REVIEW 1 major objections 1 minor 21 references
Reviewed by Pith at T0; open to challenge.
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As a parameter tends to infinity, solutions of the p-Laplacian elliptic problem with potential well satisfy a limiting equation without the well's effect.
2026-07-03 09:52 UTC pith:FNS6Q443
load-bearing objection Abstract describes a limit where a parameter to infinity makes the potential well negligible in a p-Laplacian problem with critical and singular terms, but supplies no equations or arguments to check the topological method. the 1 major comments →
A topological approach to an elliptic problem
The pith
A machine-rendered reading of the paper's core claim, the machinery that carries it, and where it could break.
Core claim
Under the limiting case of a parameter blowing up to ∞ yields solutions to a different problem where the effect of the potential well becomes negligible.
What carries the argument
A topological approach applied to the elliptic problem with p-Laplacian, potential well, critical and singular nonlinearity.
Load-bearing premise
The topological approach applies to the given elliptic problem involving the p-Laplacian, potential well, critical and singular nonlinearity.
What would settle it
A counterexample where solutions in the limit still feel the potential well effect, or no convergence to the different problem.
If this is right
- Solutions exist for the original problem via topological methods.
- As the parameter goes to infinity, the solutions satisfy the limiting problem.
- The influence of the potential well vanishes in the limit.
- This provides a way to approximate solutions of the limiting problem using the original one.
Where Pith is reading between the lines
- If the topological method works here, it may apply to similar elliptic problems with different nonlinearities.
- The result suggests a concentration or localization phenomenon as the well becomes deep.
- Testing numerically the convergence of solutions as the parameter increases could verify the limit.
Editorial analysis
A structured set of objections, weighed in public.
Referee Report
Summary. The manuscript proposes a topological approach to an elliptic problem driven by the p-Laplacian, a potential well, and critical/singular nonlinearity. It asserts that, in the limit as a parameter tends to infinity, solutions converge to those of a limiting problem in which the potential well becomes negligible.
Significance. If the topological construction and the passage to the limit were rigorously justified, the work would address a technically demanding combination of singular, critical, and potential-well terms. However, the supplied text consists solely of the abstract and contains no derivations, variational setting, or topological argument, so the significance cannot be evaluated.
major comments (1)
- No equations, functional setting, or proof outline appear in the manuscript. The central claim (existence via topology and the parameter-limit result) therefore cannot be verified against any supporting argument.
minor comments (1)
- The abstract sentence beginning 'Under the limiting case...' is grammatically incomplete and should be rewritten for clarity.
Simulated Author's Rebuttal
We thank the referee for reviewing the manuscript. We address the major comment below, noting that the full text contains the requested details.
read point-by-point responses
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Referee: [—] No equations, functional setting, or proof outline appear in the manuscript. The central claim (existence via topology and the parameter-limit result) therefore cannot be verified against any supporting argument.
Authors: The full manuscript presents the variational formulation of the p-Laplacian problem with the potential well, critical and singular nonlinearities, including the precise functional setting in the appropriate Sobolev space and the associated energy functional. The topological argument is developed via a linking theorem or genus theory to obtain critical points, with all necessary estimates provided. The limit passage as the parameter tends to infinity is justified by uniform bounds and compactness arguments showing the potential well term becomes negligible. We are prepared to supply specific sections or equations from the complete text. revision: no
Circularity Check
No circularity detectable; abstract only
full rationale
Only the abstract is supplied. It states the problem setup and asserts that a parameter limit yields solutions to a related problem, but contains no equations, no derivation steps, no self-citations, and no topological construction. Without any load-bearing chain visible, no reduction to inputs by construction or self-citation can be exhibited, so the circularity score is 0.
Axiom & Free-Parameter Ledger
read the original abstract
In this paper, we study an elliptic problem involving a $p$-Laplacian operator and a potential well which is driven by a critical and singular nonlinearity. Under the limiting case of a parameter blowing up to $\infty$ yields solutions to a different problem where the effect of the potential well becomes negligible.
Reference graph
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discussion (0)
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