Positivity, symmetry and uniqueness for minimizers of second-order Sobolev inequalities (Q2462196)

Let \(B\) be the unit ball in \({\mathbb R}^n\). The authors consider the minimization problem \[ S_p=\min_{w\in\mathcal H\setminus \{0\}}\frac{\|\Delta w\|^2_2}{\|w\|^2_p}, \] where \(\mathcal H\) is a second-order Sobolev space, either \(H^2_0(B)\) or \(H^2(B)\cap H^1_0(B)\). Let \(2<p<\frac{2n}{n-4}\), \(2<p<\infty\) if \(n=1,\dots,4\). It is proved that the minimization problem has, up to a multiplication constant, a unique solution. The solution is positive, radially symmetric and radially decreasing. The Sobolev constant \(S_p\) is for \(H^2(B)\cap H^1_0(B)\) strictly smaller than the constant for \(H^2_0(B)\). The last fact holds for any bounded domain with \(C^2\) boundary.