The Poincaré inequality is an open ended condition (Q2389094)

A function \(u\) satisfies a \((1,p)\)-Poincaré inequality, \(p > 1\), if there exist \(C, \lambda \geq 1\) such that \[ |B(x,r)|^{-1} \int_{B(x,r)} |u - u_{B(x,r)}| \,d\mu\leq Cr \bigg(|B(x,\lambda r)|^{-1} \int_{B(x,\lambda r)} g^p \,d\mu\bigg)^{1/p} \] for every \(x \in X\) and \(r > 0\). Here, \(X\) is a metric space with a doubling Borel measure \(\mu\), \(g\) is an upper gradient of \(u\), and \(u_{B(x,r)}\) is the mean value of \(u\) in \(B(x,r)\). For \(X = \Omega\) an open set in \(\mathbb{R}^n\), and \(\mu = m\) the Lebesgue measure in \(\mathbb{R}^n\), this reduces to the ordinary Poincaré inequality of Sobolev functions, sometimes called a weak \((1,p)\)-Poincaré inequality in the case \(\lambda > 1\), see \textit{P.\,Hajłasz} and \textit{P.\,Koskela} [``Sobolev met Poincaré'' (Mem.\ Am.\ Math.\ Soc.\ 688) (2000; Zbl 0954.46022)] for various aspects of Poincaré and Sobolev inequalities. The authors show that, if \(X\) is a complete metric space, then there exists \(\varepsilon > 0\) such that a \((1,q)\)-Poincaré inequality holds for \(q >p-\varepsilon\) whenever a \((1,p)\)-Poincaré inequality holds, i.e., that the Poincaré inequality is an open ended property. The result has an important consequence for \(p\)-admissible weights in \(\mathbb{R}^n\): they display the same open ended property as Muckenhoupt's \(A_p\) weights. It also shows that various definitions for Sobolev spaces in metric spaces, due to \textit{J.\,Cheeger} [Geom.\ Funct.\ Anal.\ 9, No.\,3, 428--517 (1999; Zbl 0942.58018)], \textit{P.\,Hajłasz} [Potential Anal.\ 5, No.\,4, 403--415 (1996; Zbl 0859.46022)] and \textit{N.\,Shanmugalingam} [Rev.\ Mat.\ Iberoam.\ 16, No.\,2, 243--279 (2000; Zbl 0974.46038)], coincide under the above assumptions. The proof makes use of careful estimates of the maximal function of \(u - u_{B(x,r)}\).