On the uniqueness of solutions of a nonlinear elliptic problem arising in the confinement of a plasma in a stellarator device

Abstract

We study the uniqueness of solutions of a semilinear elliptic problem obtained from an inverse formulation when the nonlinear terms of the equation are prescribed in a general class of real functions, The inverse problem arises in the modeling of the magnetic confinement of a plasma in a Stellarator device. The uniqueness proof relies on an L-infinity-estimate on the solution of an auxiliary nonlocal problem formulated in terms of the relative rearrangement of a datum with respect to the solution.