TY - JOUR
T1 - The maximum principle for semicontinuous functions
AU - Crandall, Michael G.
AU - Ishii, Hitoshi
PY - 1990
Y1 - 1990
N2 - The result of calculus which states that at a maximum of a twice differentiable function the gradient vanishes and the matrix of second derivatives is nonpositive plays a significant role in the theory of elliptic and parabolic differential equations of second order, where it is used to establish many results for solutions of these equations. The theory of viscosity solutions of fully nonlinear degenerate elliptic and parabolic equations, which admits nondifferentiable functions as solutions of these equations, is now recognized to depend on a "maximum principle" for semicontinuous functions, which replaces the calculus result mentioned above. This work contains a more general statement of this form together with a simpler proof than were available heretofore.
AB - The result of calculus which states that at a maximum of a twice differentiable function the gradient vanishes and the matrix of second derivatives is nonpositive plays a significant role in the theory of elliptic and parabolic differential equations of second order, where it is used to establish many results for solutions of these equations. The theory of viscosity solutions of fully nonlinear degenerate elliptic and parabolic equations, which admits nondifferentiable functions as solutions of these equations, is now recognized to depend on a "maximum principle" for semicontinuous functions, which replaces the calculus result mentioned above. This work contains a more general statement of this form together with a simpler proof than were available heretofore.
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M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:84972560830
VL - 3
SP - 1001
EP - 1014
JO - Differential and Integral Equations
JF - Differential and Integral Equations
SN - 0893-4983
IS - 6
ER -