On Sobolev spaces and density theorems on Finsler manifolds

Abstract

Here, a natural extension of Sobolev spaces is defined for a Finsler structure $F$ and it is shown that the set of all real $C^{\infty}$ functions with compact support on a forward geodesically complete Finsler manifold $(M, F)$, is dense in the extended Sobolev space $H_1^p (M)$. As a consequence, the weak solutions $u$ of the Dirichlet equation $\Delta u=f$ can be approximated by $C^\infty$ functions with compact support on $M$. Moreover, let $W \subset M$ be a regular domain with the $C^r$ boundary $\partial W$, then the set of all real functions in $C^r (W) \cap C^0 (\overline W)$ is dense in $H_k^p (W)$, where $k\leq r$. Finally, several examples are illustrated and sharpness of the inequality $k\leq r$ is shown.