Energy properties of critical Kirchhoff problems with applications

In this paper we fully characterize the sequentially weakly lower semicontinuity of the parameter-depending energy functional associated with the critical Kirchhoff problem. We also establish sufficient criteria with respect to the parameters for the convexity and validity of the Palais-Smale condition of the same energy functional. We then apply these regularity properties in the study of some elliptic problems involving the critical Kirchhoff term.