Ahlfors-regularity for minimizers of a multiphase optimal design problem (Q7306978)

In the spirit of the famous T. Hales solution of the Honeycomb Conjecture, see [\textit{T. C. Hales}, Discrete Comput. Geom. 25, No. 1, 1--22 (2001; Zbl 1007.52008)], the authors investigate in the paper under review, the problem of partitioning an open domain in \(R^n\) into regions with minimal interface. Their treatment differs from previous ones, compare e.g. with [\textit{L. Ambrosio} and \textit{A. Braides}, J. Math. Pures Appl. (9) 69, No. 3, 285--306 (1990; Zbl 0676.49028)] and [\textit{L. Ambrosio} and \textit{A. Braides}, J. Math. Pures Appl. (9) 69, No. 3, 307--333 (1990; Zbl 0676.49029)]. Here in a further development of the articles: [\textit{L. Ambrosio} and \textit{G. Buttazzo}, Calc. Var. Partial Differ. Equ. 1, No. 1, 55--69 (1993; Zbl 0794.49040); \textit{F. H. Lin}, Calc. Var. Partial Differ. Equ. 1, No. 2, 149--168 (1993; Zbl 0794.49038)], the authors obtain an Ahlfors -- regularity result for minimizers of a multiphase optimal design problem involving a functional, made up of the perimeter of the partition interfaces and a nonlocal bulk Dirichlet energy, that is discontinuous across the partition interfaces (see Theorem 1.1). The proof is divided into two parts: the first transforms the initial problem into a penalized one without constraint (Theorem 2.1), the involved proof of the latter result is divided into several steps and substeps. In the second part the authors connect the results of Theorems 3.2 and 3.4, where upper and lower density estimates for the minimizers of the penalized problem are obtained, from which Theorem 1.1 follows.