A note on Petty's theorem (Q487279): Difference between revisions

For a convex body \(K\) in \(\mathbb{R}^N\), let \(f_K : \mathbb{S}^{N-1} \to \mathbb{R}\) and \(h_K : \mathbb{S}^{N-1} \to \mathbb{R}\) denote the curvature function and the support function of \(K\), respectively. To find the extremal bodies for the Blaschke-Santaló inequality, the affine isoperimetric inequality and the geominimal surface area inequality, Petty proved for \(N \geq 3\) that if there is some positive constant \(c_K\) such that the equality \(f_K(\omega) = c_K h_K^{-N-1}(\omega)\) holds for every \(\omega \in \mathbb{S}^{N-1}\), and \(K\) has \(C^2\)-class boundary or is a body of revolution, then \(K\) is an ellipsoid. The authors prove that without any a priori regularity condition, the solutions to this equation are the ellipsoids. The proof is based on an investigation of the solutions of the Monge-Ampère equation.