On the local character of the extension of traces for Sobolev mappings

Abstract: We prove that a mapping $u \colon \mathcal{M}'\to \mathcal{N}$, where $\mathcal{M}'$ and $ \mathcal{N}$ are compact Riemannian manifolds, is the trace of a Sobolev mapping $U \colon \mathcal{M}' \times [0, 1) \to \mathcal{N}$ if and only if it is on some open covering of $\mathcal{M}'$. In the global case where $\mathcal{M}$ is a compact Riemannian manifold with boundary, this implies that the analytical obstructions to the extension of a mapping $u \colon \partial \mathcal{M}\to \mathcal{N}$ to some Sobolev mapping $U \colon \mathcal{M} \to \mathcal{N}$ are purely local.