Positive definiteness and the Stolarsky invariance principle (Q2134432)

This paper studies positive definiteness of kernels \(K\) and how it is related to various other mathematical concepts, such as energy minimization and discrepancy. The article covers many aspects of these topics, some of which have been known before and some of which are new. One of the main results outlined is that for a kernel \(K\), under the assumption of the existence of a \(K\)-invariant measure \(\mu\) with full support, positive definiteness of \(K\) is equivalent to several other non-trivial statements in this context. Another related concept is the so-called Stolarsky Invariance Principle, a general version of which for compact spaces is shown by the authors. The latter result establishes a connection between energy minimization and discrepancy, and is an interesting addition to the topics covered.