Orlicz spaces and generalized Orlicz spaces (Q1738323)

A function \(\varphi:[0,\infty)\to[0,\infty]\) is said to be a (weak) \(\Phi\)-function if \(\varphi(0)=0\), \(\varphi\) is continuous at \(0\), \(\lim_{t\to\infty}\varphi(t)=\infty\), and \(\varphi(t)/t\) is almost increasing. Consider a \(\sigma\)-finite complete measure space \((A,\Sigma,\mu)\). A function \(\varphi:A\times[0,\infty)\to[0,\infty]\) is said to be a generalized (weak) \(\Phi\)-function if \(x\mapsto\varphi(x,|f(x)|)\) is \(\mu\)-measurable for every \(\mu\)-measurable function \(f\) and \(\varphi(x,\cdot)\) is a weak \(\Phi\)-function for \(\mu\)-almost every \(x\in A\). For a \(\mu\)-measurable function \(f\), let \(\varrho_\varphi(f):=\int_A\varphi(x,|f(x)|)\,d\mu(x)\). The set \(L^\varphi(A,\mu)\) of all \(\mu\)-measurable functions \(f\) such that \(\varrho_\varphi(\lambda f)<\infty\) for some \(\lambda>0\) is said to be a generalized Orlicz space (also known as a Musielak-Orlicz space). This is a quasi-normed space with respect to the quasi-norm \(\|f\|_{L^\varphi(A,\mu)}:=\inf\{\lambda>0:\varrho_\varphi(f/\lambda)\le 1\}\). The aim of the book under review is to study properties of generalized Orlicz spaces and the main operators of harmonic analysis in them. Chapter 1, entitled ``Introduction'', is devoted to a brief history and motivations. It also contains a list of properties and tools of standard Lebesgue spaces \(L^p\), which are not available in \(L^\varphi(A,\mu)\) with \(\varphi(x,t)=t^{p(x)}\). The latter spaces are usually called variable exponent Lebesgue spaces (or Nakano spaces). Chapter 2, entitled ``\(\Phi\)-functions'', contains a detailed study of \(\Phi\)-functions, their generalized inverses defined by \(\varphi^{-1}(\tau):=\inf\{t\ge 0:\varphi(t)\ge\tau\}\), and their conjugate functions defined by \(\varphi^*(u)=\sup_{t\ge 0}\{tu-\varphi(t)\}\). Further, generalized versions (depending on two variables) of \(\Phi\)-functions are considered. In Chapter 3, called ``Generalized Orlicz spaces'', these spaces are discussed from the Functional Analysis point of view. In particular, convergence in these spaces, their completeness, separability, uniform convexity, and reflexivity are treated in detail. This chapter is concluded with a sufficient condition on a generalized \(\Phi\)-function \(\varphi\) guaranteeing that the set \(C_0^\infty(\Omega)\) of all smooth compactly supported functions on an open set \(\Omega\subset{\mathbb R}^n\) is dense in the generalized Orlicz space \(L^\varphi(\Omega)\). Chapter 4, entitled ``Maximal and averaging operators'', deals with the boundedness of the Hardy-Littlewood maximal operator and averaging operators on generalized Orlicz spaces. This chapter is the heart of the book. Let \(\Omega\subset\mathbb{R}^n\) be an open set. For a function \(f\in L_{\mathrm{loc}}^1(\Omega)\), the Hardy-Littlewood maximal operator is defined by \(Mf(x):=\sup_{B\ni x}\frac{1}{|B|}\int_{B\cap \Omega}|f(y)|\, dy\), where the supremum is taken over all open balls \(B\) containing \(x\). Further, for a family \({\mathcal B}\) of open bounded sets \(U\subset\mathbb{R}^n\), the averaging operator is defined by \(T_{\mathcal{B}}f(x):=\sum_{U\in\mathcal{B}}\frac{\chi_{U\cap\Omega}(x)}{|U|}\int_{U\cap\Omega}|f(y)|\, dy\). Sufficient conditions for the boundedness and weak-type estimates for \(M\) are proved. Further, sufficient conditions for the uniform boundedness of \(T_{\mathcal{B}}\) are established. These results are applied to the study of mollifiers on generalized Orlicz spaces. In Chapter 5, entitled ``Extrapolation and interpolation'', the Rubio de Francia extrapolation techniques are adapted to the setting of generalized Orlicz spaces. This allows the authors to obtain the boundedness of vector-valued maximal operators, Calderón-Zygmund singular integral operators, Riesz potentials, and fractional maximal operators in the setting of generalized Orlicz spaces. Further, the complex interpolation of generalized Orlicz spaces is also discussed. Chapter 6, entitled ``Sobolev spaces'', is devoted to the generalized Sobolev spaces built upon generalized Orlicz spaces. Three main themes of this chapter are Poincaré inequalities, Sobolev-type embedding theorems, and the density of regular functions in generalized Sobolev spaces. In Chapter 7, entitled ``Special cases'', various particular cases of generalized Orlicz spaces are discussed briefly. Among them are the case of variable exponent Lebesgue spaces with \(\varphi(x,t)=t^{p(x)}\), the so-called ``double phase cases'' with \(\varphi(x,t)=t^p+a(x)t^q\) and \(\varphi(x,t)=t^p+a(x)t^p\log (e+t)\), and the case of classical Orlicz spaces with \(\varphi(x,t)\) independent of the first variable. The list of references contains 131 items.