviere [1] (see also Ap-
pendix III at the end of the book) we know that every solution of (31)
satisfies
(32) r (lvl
JR2
2 - 1) 2 = 27rq2 with q = 0, 1, 2, ... '00.
106 Some additional properties of Ue
Passing to the limit in (30) we find
(33)
Combining (32) and (33) we see that one of the integrals (at least)
va.nishes-say, for example, the integral corresponding to vk.
On the other hand, going back to (23) we have
(34)
Passing to the limit in {34) we are led to
Impossible.
Conclusion: In view of Theorems IX.5 and IX.6 we may still mod-

ify further the bad discs. The new family consists of exactly d discs
B(x:",aren), i = 1,2, ... ,d, for some fixed constant o: (depending only
on g and G), such that
deg(u£,.,8B(xf",o:en)) = +1 Vi, Vn
and
x~"---. ai Vi= 1, 2, ... ,d.
CHAPTER X
Non-minimizing solutions
of the Ginzburg-Landau equation
Throughout this chapter, we analyze the behavior as t-+ 0 of solutions v~

of the Ginzburg-Landau equation:
(1) -.6:v~ = t 12 v~(1 -lvt:l 2 ) in G,

(2) Vt:=g onoG.
Here v~ need not be a minimizer of Et:. We have not investigated the
existence of non-minimizing solutions. However, in some cases it is clear
that there exist solutions of (1) and (2) that are definitely not minimizers.
For example, if G = B1 , g(O) = edi 9, with d ~ 2 there exists a solution of
(1)-(2) of the form
(3) vt:(r,O) = edie J~,d(r)
(see e.g., Appendix II). From the analysis of Section VIII.5 we know that
if e is sufficiently small, Vt: given by (3) is not a minimizer.
Also, here, we do not make any assumption about the degree of g. In
particular, the case where deg(g,oG) = 0 is of interest (see Open Problem
5 in Chapter XI).
Throughout this chapter we assume that G is starshaped. Our aim here
is to show that some of the results presented above for minimizers are
still valid. In particular, we will prove that Vt:,. converges to some limit
v. in Cfoc(G \ U{aj}), for a finite set of points aj. In contrast with the
previous situation, the singularities aj of v. need not have degree one (for
example, v~ given by (3) converges to v. = ediS which has exactly one
singularity of degree d). Set dj = deg(v.,a;). We will prove that v. is the
canonical harmonic map associated to (a;,dj), in the sense of Section 1.3.
The location of the singularities aj is still governed by the renormalized
energy W. More precisely, the configuration a= (a;) is a critical point of
W, but it need not be a minimizer of W.
X.l. Preliminary estimates; bad discs and good discs
In this section we present some of the arguments that have been devel-
oped for minimizers, but can still be carried over for general solutions of
the Ginzburg-Landau equation (1)-(2).

DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-66673-0_10
108 X. Non-minimizing solutions of the Ginzburg-Landau equation
Lemma X.l. Assume G is starshaped. Then there is a constant C de-

pending only on g and G such that any solution Ve of {1)-{2} satisfies
(4)
The proof is exactly the same as the proof of Theorem 111.2. Estimate (4)
plays a crucial role in our analysis. Therefore we assume throughout
the rest of this chapter that G is starshaped.
We also recall
Lemma X.2. Any solution Ve: of (1)-{2} satisfies
(5} in G,
(6) in G,
where C depends only on g and G.

Estimate (5) follows easily from the maximum principle, and (6) relies
for example on Lemma A.2 in the Appendix of F. Bethuel, H. Brezis and
F. Helein {2]. Combining Lemma X.l and Lenuna X.2, we see that Theorem
111.3 holds with ue: replaced by ve:. Therefore we may carry out the covering
argument of Section IV.l to assert
Lemma X.3. There exists an integer N depending only on G and g, and
a collection of points (x;:) = (xf) with i E J = Je: such that
(7)
(8)
(9) 21
c
l
B(z;,2.\ 0 e)nG
(1-lvel 2 )2 ?. Jl.o,
where N, .>.0 and Jl.o are positive constants {depending only on g and G}.
The bad discs B(x;:, >..0 c), with i E J may intersect. To avoid this un-
pleasant situation, we replace (as in Section IV.2) the bad discs B(xt:, .>.oc)
by slightly larger discs B(x;:, .>.e), with i E J' C J and.>.> >.o is a constant
depending on g and G, such that
109
We set
Wi = B(xi, A.e)
nl!: = a\ uiEJ' wi
Ge: = G \ UieK wi,
where
K = {i E J'; oGnwi =F 0}
and
L = J' \ K = {i E J'; Wi c G} .
Clearly, we have, by (6),
(10)
and by (6) a.nd (4)
(11)
X.2. Splitting IVv~rl
In Chapter I, we have related the study of S 1 -valued harmonic maps to

linear equations. We shall use here a somewhat similar device. Note that,
if we write locally, on the set where lve I > 0,
(12) with Pc = lvE I

then (1) transforms into the system:
(13)
{14)
Note, however, that we cannot write (12) globally since P~r vanishes at
some points; the corresponding '1/J~r need not be well defined as a single-
valued function. To overcome this difficulty we proceed as follows.
110 X. Non-minimizing solutions of the Ginzbury-Landau equation
Let «<tc be the solution of the linear problem
(15) div (;; V~c) = 0 in nl!',

(16) ~E = Const. = ci on 8wi, fori E L,
{17) tit!!'= 0 on8GI!',
(18) l p;1
Ow,
~c
--=2·m5i
fJv
fori E L,
where
(19)
We recall that
(20)
by {8), and hence (15) is elliptic and (19) is well defined. Therefore tit~~"
exists and is unique. Moreover, ~~~" is obtained by minimizing
in the class
V = {cp E H 1 (f!c;R); cp = 0 on 8Gc, and cp =Const. on each 8wi}.
Whenever there is no confusion, we shall drop the subscript e. On fl,vflvl

is a smooth S 1-valued map, and thus
(21)
Rewriting (21), we have
This yields
(22)
By analogy with the proof of Theorem 1.1, we set
Note that
(23) divD= 0 by (15) and {22)
and
(24) { D·v=O foriEL

J8w;
since
By Lemma 1.1 there is some function H defined in 0 such that
that is,
(25) V X Vz 1 + ~z2 = p2 Hz 1 ,
(26) V X Vz 2 - ~z 1 = p2 Hz 2•
We claim that
(27) inn.
Indeed
and on the other hand,
(28)
by (1).
By (25) and (26), we have
(29) lv x Vvl $ IV~I + IVHI inn.

Finally, we claim that

1
(30) IV'vi :5 IVPI + -lv
p
x Vvl.
Indeed if we write locally v = p ei1/> we easily see that
(31)
and that
(32) IV' vi :5 IVPI + pjV'?jJJ.
Combining (31) and (32) we are led to (30). Putting together (29) and (30)
we obtain
(33)
This estimate will play a crucial role. In what follows, we shall estimate
successively IVIfl.e!. ]V'H.el and jVp.!J in various norms.
X.3. Study of the associated linear problems

We start with some general facts about linear elliptic problems in diver-
gence form. Let G be a smooth, bounded and simply connected domain
in R 2 , and let Wi, for i = 1, ... , n be open, smooth and simply connected
u-w•.
n
subsets of G, with Wi c G and Wi nwj = 0 fori f:. j. Let n = G\
i=l
For i = 1, ... , n, let d, be n numbers in R, and set
n
d= I:tdtJ,
i=l
n
do= Ldt·
i=l
Let w be a function satisfying
(34) div(aV'w) =0 inS1
where a : n -+ R. is a positive function such that
(35)
for some constant 0 < a < 1.

3. Study of the associated linear problem~~ 113
Lemma X.4. Assume that w satisfies {94) and
(36) f a8w=O for i = 1, ... , n.

law, 8v
Then
(37) Supw- Inf w:::;

0 0
t
j=l
[supw- Inf
fJw; &I;
w] + Supw- Inf w.
8G 00
The proof is exactly the same as the proof of Lemma 1.4 (see also Lemma
1.3}, and we shall omit it.
In what follows we shall present some properties of the solution cp of the
equation
(38} div(aVI)) =0 in n,
(39) ci> = Const. = ci on 8wi' i = 1, 2, ... ' n
(40) cl>=O on8G
(41) f aM = 21rdi fori= 1,2, ... ,n,

law, 8 v
where a satisfies (35).
Lemma X.S. We have
(42) Sup lci>I :::;

n
M~ log
A~a ( l~Sn 1IGII
~
+ 1)
where A is some universal constant.
Proof. Recall the Trudinger's inequality (see e.g., D. Gilbarg and N. Trudinger
[IJ, Theorem 7.15): there exist two universal constants u1 and u 2 such that
(43) Lexp (ollll;~llz) 2:::; u2IGI VuE HJ(G).
We apply {43) with

inn,
in W 0 •
From (43) it follows that
and in particular, for each i,
{44)
On the other hand, if we multiply {38) by ~ and integrate over n we find
and thus
(45)
By the maximum principle,
Sup IIIII = M~ IC;I

n '
and the conclusion follows easily from (44) and (45).
Lemma X.6. Assume Ill satisfies {98)-{41). Then we have
(46) 1&w, 8 l/ I :5 411" d fori = 0, 1, .•• , n

8~
aj-
where 8wo = 8G.

Proof. By linearity we may always assume that each d; is zero except one
of them, say d 1 = 1 and di = 0 for j = 2, 3, ... , n.
We claim that
(47) for i = 0, 1, 2, ... , n.
Proof of ( 47) for i = 1. It is easy to see, as in the proof of Lemma II.2,

that
(48) {Jjp > 0

{)v -
and thus
J&wt
{ al~l
uv
= { a M8
lor-~t v
= 211".
Proof of (47) fori= 0. We also know (as in Lemma 11.2) that
(49) in 0
and therefore (since~= 0 on aG),
{50) M>O on 8G.

811-
Integrating (38) over n we have
{51) ka a: = l~~ a: = 2~.

Proof of (47) for i ~ 2. Choose for example i = 2 and let ( be the
solution of the linear problem
(52) div(aV()=O inn

(53) ( = Const. = c, on awi for i t 2
{54) (=0 on 8G
(55) (=h on 8w2
(56) 1 Ow,
a 0 (=0
011
for i =F 2 and i :,#: 0
where h : 8W<J ~ IR is a given function such that
(57) lhl :51

Clearly, problem (52)-(56) has a unique solution. Integrating {52) over n
we have
(58)
loa a:~= J&J2 a:~.
We denote by "! the solution of (52}-(56) corresponding to h + 1. By the =
maximum principle (as in the proof of Lemma 11.2) we easily see that
(59) 0:5"{:51 inO
and
(60) ,,, :5 ")' in n.

By (58) we also have
f afh- r af.J-y
loo 011 - }1Jw 2 8v ·
From (60) (and since ( = "! = 0 on 8G) we obtain
(61} Iav I-< - 8v
o( 8"{ on 8G.
Thus
{62}
From (38) and (52) we have
(63)
1
Note that
(64) 1
80
a -8~
8v ( = 21r((8wt) +
8w,
a -8~
8v h
1
and
(65) 1 80
a -88( ~
v
=
8w2
a -8&c ~(8w2).
v
Combining (62), (63), (64) and (65) we find
Ijaw a~: hi : ; 21rj((&wdl -1~(8w2)1 Jaw, a~.

2
Using (63), (64) and (65) with ( = 'Y we are led to

~(8W2) { a{}&,= 27r'Y(8w1).
lolA/2 v
Hence
(66) lJfJIAI, a~: hi::; 211' (I(( awl) I+ 1-r(&wt}l) ::; 411'
by (59) and (60). Since (66) holds for every h satisfying lhl $ 1 we obtain
f
JfJIAI2
a I v I$
aq,& 411'

Lemma X.7. Assume~ satisfies {38}-(41) and let 1 < p < 2. There is a
constant Cp depending only on p such that
{67} (fo1V~Ip) 1/p ::; Cp~ IGI(l/p)-(1/2).

The proof relies on the following:
Lemma X.S. Given a vector-field h = (ht, h2) in 0 with

h; E £9(fl),j = 1, 2 and q > 2, let ( E V be the unique solution of the
linear problem
(68) 'Vt.p E V
where
V = {v E H 1 (!1);v = 0 on 8G and v =Const. on each awi}·

Then
II(IIL-(0) ::; :q IGI(l/ 2)-(l/q) llhllq·
Proof of Lemma X. 7. Let q be the conjugate exponent of p. Multiplying
(38) by (and integrating we have
(69)
On the other hand, using (68) with t.p = 4) we see that
(70)
Applying Lemma X.8 we obtain
(71)
Since (71) holds for every h E Lq we deduce that

Proof of Lemma X.S. We follow the method of G. Stampacchia.jl]. Let
k > 0 and apply (68) with t.p = {(- k)+. This yields
(72)
Set
0( k) = {X E 0; ( > k}
From (72) we have
1/2
(73) aiJV((- k)+ I2~ ( f ihlz ) :c::; llhll 9 /l(k)(l/2)-(1/q)
Jn(k)
and consequently
(74)
Next, we use the Sobolev embedding wt· (G) c L (G) to deduce that
1 2
(75)
where S is some universal constant.

Hence
(76)
where
3 1
"'(=---.
2 q
Finally, we write
jj((- k)+jj 1 = - jk
r+oc (t- k) dp.(t) =H(k)
and we are led to the differential inequality
{77) H'(k) = -p.(k) ~- ( H~k)) lh

where
1
f3 = -a 8 llhll ·q
Integrating the differential inequality (77) we obtain
(78) H(k) =0
But
H{O) = IJ(+II 1 :c::; f31GI.., by (76).
Therefore
H(k) = 0 for k ;;::: {3 ('y ~ l} IGI"'-1 ,
4. The basic estimates 119
i.e.,
11<:+11
L
00 :5 .2...11hll
aS
'Y
q ('Y- 1)
IGI(l/2 )-(l/q)
which completes the proof of Lemma X.8.
X.4. The basic estimates: fa IV'v~l 2 ::; Cllog cl and fa IV'v~IP :5 Cp

forp<2
We now return to our main goal, namely to estimate IV'v!"l in various

norms, where V 6 satisfies the Ginzburg-Landau equation (1)-(2). Our main
result is the following:
Theorem X.l. Let Ve be a solution of (1}-(e). Then~ is a constant C
depending only on g and G such that
{79)
Moreover, given any 1 < p < 2, there is a constant CP depending only on

g, G and p such that
(80)
The proof of Theorem X. I relies on the following important observation:

In view of (6) we have
(81)
Hence, it suffices to estimate IV'v€1 in nE = G\ u

iEJ'
Wi where Wi =
B(xt. .>.c). Here we shall use the splitting of Section X.2, namely (33) of
that section:
inn£.
We will estimate each of the terms on the right-hand side of (33) separately.
Estimate for V' H£ :

Lemma X.9. There is a constant C independent of e (C depends only on
g and G) such that
(82)
Proof. Recall that He satisfies (see (27))
div(p~V'H£) = 0.
We claim that for i E L, we have
(83) Ia
8w;
p2
£
oH£-
av - 0.
For simplicity we now drop the subscript e. Recall (see (28)) that
Integrating this relation over Wi we obtain
f v x aav =O.
law, v
On the other hand, by (25} and {26) we have
av 2 aH
vx -
011
= p -
ov on Owi
(since : = 0 on Owi by (16)). This proves (83).

We may now invoke Lemma X.4 to assert that
(84) Sup H - Inf H

0 0
L [sup
~ iEL 8w,
H - Inf
8w;
n] + [Sup
IJ{;
H - lnJ
8G
n] .
For i E L, we have
Here we have used the fact that p ~ ! in 0 together with (25)-(26). Simi-
larly
(86)
By (10) and (11 ), we have
and
On the other hand, by Lemma X.6, we have
(87)
where 6i is given by (19), and also
(88)
Finally we claim that
(89) 'ViE L,
where C is independent of e. Indeed,
and hence
(90)
Combining all the above estimates and the fact that eard L $ card J $
N (independent of e) we obtain
(91) SupH -lnf H <C.

0 0 -
Set Ho =Info H. We multiply (27) by (H- H 0 ) and integrate over n.

We obtain
(92)
By (25) and (26) we have on &wi and on aG
Hence
(93)
by (10) and (11). Combining (91), (92) and {93) we are led to (82).
Estimates for V c)£ :

Lemma X.lO. There i3 a constant C depending only on g and G such
that
{94) kl\i'c)£1 2 ~ C(llog cl + 1).

Proof. By Lemma X.5 we have
(95)
where d = LiEL l6il and A is some universal constant. Note that, by (90),
we have
(96) d5,C
where Cis independent of e. On the other hand,
and therefore
(97)

Next we multiply (15) by c)£· We obtain
by (97).
Lemma X.tl. Given any 1 < p < 2, there is a constant Cp depending

only on g, G and p such that
(98)
Proof. Estimate (98) is a direct consequence of Lemma X.7 and (96).
Estimates for V Pe: :

Lemma X.12. There is a constant C depending only on g and G such
that
(99) LIVPe:l ~ 2 C(Jlog ~1 + 1).
Proof. Using (31) we rewrite (14) as
(100) -~p + p31 Iv x Vv 12 = e12 p(l- p2 ).
We multiply (100) by (p -1) and integrate over n:

f IVPl 2 = f
ln laa
ap (P- 1)-
8v
:E f ap (p- 1)
. law. 8v
L
•
k k
~e
+ (1 ~ p) lv x Vvj2 - e~ p(1 - p)2{1 + p)
~ foo IVvJ + sfnJv X Vvl 2

:5 C + 16 L(IVci»I +IV
2 HJ 2 ) by (10), (11) and (29).
The conclusion follows from Lemma X.9 and Lemma X.lO.

Lemma X.13. Given any 1 1 - ~l} for some /3 E (0, 1)
and
so that p = p on S. We multiply (100) by {1 - p) a.nd integrate over 0:
(102)
= f P (1 - P2)p - p) - 2: f op {1 - p) + f op (t - p).
ln e iEL law, 8v lao 8v
Note that
so that (102) yields
(here we have used (10) a.nd (11)). As in the proof of Lemma X.12 we have
and hence
{103) Is IVPl 2 :S CefJ (I log el + 1)
where C depends only on g and G. On 0 \ S, we write
{104) L,s IV PIP :S (L IVPl2) p/2 IO \ Slt-(p/2)

:S C (Jlog el + l)P12 Jfl \ Sll-(P/2) by (99).
1
Since
-1
e2 G
(1- p) 2 :S c
we deduce that
{105)
Combining {103), (104) and (105) we obtain {101).

Proof of Theorem X.l. All the conclusions in the theorem follow from
(81), (33) a.nd Lemmas X.9, X.lO, X.ll, X.12 a.nd X.13.
125
X.5. Ve,. converges to v*

We may extract a subsequence en --+ 0 such that
(106)
(107)
We cannot exclude the possibility that some of the points (x~") converge
to the same limit. We denote by
with No~ Nt
the collection of distinct points in ii.

Using Theorem X.1, we may extract a further subsequence such that
(108) Ve-., --+ v* in W 1 •P(G) weakly, for 1 e and He are only defined in f'Ze. Therefore, we extend 41e
in G by setting
41e = ci in Wi, Vi E L,
41e = 0 in G \ Gl!.
We extend HI! by its harmonic extension in Wi if i E L, and by the solution
He of
t!J.He- =o in winG,
He= He on 8w;nG,
8v =0
8He on 8G nwi,
if i E K. We still denote by 4>1! and He the extended functions.

Clearly, by (17), we have
cJ:le=O on ac.
and by Lemma X.ll
(110)
Since B(x,,2Ac) n B(x;,2Ac) = 0 if i =I= j, the distances between Wi and

w; are larger than 2M, and therefore by the trace theorem together with
Lemma X.9, and the definition of HI! we see (as in Lemma 3 of H. Brezis,
F. Merle and T. Riviere fl]) that
'Vi E J',
where C depends only on g and G. Combining this inequality with (82) we

obtain
(111)
Since HE is defined up to a constant, we may impose the condition
(112)
In view of (110), (111) and (112} we may extract a further subsequence

En -+ 0 such that
{113) (}En -+ (}* Weakly in W 1•P, 1 < P < 2,
(114)
{115) Ia H. =0.
Since Pe -t 1, we may pass to the limit in (15} and (27), so that
(116) L\~* =0 in G \ U{~},

127
{117)
Since H belongs to H 1 (G), (117) yields
(118} ll.H. = 0 in G.
Therefore,~. is smoothinG\ U{ai} and H. is smooth in G. On the

other hand, passing to the limit in (25) and (26) we obtain
(119)
(120)
Hence
{121)
Moreover we deduce from (109) that "'* is a harmonic .5'1-valued map in

G \ U{ai}, i.e.,
(122)
Theorem X.2. We have, for any compact subset K of G \ U{ai},
(123) v~ .. -+ v. in Clc(K) "'k E N
1 -lve
(124) 2 ..
12
-+IVv.l 2 L
in C'"(K) as n-+ +oo.
en
Proof. The proof is divided into three steps.
Step 1: We have, for any compact subset K o£ G \ U{ai},
(125)
(126)
and
(127) Pe.. -+ 1 strongly in H 1 (K).

Proof. Let ( be a smooth function compactly supported in

G \ U{ai} such that
(;:::::: 1 on K.
For n sufficiently large, the support of (is inn~" and therefore we may
multiply (15) by ( (~~ .. - ci-*) and integrate on G. We obtain
From (110) and the Sobolev embedding theorem we deduce that
and hence
(130) n-+ +oo.
Since <PEn converges weakly to ~* in W 1·P and since p~-+ 1, we obtain
Hence, combining {128), (130) and (131) we have
Since PE.. ::; 1 it follows that
By a standard lower-semicontinuity argument we deduce that
Similarly, using equation (27), we derive that

5. Vt:,. converyes to v* 129
We now prove (126). Indeed we have
{133} LP~ . (IV(He.. - H.)l 2 = LP~. (IVHE,.I 2
.
-2 LP~ (VHt: .. VH. + LP~. (IVH.I 2 •
Note that
(134)
and
(135) LP~ . (IVH.I 2 _. L (IVH.I 2 .
Combining {132), (133), (134) and (135) we obtain {126).

We now turn to (127). Multiplying (14) by ((1- Pe:) and using {31) we
obtain
Since Pe---+ 1 in W 1•P, we are led (applying (29)) to
Using (125), (126), the fact that Pe _. 1 a.e. and Lebesgue's dominated
convergence theorem, we see that the right-hand side of (137) tends to zero
as n ---+ +oo. Hence
L (IVPe.,.l 2 _. 0 as n _. +oo.
which yields (127).
Step 2: For any compact subset K of G \ U{ai} we have
(138)
Proof. Using Step 1, (25)-{26) and (119)-(120) we have
(139)
On K we may write locally
{140)
so that
Hence by {139) and (127) we obtain
(141)
and (138) follows from (140), (141) and (127).
Step 3: Proof of (123} and (124)

They are direct consequences of (138) and the methods developed in
F. Bethuel, H. Brezis and F. Helein 12].
Theorem X.3. We have for any compact subset K of G \ U{ ai}
{142)
(143)
Proof. Let Xo E ac \ U{ai} and let R > 0 be such that
B(xo, 2R) n (U{ai}) = 0.

We are going to prove that
{144)
Let ( be a smooth function in JR 2 such that
{145) ( =1 in B(xo,R)
(146) ( =0 in JR 2 \ B(xo, 2R).
Multiplying (15) by (.P 10n and (116) by (.P* we obtain (using the fact that
.PE,. = .P* = 0 on 8G n B(xo, 2R)) as in Step 1 of the proof of Theorem X.2
5. tip;,. converges to v. 131
and hence
{147) <be-,. --+ ~* in H 1 (B(xo, R) nG).
For H~.. recall that
lJHe:., 8ve:,.
--=ve: x - - on aG~
8v " &v
and hence, by {4),
(148) { 18Hp;l2 ~C.

} 8a ov
Multiplying (27) by ((He:- H.) and integrating, we obtain, after compu-
tations similar to those in Step 1 of the proof of Theorem X.2
(149)
+ o(1).
Since He:,. --+ H* weakly in H 1 (G), He:,. --+ H. weakly in H 112 (8G) and
therefore by the Sobolev embedding
(150)
Combining (148) and {150), we have
llaa (0::.. (He:,.- H.)j--+ 0 as n--+ +oo.

Hence, we obtain
(151)
Arguing as in Step 1 of the proof of Theorem X.2, we deduce from (151)

that
(152) V He,. --+ V H. strongly in £ 2 (B(x 0 , R) n G).
Similarly, arguing as in Step 1 (using the fact that Pe:- 1 = 0 on &G), we

may prove that
{153)
Combining (147), (152) and (153) we prove (144) as in Step 3 of the proof
of Theorem X.2. Finally (142) and (143) follow from boundary estimate
techniques developed in F. Bethuel, H. Brezis and F. Helein [2J.
Remark X.l. We emphasize that Theorems X.l, X.2 and X.3 are proved
under the assumption that G is starshaped. We do not know whether
the conclusion still holds for a general simply connected domain. Note,
however, that the conclusion may fail when 0 is not simply connected.
Here is a simple example. Take G = B 2 \ n where 0 is simply connected
but not convex and f2 c Bt. Let
9 ={ +1 on 8B2
-1 on an.
Let vE be a real-valued solution of
-Av~ = e12 vl!:(l - lv,d 2 ) in G,

v~ = g on aa
obtained by minimizing the Ginzburg-Landau energy E! in H:(G;R). One
can prove (using the same techniques as in R. Kohn and P. Sternberg [1])
that
Ve--+ V* = {
+1 in G \ conv 0
_
-1 in Int(conv 0\ 0)
where conv denotes the convex hull.
X.6. Properties of v.
We have already proved in Section X.5 that v* is a. smooth harmonic
map from G \ U{ai} into 8 1 • We are first going to show that all the points
{ai) lie in G and not on the boundary oG.
Theorem X.4. We have

(154) ai E G 'rfi = 1,2, ... ,No
and in particular v. is smooth near the boundary aa.
The proof relies on the following:

Lemma X.14. Let b1, ~ •... , bt be l points in G and let v be a smooth
harmonic map from G \ U{ bi} into 8 1 such that
(155) v E W 1·P(Q) for every p E (1, 2),
(156) v =g on {}G and g is smooth,
{157)
6. Properties of v* 133
Then v is smooth in some neighborhood of the boundary 8G.

Proof of Lemma X.14. Assume that one of the points (b1 ), say b1 , lies
on 00. We are going to prove that v is smooth in G n B(b11 R) for some
R. For simplicity take b1 = 0.
ChooseR> 0 so small that B(O, R) contains no other singularity other

than 0 and that G n B(O, R) is simply connected. In G n B(O, R) we may
write
(158)
where <pis a real-valued smooth harmonic function in Gn (B(O, R) \ {0}).

From (155) we deduce that o
where <po is some smooth real-valued function on 8GnB(O, R).
We ma.y assume that the tangent vector to ac at 0 is along the Xt-axiS and
we set
r+ = {x E 8GnB(O,R); Xt > 0}
r- = {x E 8GnB(O,R); Xt < 0}.
Choosing R still smaller if necessary we ma.y assume that r + and r _ are
connected. Combining (156), (158), (159) and the fact that vis smooth on
r + U r _ we deduce that there are two integers k+ and k._ such that, near
0,
<p = <po + 21Tk+

{160) {
<p = <po + 21fk_
We claim that
(161)
Proof of (161). From (157) we deduce that
(162)
kanB(O,R) I::1< 2
oo.
134 X. Non-minimizing solutions of the GinzbufY-Landau equation
Since cp is harmonic in G n B(O, R) it follows that ~~ makes sense as a

distribution on 8GnB(O,R) (see e.g., J. L. Lions and E. Magenes [1]). In
view of (162) and a celebrated result of L. Schwartz [1] we may write
~cp = h+ 2: CaDa6 in 'V' (8G n B(O, R))

1/ finite
where hE L 2 (8GnB(O,R)) and D denotes tangential derivation.

Since the fundamental solution for the Neumann problem has a logarithmic
behavior it follows that
cp = 2~ 2: caDo.log(lxl- 1 ) + 'Pl +a smooth function

where 'Pl satisfies
acp1 =0 in GnB(O,R),
Bcp 1 =h on 8GnB(O,R).
av
Using a Pohozaev-type identity one deduces that 'PI E H 1 (8G n B(O, R} ).
Combining this fact with (160) we see that Ca = 0, Va and that k+ = k_.
Proof of Lemma X.14 completed. By adding a constant to cpo and
using {161) we may now assume that
cp ='Po on 8GnB(O,R).
Since cp is harmonic in G n B(O, R) we deduce that cp is smooth in

G n B(O, R) and thus v is also smooth in G n B(O, R).
Proof of Theorem X.4. Recall (see {4)) that
(163)
laG
r Iav£OV.. 12 s c.
Passing to the limit in (163) with the help of Theorem X.3 we deduce that
All the conditions of Lemma X.14 are satisfied and we may thus assert that
v* is smooth in some neighborhood of the boundary aa.
6. Properties of v. 135
We now turn to the proof of (154}. Assume, by contradiction, that one

of the points (ai), say al belongs to aa. From the definition of the points
(ai) we see that given any r > 0, B(a1, r) contains at least one bad disc
B(x~n, 2Aen} for all n ~ N{r) and therefore
(164) 1 f (lvenl 2 -1) 2 ~Ito Vn ~ N(r).

E
2
JB(at,r)nG
On the other hand, if we multiply equation {1) by
2
:L:(x;- a 1 ) :v~ and integrate over D = B(a11 r) nG we find (as in (35) of
i=l x.
Chapter VII)
(165)
Passing to the limit in (165) and using (164) we are led to
(166) 7 s 2r( lcnas(a~or}

f ]Vv.] 2 +C) Vr < R
where C is independent of r.
Here we have used the fact that
combined with Theorem X.3 and the estimate (163). We are led to a
contradiction since r in {166) is arbitrarily small.
Theorem X.5. The map v. is the canonical harmonic map associated to
(a;,~), that is,
(167)
where tp is a smooth harmonic function in G.

Moreover the configuration (ai, ~) is critical for the renormalized energy
w.
In addition
{168)
in the sense of measures on G.
Proof. Since v* is in W 1·P( G), for 1 ~ p < 2 and satisfies (109), the analysis
of Chapter I shows that v* is the canonical harmonic map associated to the
singularities (ai, di), and thus (167) holds (see Corollary 1.2).
Next, we note that the results in Chapter VII can be carried over to our
situation, namely with u£,. replaced by v£ ... In particular, this yields (168)
and the fact that
(169) for i = 1, ... , No.
From Chapter VIII, we know that (169) is equivalent to the fact that
(ai, di) is critical for W.
CHAPTER XI
Open problems
Problem 1. Assume G is simply connected but not starshaped. Do the

conclusions of Theorems 0.1, 0.2, 0.3, 0.5 and 0.6 still remain valid?
[As we have emphasized in Section 111.3 our approach relies heavily on the
estimate fa(lu,d 2 -1) 2 :5 Ce2 which is proved by a Pohozaev-type argument
using the assumption that G is starshaped). 1
A related question (even for sta.rshaped domains} is the following:
Problem 2. Consider an energy of the form
Er:(u) = ~ L 1Vul 2 + 4 ! fa
2 (lul 2 - 1)2 w(x)
where w(x) is a given smooth functioninG such that w > 0 in G.

Do the conclusions of Theorems 0.1, 0.2, 0.3 and 0.5 still remain valid?
Problem 3. Assume G is connected but not simply connected-for exam-
ple, an annulus. What happens to the conclusions of Theorems 0.1, 0.2, 0.3
and 0.5?
(In physical experiments one often works in a 3-dimensional domain bounded
by two coaxial circular cylinders; its cross-section is an annulus.]
Problem 4. Let G = {(x11x2); (:z:t -1) 2 +x~ < R 2} with R < 1. Replace
equation (3) of the Introduction by
(1) -uz1z1 - _!_uz1 - Uz2 z2 = 12 u(l - lul 2 ) in G.

Xt e
Study the corresponding minimization problem and its limit as
e-+0.
[This comes up naturally when dealing with the cross-section of a 3-
dimensional solid torus having axial symmetry.]
Problem 5. Assume G is starshaped, for example a disc. Is it possible to
construct a boundary condition g and a sequence vr:,. of (non-minimizing)
1 After our work was completed a partial answer to Problem 1 was given by M. Struwe
[1), (2].

DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-66673-0_11
138 XI. Open Problems
solutions of the Ginzburg-Landau equation (3) in the Introduction such that

v~" ~ v* and v. has singularities both of positive and negative degrees? In
particular is it possible to construct g and vi!" .. -+ v. such that deg(g, &G) =
0 and v. has two singularities of degrees +1 and -1?
Problem 6. From Theorems 0.1 and 0.2 we know that Ue,. - u. having
singularities (a,) and that the configuration (ai) minimizes W. Conversely,
given a configuration (a,), which is a nondegenerate minimizer of W, is
there a sequence (ue,.} of minimizers for Ee,. such that Ue,. -+ u. having
(ai) as its singular set?
Similarly, given a configuration (ai, d,), which is a nondegenerate critical
point of W, is there a sequence Ve., of solutions of the Ginzburg-Landau
equation (3) in the Introduction such that Ve,. -+ v. having (a,, d,) as its
singular set?
Problem 7. Let Ue be a minimizer of Ef!. as in Theorem 0.1. Prove (or
disprove) that various quantities remain bounded as c-+ 0:
(ii} Be= jG(l-luel)o.juelalyr (ue/luel)

(iii) Ce = JG Idet(V'ue)l .
r
(i) Ae == JG(1 - luel)ajVud 2 , for any o: > 0 ,
for any o: > 0,
Problem 8. Study the weak solutions u E W 1•1 ( G; 8 1 ) of the equation
(2)
In particular, is u smooth except at a finite number of points? Or else,

what can be said about its singular set E?
[Note that if u is a smooth map from G into 8 1 then (2) holds if and only
if u is a harmonic map]. 2
Problem 9. For each real p E (1, 2) consider the minimization problem
(3)
Note that W.J·"( Gi S 1 ) :j: 0 even if deg(g, 8G) -::/:- 0. One knows (see B. Chen
and R. Hardt [1]) that every minimizer up of (3) has only a finite number
of singularities having degree +1 or -1. Does limp" . . . . 2 up., exist? Does it
2 After our work was completed, L. Almeida. [1), {2] has constructed a solution to (2)
everywhere discontinuous.
XI. Open Problems 139
have the same properties as u. =lim Uc., stated in Theorems 0.1, 0.2, 0.3,
0.4 and 0.5?3
Problem 10. Assume G = B 1 is the unit disc and let g(O) = e'8 on {}G.
Let Uc be a minimizer for Ec. Can one say that, for every e > 0, U~: has
the form
(4)
[We already know that {4) holds fore large; see Theorem VIII.7 in Section
VIII.5 .J
Same question if we assume only that U~: is a solution of the Ginzburg-
Landau equation {3) in the Introduction.
Problem 11. Assume G = B 1 and g(O) = e2i 8 • Let Uc be a minimizer for
{0.2). We know that for e large (see Section VIII.3) 'Ue has only one zero
(namely, x = 0) and fore small Ue has precisely two zeroes (see Section
IX.l). Is there some critical value e2 such that for e ~ £2, ue: has one
zero, and fore< e- 2 , Ue has two zeroes? Can one study this problem via a
bifurcation analysis? Same question for g(O) = ediB, with Ue having one
zero when e is large and d zeroes when e is small. What is the dividing
line ed? How does ed depend on at Is this phenomenon related to the
dividing line K. = 1/v"i between type II-superconductors (K. > 1/./2) and
type !-superconductors (K. < 1/...;2)?
Problem 12. Assume G = B1 and g(O) = ediJJ. We know that Ucn -+ u.
having exactly d singularities. Do the singularities of u. form a lattice
as d --+ +oo? Here, we may play with the two parameters: e --+ 0 and
d --+ +oo. We could first let d--+ +oo (for fixed e) and then let e --+ 0;
alternatively, we could let e--+ 0 and d--+ +oo simultaneously (with some
relation between e and d).
Problem 13. In the framework of Theorem 0.1, let Ue be_A minimizer for
Ee such that tte., --+ u •. Let Xn be a zero of Ue.,, i.e., ue.. (xn) = 0. Assume
Xn --+ a where a is a singularity of u.. Estimate the rate of convergence
lxn - al (as n--+ oo). Study the blow-up limit of ue,., i.e., set
and study the behavior of Vn as n --+ oo. This is related to our next problem:
3 After our work was completed, Problem 9 was answered positively by R. Hardt and
F. H. Lin (2)
140 XI. Open Problems
Problem 14. Study all solutions of the equations
(5)
having the property that
(6)
Note that for each integer d there exists a solution of {5)-(6} having the
form
ud(r, 0) = ediB !d(r).
Are they the only solutions of (5)-(6), modulo translation and rotation?
[Some results and further open problems concerning (5)-(6) are presented
in H. Brezis, F. Merle and T. Riviere [1]; see also R. M. Herve and M. Herve
[1] and I. Shafrir [I].J
Problem 15. Replace the energy Ee and the Dirichlet boundary condition
by the appropriate physical expressions arising in type II-superconductors
under an applied magnetic field H or in a bucket of superftuid rotated with
an angular velocity n. Study the asymptotics of minimizers as c -+ 0.
[Some results have been obtained in that direction for superconductors by
F. Bethuel and T. Riviere [1J.J
Problem 16. Study the minimization problem (2) of the Introduction in
the framework of DeGiorgi's r-convergence theory.
Problem 17. Asswne G c Rn, n ~ 3, is a smooth bounded domain and fix
a (smooth} boundary condition g : 8G - sn- 1 such that deg(g, 8G) =I 0.
Consider the "energy"
defined on the class of maps u E WJ•n(G;Rn). Study the minimization

problem
and the behavior of its minimizers Ue as e -+ 0. The main difficulty stems

from the fact that WJ•n( G; sn-l) = 0.
Problem 18 (DeGiorgi). Assume Ve is a solution of the Ginzburg-Landau
equation
XI. Open Problems 141
where G is, for example, a disc. We do not fix a boundary condition on

8G, but we assume instead that, as e--+ 0,
for some constants K1 and K2.

Can one conclude that
for some set {aj} of isolated points? Is card{U;{aj}) controlled by Kt?

The answer is not known even for minimizers.
Problem 19. In the framework of Theorem X. I can one prove that
[Recall (see Lemma X.12) that we have only established that
On the other hand, for minimizers we had the better estimate

JG 1VIu~ll 2 .$ C; see Theorem IX.4 .]
APPENDIX I
Summary of the basic convergence results

in the case where deg(g, 8G) = 0
We recall here, for the convenience of the reader, the main results of
F. Bethuel, H. Brezis and F. Helein (2].
Let S1 c R 2 be a smooth, bounded simply connected domain. Let

g: an -+ 8 be a smooth map, with
1
(1) deg(g,OO) = 0.
There is a smooth function !po : an -+ R such that
eir;:>o =g on an.
We also denote by lf'o its harmonic extension in 0, and we set
{2)
Theorem A.l. Let u. be a minimizer of E. in H;(n; C). We have, as

e-+ 0,
(3)
(4)
(5)
and, for every compact subset K c 0 and every integer k,
(6)

DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-66673-0
Appendix I 143
{7) Il l -l:e-12
e
-1Vuol211
Ck(K)
::; CK,k £2.
Next we consider the case where the boundary condition g also depends
on e. More precisely, we have a family of boundary conditions 9e : 00 -+ C
(not necessarily into 8 1 ), and we make the following assumptions
{8) IJge II Loo (00) $ 1'

(9) II9£11Hl(OO)::; c,
(10) foo (l9el- 1)2 $ Ce2,
(11) 9e -+ g uniformly on 00
and
{12} deg(g,OS1) =0
(note that, by {10) and (11), g takes its values into S 1 ).
Theorem A.2. Let ue- be a minimizer of Ee in H;Jn,C). Under the
assumptions {8}-{12}, we have
{13) ue--+ uo strongly in H 1 (0),

(14) Ue -+ Uo unifo?Tnly on 0,
(15) Ue -+ UO in G~c(O), 'Vk
{16) 1 -lue-1 2
-....!:2-=-- -+ IVuol2 m
. k
Gtoc(fl), 'Vk.
e
The next result is a combination of Theorems A.1 and A.2.

Theorem A.3. Let ue be a minimizer of Ee- in H:~(O,C). Assume {8)-
{12}. Let Xo E on and suppose that
9e = g on B(xo, 6) n 00,
for some 6 > 0. Then we also have
(17) Ue-+ uo in C 1 ' 0 ( B(xo, ~) n n).

[Strictly speaking, Theorem A.3 has not been proved in F. Bethuel,
H. Brezis and F. HcHein [2], but its proof is a direct consequence of the
methods developed there.]
144 Appendix I
Remark A.l. In all the above results we assume that u~ is a minimizer

of EE; this is used to establish that u~ - uo strongly in H 1 • Suppose now
that u£ is only a solution of the Ginzburg-Landau equation
{
-.6-UE ::= c12UE(1 -lu£1 2) in fl,
UE = gf: on on.
If, for some reason, we know that uE converges strongly to some limit u 0 in
H 1 , then all the conclusions of Theorems A.1, A.2 and A.3 remain valid.
Again, the proofs follow essentially the same arguments as in the proofs of
Theorems A.l, A.2 and A.3.
APPENDIX II
Radial solutions
In this appendix we discuss the existence of solutions of the Ginzburg-

Landau equation
(1)
satisfying the boundary condition
(2) v = g = edaB on oG.
The main result is

Theorem A.4. For every integer d ~ 1 there exists a solution of (1}-(2)
of the form
(3) v(r,9) = ediB J(r)
where J(r) = J~,d(r) is a function from (0, 1) into itself such that /(0} = 0.
Proof. Inserting (3) into (1) we are led to
(4) -I"- ! I'+ tP

r2
1 = _!_2 1(1 - P>
e
on (o, 1).
r
We must solve (4) together with the boundary conditions
(5) /(0) = 0 and f(l) = 1
(the first condition comes from the smoothness of v at 0 while the second
condition comes from (2)). The solutions of (4)-(5) arise as critical points
of the functional
The natural functional space associated to () is
V = { 1 e H.!..:(O, 1); .;r I' e L 2 {o, 1), }r 1 e L 2 (0, 1) and 1(1) = 1 }·

DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-66673-0
146 Appendix II
V c {J E C([O, 1]); f(O) = 0}

and
Clearly,
Min is achieved
v
and this yields a solution of (4)-(5). We may always assume that the
minimizer J ~ 0 (otherwise replace f by ffl). Similarly, we have f ~ 1;
otherwise replace J by min{!, 1} without increasing q,,
Remark A.2. The uniqueness of a solution of (4)-(5) is proved in
R. M. Herve and M. Herve [1). Alternatively one can also use-as was
pointed out by I. Shafrir-the method of H. Brezis and L. Oswald {1).
Namely, let h and h be two positive solutions of (4)-(5). Dividing (4) by
f and subtracting the corresponding equations we see that
(6)
Multiplying (6) by r(Jf - Ji.) and integrating over (0, 1) yields
1 (!f- ~:12)
1 2
rdr+ 1 (12- ~~~~)
1 2
rdr= -1 1
(fr-Ji) 2 rdr
and the uniqueness follows easily.

APPENDIX III
Quantization effects for the equation
- .dv = v (1 - jvj 2 } in lR2
We state here, for the convenience of the reader, the main quantization
result of H. Brezis, F. Merle and T. Riviere (1}.
Theorem A.5. Assume v : R.2 -+ C is a smooth function satisfying
(1)
Then,
(2)
for some integer d = 0, 1, 2, ... , oo.

Remark A.3. For every integer d there is a solution v of (1) satisfying
(2). In fact, one may find such a v of the form v(r,O) = f(r)edifJ. The
corresponding equation for /, i.e.,
(3) -I"-!!'+~
r r2
I= /{1- P> on (O,oCl)
has been studied in detail by R. M. Herve and M. Herve (1}. In particular,

they show that there is a unique f satisfying f(O) = 0 and /(oo) = 1. The
uniqueness bas also been proved in the Appendix of P. Fife and L. Peletier
[1}; still another method consists of using a slight modification of the tech-
nique described in Remark A.2.
Remark A.4. If v is a solution of (1) such that JR~(Ivl 2 - 1? < oo, one
can prove that lv(x)l -+ 1 as lxl -+ oo, in the usual sense. In particular,
d = deg(v, SR), where SR is a circle of radius R, is well defined for R
sufficiently large. One can show that d satisfies (2).

DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-66673-0
APPENDIX IV
The energy of maps on perforated domains
revisited
In this appendix we present another result of H. Brezis, F. Merle and

T. Riviere [1]. It provides a different perspective than in Chapter II to
the question of lower bounds for the energy of maps u : n - t C where
n is a domain with holes and lui ~ a > 0 in n. We have not used it
in the book, but it can be helpful in order to derive properties of Ue, a
minimizer of Ee. We will show, for example, how to prove easily that
fa IVueiP :$ Cp 'Vp < 2, as e - 0.
Let B R be the disc of radius R centered at 0. Let Pt. P2, ... , Pm be points
in B R such that
(1) Vj
and
(2) 'Vj, k, j 1= k,
so that, in particular, Ro :$ R/4.
Set
0 = BR \ UJ=lB(p;,Ro)
and let u be a (smooth) map from 0 into C.
We make the following assumptions:
(3) 0 < a :$ lui :$ 1 in n,

(4) ~ k(!uf2 -1}2 :$ K
for some constants a and K.

Assumption (3) implies that
d; = deg(u, 8B(p;,Ro})
is well defined and we consider the "reference map"

DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-66673-0
Appendix IV 149
Theorem A.6. Assume {1)-(4), then
(5) L1Vul2 ~ L1Vuol2 - Clldll2m2

where lldll = l:ld;l and Cis a constant depending only on a and K.
j
More precisely, if we set p = lui, then there is a well defined (singleval-

ued) junction t/J: n--+ IR such that
and we have
(6) k1Vul2~ kIVPl2+ L1Vuol2+ ~ kIV7/JI2- Clldll2 2, m
where C depends only on a and K.
For the convenience of the reader we describe the argument following

the presentation of H. Brezis, F. Merle and T. Riviere jl].
The proof relies on the following simple:
Lemma A.l. Given a function 1/J defined in B2Ro \ BRo, there is an ex~
tension t/J of¢ defined in B2Ro such that
(7) f IV¢1 2 :5 c f IV'7/JI 2

jB2Ro jB2Ro \BRo
where C is some universal constant.

Proof. By scaling we may always assume that Ro = 1 and by adding a
constant to t/J we may also assume that
Poincare's inequality implies that
We may then extend t/J inside Bt by a standard reflection and cut-off tech-
nique.
Proof of Theorem A.6. Set p =lui. We may write, locally inn (but
not globally in !1),
150 Appendix IV
and then
(8)
Similarly, we may write, locally in n,
with IVUol = IV'~Pol and
(9) V~Po(z) = :E d;Vj(z)

. lz-p;l
3
where V;(z) is the unit vector tangent to the circle ofradius lz-pil, centered
at p;,
y-p· x-p·
(10) V;(z) = (-1 z- Pi31' Iz- Pi31).
It is convenient to introduce the function 1/J globally defined on f2 by
(11)
Thus, we have
(12)
and consequently
with
We write X = X 1 + X 2 + X3 and we shall estimate each term separately.

Estimate of X1. We have
ld;l 1
(14)
jVuol $ ~ lz -p;l $lldll~ lz- P;l'
3 3
so that
Appendix IV 151
Hence, by Cauchy-Schwarz, {15) and {4) we obtain

(16) )Xt[ ~ Kl/211dll2m211'1/2.
Estimate of X2. We have, from (9),
(17)
and thus, by Ca.uchy-Schwarz and (17), we find
(18) IX2I ~ 2 fo {1 - p2)[V<po[IV'f/Jl ~ 2K112mlldlli!Vt/JII2·

Estimate of X 3 • We have
1n
V<po · Vt/J = E. d; loz-p;
Y;·V'¢
I I"
J
We extend .,P inside each disc B(p;, Ro) using Lemma A.l and we write, for
each j,
{19)
f Vj . v.,p I Vj . vtjj 2: f Vj . vtjj
Jo [z- Pil = lBs\B(p;,Ro) lz- P;l- k:f'j Js(p,.,Ro) [z- P;l"
Note that, for k :F j
{20) f Vj . v~ s _!_ f IV~I

ls(p,.,Ro) [z- P;l Ro Js(p,.,Ro)
and thus, by Cauchy-Schwarz and Lemma A.l,
(21)
for some universal constant C.

Finally we observe that
1s.. (P:~>
V; - 1s..
·V¢=
(p,;)
-81{; =0
aT
for every r E (0, R -lp;l). It follows that, with P; = R -IP;I, we have
Ils"\B(p;~,Ro)
r Vj . v~ I I r
[z- P;l
=
JBR\B(p;.P;)
Vj . v¢ $ _!_
[z- Pil
I r
P; lsR\B(p;,P;)
IV.,PI
~ .!_JIV:;jjii2('~~'R2 -11'pJ~)l/2.
P;
152 Appendix IV
Hence we obtain
(22) I r
}B11 \B(p3 ,R.J)
Vj · v"iii 1 ::;
lz- Pi!
cnv¢112·
Combining (19), (21), and {22) we are led to
(23)
Putting together (16), (18) and (23) we find
lXI ::; C K 112 1ldJI 2m 2 + lldllm IIV1/III2{2K112 +C)
::; ~a2JIV¢11~ + lldl~:m2 (4K +C).

Going back to (13} we obtain
lo
r1Vul ~ lorIVPI + Jnr1Vuol + a2 }rIV'I/11
2 2 2 2
0
2 - lldll 22m2 (4K +C)
a
where Cis some Wliversal constant. This is the desired conclusion (6}.
An application. We will show how to prove that if Ue is a minimizer of
Ee then
{24)
Of course we already know this fact even for non-minimizing solutions of

the Ginzburg-Landau equation. However the proof here is simpler and it
yields a. better estimate, namely
where II llw.L2 denotes the weak-£2 (i.e., Marcinkiewicz} nonn.

We use the notation of Chapter V and we apply Theorem A.6 with
BR = B(aj, 71} and Ro = Aen· Here the holes are B(x~ .. , Aen)ieAr In Oj
we write
(26)
where We., is the "reference map"

Appendiz IV 153
In view of Theorem A.6 we have
and by Corollary 11.1 we know that
(28) L.1Vwr:,.l2 ~ 27l'l~;lllog(fi/E:n)I-C.

1
Combining (27) and {28) with the upper bound of Theorem III.l we see
that
(29)
From (26) we infer that
(30)
Recall that
{31}
We easily deduce (24) and (25) from (29), (30) and (31).
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Index
Abrikosov lattice, xix radial solutions, 145

renormalized energy xiii, 16, 21, 76
bad disc, 49
basic estimates, 42 shrinking holes, 16
Brouwer degree, x 8 1-well, xx
superconductors, xvii
complex order parameter, xvii superfiuids, xvii
condensate wave function, xvii
covering argument, 48 vortex
lines, xviii
degree, xii vortices, xviii
director, xix cores of the, xviii
quantized, xviii
r -convergence, xxvi
Ginzburg-Landau vanishing gradient property, 82
coherence length, xvii
equation, xvi zeroes
nonminimizing solutions, 107 of any minimizer, xvi, 100
functional, ix
good disc, 48
harmonic conjugate, 13, 24, 83

harmonic map, x, xii
canonical, xiv, 10, 65
holomorphic function, 13
Hopf differential, 66
lattice, 139
liquid crystals, xix
singularities
location of the, xii
prescribed isolated, 10
mixed states, xix
penalization, xi
perforated domains, 31, 148
phase transition, xvii
Poincare's lemma, 4
quantization effects, 147

DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-66673-0

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Modern Birkhäuser Classics

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VI. ut:,. converges: u* is born!

IX. Some additional properties of Ue

XI. Open problems 137

Appendix I. Summary of the basic convergence re-

Appendix II. Radial solutions 145

Appendix III. Quantization effects for the equation

Appendix IV. The energy of maps on perforated do-

We are grateful to E. DeGiorgi, H. Matano, L. Nirenberg and L. Peletier for very

(1) Ee(u} = ~ L/Vu/ 2 + ~ 2 L(lu/ 2 - 1)2

which is defined for maps u E H 1 (G;C} also identified with H 1 (G;R2 ).

is achieved by some Ue that is smooth and sa.tisfies the Euler equation

(3) { -Llue = : 2 ue(1 -lue/ 2 ) in G,

(4) L(/uel 2 -1) 2 ~ Ge2 /loge/

The original questions of H. Matano were:

(5) d = deg(g, 8G)

Moreover (see e.g., Lemma. 1 in F. Bethuel, H. Brezis and F. Helein [2})

where l{)o is a. harmonic function (unique mod 21rZ) such that

(7) LIVu~ 12 remains bounded as e -+ 0.

A minimizer exists and is smooth up to 8G,e.g., by a result of C. Mor-

Therefore, we are led very naturally to

Here, in contrast with the previous case,

(10) L1Vu~l 2 --+ +oo, as E --+ 0,

u.(x) =lim Ue:,. (x) exists for a.e. x E G

Going back to a minimizer u~ of the original functional Ee, our main

Theorem 0.1. Assume G is starshaped. Then there is a subsequence

This theorem answers, in particular, Question 1 above. In this theorem

for any given configuration b = (b 1 ,~, . .• ,bd) of distinct points in G, the

(12) W(b) = -1T L log lbi -

where ~ is the solution of the linear Neumann problem

(v is the outward normal to 8G and r is a unit tangent vector to 8G such

Note that R E C(G), so that R(bi) makes sense.

The expression W comes up naturally in the following computation.

and that (see Theorem 1.7) the following expansion holds:

(15) ~ f IV'upl 2 = 11" djlog pj + W(b) + O(p) asp-+ 0.

(16) uo is a smooth harmonic map in G \ L:J{bi}

(17) Uo=g on &G

for some complex numbers f3i with IPt:l = 1 Vi.

In fact, given any configuration b E Gd of distinct points, there is a

where r.p is the solution of the Dirichlet problem

and tpo is defined on &G by

is related to the fact that a = (a 1 , a2, ... , ad) is a critical point of W on

with critical exponent p = (n + 2)/(n- 2). There, the blow-up points a

To complete the description of u. we have:

Conclusion: In general, W may have several minima. However, once

This answers Question 2 above.

Min f 1Vul2 for any n ;:::>: 3.

Our main result concerning the zeroes of u" is the following:

'\1 (v.(z) t- a;~~)

Remark 0.2. We emphasize that k need not be equal to d. However

some authors work with

This amounts to a dilation in the space variables: -if;(x) = 1/J(>..x) where