An elliptic regularity theorem for fractional partial differential operators

Abstract

We present and prove a version of the elliptic regularity theorem for partial differential equations involving fractional Riemann–Liouville derivatives. In this case, regularity is defined in terms of Sobolev spaces Hs(X)$$H^s(X)$$: if the forcing of a linear elliptic fractional PDE is in one Sobolev space, then the solution is in the Sobolev space of increased order corresponding to the order of the derivatives. We also mention a few applications and potential extensions of this result.