A variant of Hall's lemma and maximal functions on the unit n-sphere (Q1084555)

Let \(E\subset B_ n\), the unit ball in \(R^ n\), be a closed subset such that for \(x\in E\cup \partial B_ n\), there exists a subharmonic barrier function at x. Suppose that \(S_ E=\bar B_ n-(E\cup \partial B_ n)\) is connected. Then the Dirichlet problem has a solution in \(S_ E\). Let \(V_ E(x)\) be the solution for the data which is 1 on E and 0 on \(\partial B_ n\). Let \(E^*\) be the radial projection of E on \(\partial B_ n\) and \(V_{E^*}(x)\) the harmonic function given by integration of the Poisson kernel with the characteristic function of \(E^*\). Then the author's main result is that for \(n\geq 2\), \(V_ E(0)\geq cn^{- }V_{E^*}(0)\). This result has some consequences for the properties of the Hardy-Littlewood maximal function in the ball.