On the norm of a self-adjoint operator and a new bilinear integral inequality (Q2644360)

The author derives an expression for the norm of a selfadjoint integral operator \(T: L^ 2 (0,\infty) \to L^ 2 (0,\infty)\) and uses it to obtain a new bilinear integral inequality with a best constant factor. The main result is the following Theorem. If \(L^ 2 (0,\infty)\) is a real space, \(f,g\in L^ 2 (0,\infty)\) and \(k(x,y)\) is continuous in \((0,\infty)\times (0,\infty)\), satisfying \(k(x,y) = k(y,x) >0\), then \[ \int^{\infty}_ 0 \int^{\infty}_ 0 k(x,y)f(x)g(y)\,dx\,dy \leq k\| f\| \| g\|, \] where the constant factor \(k\) is the best possible and \[ k=k(0)=\int^{\infty}_ 0 k(x,y)\Big(\frac{x}{y}\Big)^{\frac1{2}}\,dy <\infty. \] Several consequences are given and discussed.