Optimal Holder Continuity for a Class of Degenerate Elliptic Problems with an Application to Subsonic-Sonic Flows

In this paper, we first study a class of elliptic equations with anisotropic boundary degeneracy. Besides establishing the existence, uniqueness and comparison principle, we obtain the optimal Holder estimates for weak solutions by the estimates in the Campanato space. Based on such Holder estimates, we then investigate subsonic-sonic flows with singularities at the sonic curves in a symmetric convergent nozzle with straight wall for an approximate model of the potential flow equation. It is proved that the perturbation problem of the symmetric subsonic-sonic flow is solvable and the symmetric subsonic-sonic flow is stable.