Questions tagged [geometric-measure-theory]
Questions about geometric properties of sets using measure theoretic techniques; rectifiability of sets and measures, currents, Plateau problem, isoperimetric inequality and related topics.
763 questions
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Volumes of n-balls: what is so special about n=5?
I am reposting this question from math.stackexchange where it has not yet generated an answer I had been looking for.
The volume of an $n$-dimensional ball of radius $R$ is given by the classical ...
- 22.3k
43
votes
0
answers
819
views
A kaleidoscopic coloring of the plane
Problem. Is there a partition $\mathbb R^2=A\sqcup B$ of the Euclidean plane into two Lebesgue measurable sets such that for any disk $D$ of the unit radius we get $\lambda(A\cap D)=\lambda(B\cap D)=\...
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votes
6
answers
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Applications of Rademacher's Theorem
Rademacher's Theorem (that every Lipschitz function on $\mathbb{R}^{n}$ is almost everywhere differentiable) is a remarkable result on the structure of the space of Lipschitz functions, but I was ...
- 1,665
38
votes
0
answers
1k
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Converse of the Archimedean property of the sphere
In his remarkable book On the Sphere and Cylinder, where he came tantalizingly close to discovering calculus, Archimedes showed that the area of the portion of the sphere contained between a pair of ...
- 7,149
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votes
3
answers
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What are the obstructions for a Henstock-Kurzweil integral in more than one dimension?
I have recently come across the book The Kurzweil-Henstock Integral and its Differentials by Solomon Leader, in which, if I understand correctly, the HK integration process is modified in a way that ...
- 573
27
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3
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Is arbitrary union of closed balls in $\mathbb{R}^n$ Lebesgue measurable?
Is an arbitrary union of non-trivial closed balls in the Euclidean space $\mathbb{R}^n$ Lebesgue measurable? If so, is it a Borel set?
@George
I still have two questions concerning your sketch of ...
- 373
27
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2
answers
1k
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Rademacher theorem
If $f:\mathbb{R}^n\to\mathbb{R}^m$ is of class $C^1$ and $\operatorname{rank} Df(x_o)=k$, then clearly $\operatorname{rank} Df\geq k$ in a neighborhood of $x_o$. It is not particularly difficult to ...
- 28k
27
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1
answer
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How can we not know the $s$-measure of the Sierpiński triangle?
I'm preparing a presentation that would enable high-school level students to grasp that the (self-similarity) dimension of an object needs not be an integer. The first example we look at is the ...
- 588
27
votes
1
answer
1k
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The dual of $\mathrm{BV}$
$\DeclareMathOperator\BV{BV}\DeclareMathOperator\SBV{SBV}$I'm going to let $\BV := \BV(\mathbb{R}^d)$ denote the space of functions of bounded variation on $\mathbb{R}^d$. My question concerns the ...
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25
votes
1
answer
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A gerrymandering problem - can you always turn a tie into a landslide victory?
Note: Here we use $|A|$ to denote the Lebesgue measure of a measurable subset $A$ of $\mathbb R^2$.
Your party is running for election! In your country, voters are approximately uniformly distributed. ...
- 6,155
23
votes
3
answers
1k
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Existence of subset with given Hausdorff dimension
Let $A\subseteq \mathbb{R}$ be Lebesgue-measurable and let $0<\alpha<1$ be its Hausdorff dimension.
For a given $0<\beta <\alpha$ can we find a subset $B\subset A$ with Hausdorff ...
- 1,045
23
votes
3
answers
868
views
Best Hölder exponents of surjective maps from the unit square to the unit cube
The Peano's square-filling curve $p:I\to I^2$ turn's out to be Hölder continuous with exponent $1/2$ on the unit interval $I$ (a quick way to see it, is to note that $p$ is a fixed point of a ...
- 60.5k
22
votes
1
answer
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Are functions of bounded variation a.e. differentiable?
In general, it is well known that, on the real line, say on $[0,1]$, if a function $f$ is of (pointwise) bounded variation, meaning that
$$
\sum_{i=1}^n |f(x_i)-f(x_{i-1})| <+\infty
$$
for every ...
- 608
22
votes
1
answer
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Image of the trace operator
It is well-known that we have the trace theorem for Sobolev spaces. Let $\Omega$ be an open domain with smooth boundary, we know that the map
$$ T: C^1(\bar\Omega) \to C^1(\partial\Omega) \subset L^...
- 39k
21
votes
4
answers
2k
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Why are currents named currents?
Why do currents, functionals on compactly supported differentiable n-forms, bear the name they do?
I've assumed that it has something to do with an electrical current being formalized as a vector ...
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21
votes
2
answers
2k
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Open problems in Federer's Geometric Measure Theory
I wanted to know if the problems mentionned in this book are solved. More specifically, at some places, the author says that he doesn't know the answer, for example :"I do not know whether this ...
- 1,616
20
votes
1
answer
3k
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Hausdorff measure and the volume form
There are two tools, generalizing a concept of a volume to the case of submanifolds in $\mathbb{R}^n$, namely the Hausdorff measure $H^k$ and the volume form. The question is how to show that if $M$ ...
- 1,329
19
votes
4
answers
5k
views
Explicit extension of Lipschitz function (Kirszbraun theorem)
Kirszbraun theorem states that if $U$ is a subset of some Hilbert space $H_1$, and $H_2$ is another Hilbert space, and $f : U \to H_2$ is a Lipschitz-continuous map, then $f$ can be extended to a ...
- 1,839
19
votes
1
answer
564
views
Measure-preserving maps from the square to the cube
There is a measure preserving map from the unit interval onto the unit cube that is Lipschitz of order 1/2, that is $|f(x)-f(y)| \leq A |x-y|^{1/2}$. By considering the image of small intervals, one ...
- 191
18
votes
4
answers
3k
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Generalized Stokes' theorem
In the Wikipedia article on Stokes' theorem the following claim is advanced without any references given:
The main challenge in a precise statement of Stokes' theorem is in defining the notion of a ...
- 181
18
votes
1
answer
599
views
Lower-Hölder embeddings of the sphere
My question is very simple:
Given $d\ge 3$, does there exist $s\in (0,1)$ and an embedding $f:S^{d-1}\to \mathbb{R}^d$ such that
$$
|f(x)-f(y)| \ge |x-y|^s \quad\textrm{if } |x-y|<r,
$$
for ...
- 4,660
17
votes
4
answers
2k
views
Planar sets where any line through the center of mass divides the set into two regions of equal area.
This question is influenced by the following riddle:
You are given a rectangular set in the plane with a rectangular hole cut out (in any orientation). How do you cut the region into two sets of ...
- 7,197
16
votes
6
answers
3k
views
Smallest area shape that covers all unit length curve
On a euclidean plane, what is the minimal area shape S, such that for every unit length curve, a translation and a rotation of S can cover the curve.
What are the bounds of the shape's area if this ...
- 613
16
votes
4
answers
2k
views
Is the $W^{1, \infty}$ limit of differentiable functions also differentiable?
Let $f_n$ be a sequence of differentiable functions on $[0, 1]$ with
$f_n \to f$ uniformly for some (necessarily) continuous $f$.
$f'_n - g \to 0$ in $L^{\infty}$ for some measurable $g$.
Is it true ...
- 6,155
16
votes
1
answer
783
views
Question on geometric measure theory
I want to know the following is well-known or not:
Let X be a metric space with Hausdorff dimension $\alpha$.
Then for any $\beta < \alpha$,
X contains a closed subset whose Hausdorff dimension ...
- 201
16
votes
0
answers
616
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Isoperimetric inequality and geometric measure theory
The following version of the isoperimetric inequality can be easily deduced from the Brunn-Minkowski inequality:
Theorem. If $K\subset\mathbb{R}^n$ is compact, then $$ |K|^{\frac{n-1}{n}}\leq n^{-1}...
- 28k
15
votes
3
answers
1k
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Stronger version of the isoperimetric inequality
I have been searching for a version of the isoperimetric inequality which is something like:
$P(\Omega) - 2\sqrt{\pi} Vol(\Omega)^{1/2} \geq \pi (r_{out}^2 - r_{in}^2)$ where $r_{out}$ and $r_{in}$ ...
- 2,641
15
votes
2
answers
1k
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If a function $f$ is $(1+\varepsilon)$-times Lebesgue differentiable everywhere, is $f$ a constant function?
Let $f: \mathbb R^n \to \mathbb R$ be a locally integrable function. We say $x \in \mathbb R^n$ is a strong Lebesgue point of $f$ if
$$\lim_{r \to 0} \frac{\int_{B_r (x)} |f(y) - f(x)| \, dy}{r^{n+1+\...
- 6,155
15
votes
1
answer
1k
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Second order differentiability of convex functions
Let $f:\mathbb{R}^n\to\mathbb{R}$ be a convex function. Then $f$ is locally Lipschitz and hence differentiable a.e. (Rademacher). Let $E\subset\mathbb{R}^n$ be the set of points where $f$ is ...
- 28k
15
votes
0
answers
510
views
Lebesgue density 1/2 (or bounded away from 0 and 1)
From the work of Preiss, we know that in infinite-dimensional spaces, one has violations of the Lebesgue density theorem. In particular, he has constructed examples of probability spaces where a set ...
- 6,541
15
votes
0
answers
1k
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A Kakeya-like problem: must a union of annuli fill the plane?
Let $S$ be a subset of $\mathbb{R}^2$ with the following property. For all $x \in \mathbb{R}^2$ and $\varepsilon \gt 0$, there exists a nontrivial interval $[a,b] \subseteq [1-\varepsilon,1]$, such ...
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3
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Is the intersection of two Caccioppoli (i.e. finite perimeter) sets Caccioppoli?
Recall that we say that a bounded measurable set $S\subset\mathbb R^n$ is said to be Caccioppoli if the indicator function $1_S$ is BV, and we set
$$
\operatorname{perim}(S)=\| \nabla 1_S\|_{TV}
$$
...
- 1,247
14
votes
2
answers
2k
views
Is the composition of two nowhere differentiable functions still nowhere differentiable?
Let $f,g:\mathbb R\to\mathbb R$ be two continuous but nowhere differentiable functions. By the Denjoy–Young–Saks theorem for almost every point $x_0\in\mathbb R$ one has
$$
\limsup\limits_{x\to x_0}\...
- 938
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2
answers
1k
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Category theory & geometric measure theory?
My background is essentially Geometric Measure Theory and its application to partial differential equations (e.g. linear and non-linear hyperbolic conservation laws). These are currently my research ...
- 980
14
votes
0
answers
632
views
Are harmonic mappings non-singular outside a set of measure zero?
Let $g$ be a smooth Riemannian metric on the closed $n$-dimensional unit disk $\mathbb D^n$.
Let $f: \mathbb D^n \to \mathbb{R}^n$ be a smooth orientation-preserving immersion, and let $\omega :\...
- 6,741
13
votes
2
answers
964
views
What is the Hausdorff dimension of this fractal?
Let $\sum_{i=h}^\infty d_i/b^i $ be the base $b$ representation of $x \geq 0,$ where $b>1$ and the $d_i$ are uniquely determined by the greedy algorithm. For fixed $c>1,$ let $f(x)= \sum_{i=h}^\...
- 3,443
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2
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569
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A conjecture of De Giorgi on weighted Sobolev spaces
Let $\mu$ be a probability measure on $\mathbb{R}^d$ which is absolutely continuous with respect to the Lebesgue measure with density $\rho$. Assume that, for all $t>0$,
\begin{align*}
\exp \left(...
- 778
13
votes
1
answer
1k
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Structure of the Cantor part of the derivative of a BV function
It is well known that an integrable function $u \colon \mathbb R^d \to \mathbb R$ is said to be of bounded variation iff the distributional gradient $Du$ is (representable by) a finite Radon measure, ...
- 980
13
votes
0
answers
447
views
The original Erdős-Volkmann ring problem
The Erdős-Volkmann ring problem and its solution are famous, but the original problem is actually still open. I'll describe this and a related problem from geometric measure theory, I think both of ...
- 1,689
12
votes
2
answers
866
views
Sets that project to zero measure on all lines except one
It is a (difficult) exercise to show that there exists a measurable set $E \subset [0,1]^2$ (necessarily with zero 2-dimensional Lebesgue measure) such that the projection on every line passing ...
- 355
12
votes
1
answer
520
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Can $C^1$ mappings with derivative of low rank be approximated by smooth maps?
Asked once on SE-mathematics.
Let $U$ be an open subset in $\mathbb{R}^n$, $m\in\mathbb{N}$, $1\leq m<n$ and let
$$\mathcal{C}^k_{\leq m}(U,\mathbb{R}^n):=\lbrace g\in\mathcal{C}^k(U,\mathbb{R}^n)\...
- 123
12
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2
answers
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Set of points with a unique closest point in a compact set
Let $K\subset\mathbb{R}^n$ be any compact set. Let $\operatorname{Unp}(K)$ be the set of points in
$$
\operatorname{Unp}(K)=\{x\in\mathbb{R}^n\setminus K:\, \exists ! y\in K \ \ |x-y|=d(x,K)\}.
$$
...
- 28k
12
votes
1
answer
2k
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Besicovitch Covering Lemma on Manifolds
The classical Besicovitch covering lemma (BCL) asserts that for any $d \geq 1$, there is a constant $N(d)$ with the following property. If $A \subset \mathbb{R}^d$ is any subset and $r : A \to (0,R]$ ...
- 485
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votes
2
answers
3k
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Levy's isoperimetric inequality for sphere
Let me recall subj:
If $s>0$, $A$ and $B$ are two subsets of $\mathbb{S}^{n}$, $|A|=|B|$ ($|\cdot|$ stands for the Lebesgue measure on the sphere) and $B$ is a cup $B=\{ (x_1,x_2,\dots,x_n)\in \...
- 109k
11
votes
1
answer
657
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Does every differentiable a.e. function admit a maximally differentiable representative?
For $f: \mathbb R \to \mathbb R$ a measurable function, we say $g: \mathbb R \to \mathbb R$ is a modification of $f$ if $f = g$ a.e.
Suppose $f$ Is a measurable function that is differentiable a.e.
We ...
- 6,155
11
votes
1
answer
451
views
Does every smooth map of rank at most d factor through a d-manifold?
Suppose $d≥0$, $m≥0$, $n≥0$, and $\def\R{{\bf R}} f\colon \R^m→\R^n$ is a smooth map
whose rank at any point of $\R^m$ is at most $d$.
Here and below, smooth means infinitely differentiable.
Can we ...
- 37.8k
11
votes
2
answers
813
views
Textbook recommendation request: Exercises to supplement Evans and Gariepy
While a great book about measure theory and real analysis in $\mathbb R^n$, the only downside is the lack of exercises. Can anyone provide a good book to supplement it with exercises? I plan to use it ...
- 2,069
11
votes
1
answer
1k
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Geometric measures different from Hausdorff
$\newcommand{\RR}{\mathbb{R}}\newcommand{\calF}{\mathcal{F}}\newcommand{\diam}{\mathrm{diam}}$
In geometric measure theory there are various notions of $m$-dimensional measure for sets $A\subset \RR^n$...
- 12.7k
11
votes
1
answer
440
views
Stokes theorem for Lipschitz forms
Assume that $M$ is a smooth oriented compact manifold with boundary and assume that $\omega$ is a Lipschitz $(n-1)$-form on $M$.
Question Is there a published simple proof of the Stokes theorem
$$
\...
- 28k
11
votes
1
answer
961
views
Coarea inequality, Eilenberg inequality
The general statement of the coarea inequality known also as the Eilenberg inequality is:
Theorem. If $f:X\to Y$ is a Lipschitz map between metric spaces and $A\subset X$, $0\leq m\leq n$, then $$
\...
- 28k