Classification of positive solutions to a nonlinear biharmonic equation with critical exponent

Abstract: For $n \geq 5$, we consider positive solutions $u$ of the biharmonic equation [ \Delta^2 u = u^\frac{n+4}{n-4} \qquad \text{on}\ \mathbb R^n \setminus {0} ] with a non-removable singularity at the origin. We show that $|x|^{\frac{n-4}{2}} u$ is a periodic function of $\ln |x|$ and we classify all periodic functions obtained in this way. This result is relevant for the description of the asymptotic behavior near singularities and for the $Q$-curvature problem in conformal geometry.