A free boundary optimization problem involving weighted areas (Q1239292)

The results involving free boundary minimization of capacitance (equivalently: heat flow) of strip-like regions in the author's paper ``Heat flow inequalities with applications to heat flow optimization problems'' [SIAM J. math. Analysis 8, 604-618 (1977; Zbl 0335.31003)] are generalized to the case where both boundary components are free to vary. Here, the capacitance \(K\) of a simply-connected region \(\Omega\) in \([0,1] \times \mathbb{R}\) (bounded relative to \([0,1] \times \mathbb{R}\) by disjoint simple arcs \(\varGamma_{0}\) (below) and \(\varGamma_1\) (above)) is defined by \(K=\iint_{\Omega}|\triangledown U(p)|^2 dx\, dy\), where \(U(p)\) solves the boundary value problem: \(\triangledown^2U=0\) in \(\Omega\), \(U=0\) on \(\varGamma_0\), \(U=1\) on \(\varGamma_1\), \(D_xU=0\) for \[ p= (x,y) \in \Omega \cap (\{ 0,1 \} \times \mathbb{R}). \] \(S_i \supset \varGamma_i\), \(i=0,1,\) are the components of \(([0,1] \times \mathbb{R}) \setminus \Omega\), and the notation \(\bar{S}_0\), \(\bar{\varGamma}_1\), \(U_c (p)\), \(K_c\), \(\ldots\) refers to other regions \(\bar{\Omega}\), \(\Omega_c\), \(\ldots\) with the same properties as \(\Omega\). Our main result is the following theorem: Let \(a_i (p)>0\), \(i=0,1\), be continuous functions on \([0,1] \times \mathbb{R}\) such that (for some constant \(N> 0\)) \(a_0 (p')\leq a_0 (p)\) and \(a_1 (p') \geq a_1 (p)\) for all \(p,p' \in [0,1] \times \mathbb{R}\) satisfying \(y'-y\geq N\cdot |x'-x|\). If \(a_0(\frac{1}{2},y)< ( >)a_1(\frac{1}{2},y)\) for \(y\) (respectively \(-y\)) sufficiently positive, and if \(A(y):=\int_{0}^{1}a_1 (x,y)\, dx\) is strictly increasing in \(\mathbb{R}\), then: (a) For each \(c >0\), there exists a unique region \(\Omega_c\) such that \(\varGamma_{c,i}\), \(i=0,1\), are the graphs on \([0,1]\) of continuous functions of \(x\), and for any \(p\in \varGamma_{c,i}\) (and \(q \in \Omega_c\)): \(\lim_{q\to p}|\triangledown U_c (q)|=c\cdot a_i(p)\), \(i=0,1\). (b) If \([\Omega , \bar{\Omega}] : = \sum_{i=0}^{1} (|\bar{S}_i \setminus S_i|_i - |S_i\setminus \bar{S}_i|_i)\), where \(|M|_i =\iint_{M} a_i^2 (p)\, dx \, dy\), \(i=0,1\), then for any fixed region \(\bar{\Omega}\), there is a constant \(\bar{c}> 0\) such that \([\Omega_{\bar{c}},\bar{\Omega}] = 0\). For any region \(\Omega \neq \Omega_{\bar{c}}\) satisfying \([\Omega,\bar{\Omega}]\leq 0\), we have \(K>K_{\bar{c}}\). Thus \(\Omega_{\bar{c}}\), is uniquely capacitance minimizing in the class of all regions \(\Omega\) satisfying \([\Omega , \bar{\Omega}] \leq 0\).