Near equality in the Riesz-Sobolev inequality (Q2311718)

The superlevel sets play a central role in analysis. The leading idea in the proof of this paper is to relate near equality in the Riesz-Sobolev inequality to near equality in the one-dimensional Brunn-Minkowski inequality \(|A + B|\geq|A| + |B|\), for which a characterization is already available. The Riesz-Sobolev inequality provides a sharp upper bound for a trilinear expression involving convolution of indicator functions of sets. Equality is known to hold only for indicator functions of appropriately situated intervals. The author characterized ordered triples of subsets of \(\mathbb{R}^1\) that nearly realize equality, with quantitative bounds of power-law form with the optimal exponent. The author established a more definitive result for \(d = 1\), with natural hypotheses and a quantitative conclusion of power-law type in which the principal exponent is the best possible. However, the analysis developed here exploits structural aspects of the one-dimensional case which do not extend to higher dimensions. The higher dimensional analogue is treated in the sequel [the author, ``Near equality in the Riesz-Sobolev inequality in higher dimensions'', Preprint, \url{arXiv:1506.00157}], by combining the one-dimensional result with other arguments, rather than by extending the one-dimensional method of proof. Some progress on related problems in higher dimensions was made by the author in [``Near-extremizers of Young's inequality for \(\mathbb{R}^d\)'', Preprint, \url{arXiv:1112.4875}] and by \textit{A. Figalli} and \textit{D. Jerison} [Chin. Ann. Math., Ser. B 38, No. 2, 393--412 (2017; Zbl 1369.49065); Adv. Math. 314, 1--47 (2017; Zbl 1380.52010); J. Eur. Math. Soc. (JEMS) 17, No. 5, 1079--1106 (2015; Zbl 1325.49052); ``On the addition of sets in \(\mathbb{R}^n\): a quantitative stability result'', Preprint]. The latter authors have obtained a power-law- type bound in an analogous result for the Brunn-Minkowski inequality. The author is indebted to \textit{M. Iliopoulou}, [``Inequalities of Riesz-Sobolev type for compact connected abelian groups'', Preprint, \url{arXiv:1808.08368}] for several corrections. This article gives many avenues and insights to researchers in this area.