A short time existence/uniqueness result for a nonlocal topology-preserving segmentation model

Abstract

Motivated by a prior applied work of Vese and the second author dedicated to segmentation under topological constraints, we derive a slightly modified model phrased as a functional minimization problem, and propose to study it from a theoretical viewpoint. The mathematical model leads to a second order nonlinear PDE with a singularity at Du=0 and containing a nonlocal term. A suitable setting is thus the one of the viscosity solution theory and, in this framework, we establish a short time existence/uniqueness result as well as a Lipschitz regularity result for the solution.