Interacting free boundaries in obstacle problems

Abstract

We study obstacle problems governed by two distinct types of diffusion operators involving interacting free boundaries. We obtain a somewhat surprising coupling property, leading to a comprehensive analysis of the free boundary. More precisely, we show that near regular points of a coordinate function, the free boundary is analytic, whereas singular points lie on a smooth manifold. Additionally, we prove that uncoupled free boundary points are singular, indicating that regular points lie exclusively on the coupled free boundary. Furthermore, optimal regularity, nondegeneracy, and lower-dimensional Hausdorff measure estimates are obtained. Explicit examples illustrate the sharpness of assumptions.