Symmetry and asymmetry in a multi-phase overdetermined problem

Abstract

A celebrated theorem of Serrin asserts that one overdetermined condition on the boundary is enough to obtain radial symmetry in the so-called one-phase overdetermined torsion problem. It is also known that imposing just one overdetermined condition on the boundary is not enough to obtain radial symmetry in the corresponding multi-phase overdetermined problem. In this paper we show that, in order to obtain radial symmetry in the two-phase overdetermined torsion problem, two overdetermined conditions are needed. Moreover, it is noteworthy that this pattern does not extend to multi-phase problems with three or more layers, for which we show the existence of nonradial configurations satisfying countably infinitely many overdetermined conditions on the outer boundary.