The nodal set of solutions to some nonlocal sublinear problems

Abstract: We study the nodal set of solutions to equations of the form $$ (-\Delta)^s u = \lambda_+ (u_+)^{q-1} - \lambda_- (u_-)^{q-1}\quad\text{in $B_1$}, $$ where $\lambda_+,\lambda_->0, q \in [1,2)$, and $u_+$ and $u_-$ are respectively the positive and negative part of $u$. This collection of nonlinearities includes the unstable two-phase membrane problem $q=1$ as well as sublinear equations for $1<q<2$. We initially prove the validity of the strong unique continuation property and the finiteness of the vanishing order, in order to implement a blow-up analysis of the nodal set. As in the local case $s=1$, we prove that the admissible vanishing orders can not exceed the critical value $k_q= 2s/(2- q)$. Moreover, we study the regularity of the nodal set and we prove a stratification result. Ultimately, for those parameters such that $k_q< 1$, we prove a remarkable difference with the local case: solutions can only vanish with order $k_q$ and the problem admits one dimensional solutions. Our approach is based on the validity of either a family of Almgren-type or a 2-parameter family of Weiss-type monotonicity formulas, according to the vanishing order of the solution.