Lavrentiev Phenomenon in Microstructure Theory

Abstract

A variational problem arising as a model in martensitic phase transformation including surface energy is studied. It explains the complex, multi-dimensional pattern of twin branching which is often observed in a martensitic phase near the austenite interface.

We prove that a Lavrentiev phenomenon can occur if the domain is a rectangle. We show that this phenomenon disappears under arbitrarily small shears of the domain. We also prove that other perturbations of the problem lead to an extinction of the Lavrentiev phenomenon.