Partial regularity for local minimizers of variational integrals with lower order terms

Abstract: We consider functionals of the form $$\mathcal{F}(u):=\int_\Omega!F(x,u,\nabla u)\,\mathrm{d} x,$$ where $\Omega\subseteq\mathbb{R}^n$ is open and bounded. The integrand $F\colon\Omega\times\mathbb{R}^N\times\mathbb{R}^{N\times n}\to\mathbb{R}$ is assumed to satisfy the classical assumptions of a power $p$-growth and the corresponding strong quasiconvexity. In addition, $F$ is H\"older continuous with exponent $2\beta\in(0,1)$ in its first two variables uniformly with respect to the third variable, and bounded below by a quasiconvex function depending only on $z\in\mathbb{R}^{N\times n}$. We establish that strong local minimizers of $\mathcal{F}$ are of class $\mathrm{C}^{1,\beta}$ in an open subset $\Omega_0\subseteq\Omega$ with $\mathcal{L}^n(\Omega\setminus\Omega_0)=0$. This partial regularity also holds for a certain class of weak local minimizers at which the second variation is strongly positive and satisfying a $\mathrm{BMO}$-smallness condition. This extends the partial regularity result for local minimizers by Kristensen and Taheri (2003) to the case where the integrand depends also on $u$. Furthermore, we provide a direct strategy for this result, in contrast to the blow-up argument used for the case of homogeneous integrands.