Some Calderón-Zygmund kernels and their relations to Wolff capacities and rectifiability (Q907936)

In \(\mathbb R^d\) consider the vectorial kernel \(K_{\alpha,n} ^i (x):=(x_i ^{2n-1}/|x|^{2n-1+\alpha})_{i=1} ^d\), where \(n\in\mathbb N \) and \(0<\alpha\leq 1\). The authors of the paper under review study the capacities related to these kernels in the two-dimensional case, as well as whether the boundedness of the associated singular integral operators \(T_n\) on \(L^2(\mathcal H^1 \restriction E)\) implies the \(1\)-rectifiability of \(E\) in any dimension. More precisely, let \(d=2\) and for a compact set \(E\subset \mathbb R^d\), let \(\gamma_a ^n(E):=\sup|\langle T,1 \rangle|\), where the supremum is taken over all real-valued distributions \(T\) supported on \(E\), for which \(K_{\alpha,n} ^i * T \in L^\infty(\mathbb R^2)\) for \(i=1,2\). It is known [\textit{V. Chousionis} et al., Potential Anal. 38, No. 3, 913--949 (2013; Zbl 1271.42016)] that for \(n\in\mathbb N\) the capacity \(\gamma_1 ^n\) is comparable to the analytic capacity (which is defined analogously, through the kernel of the Cauchy transform, and complex distributions \(T\)). On the other hand, the Riesz capacity of a compact set \(K\subset \mathbb R^2\) is \(C_{s,p}(K):=\sup_\mu \mu(K)^p\), whenever \(s>0\), \(1<p<\infty\), \(0<sp\leq 2\). The supremum above is taken over all measures \(\mu\) supported on \(K\) such that \(\int \frac{d\mu(x)}{|y-x|^{2-s}}\) is in the unit ball of \(L^{p'}\) with \(1/p+1/p'=1\). The first main result of the paper is that for all compact sets \(K\subseteq \mathbb R^2\) one has \(\gamma_\alpha ^n (K) \eqsim C_{\frac{2}{3}(2-\alpha) ,\frac{3}{2} } (K)\), whenever \(0<\alpha<1\) and \(n\in \mathbb N\). This extends the corresponding result for \(\alpha=1\) and any dimension from [\textit{J. Mateu} et al., J. Reine Angew. Math. 578, 201--223 (2005; Zbl 1086.31005)] to any \(\alpha\in(0,1)\) but in dimensions \(d=2\) only. The second main result of the paper is that, for a measurable set \(E\subset \mathbb R^d\) with \(\mathcal H^1(E)<\infty\), the boundedness of the singular integrals associated with the kernels \(K_{\alpha,n} ^i \) on \(L^2(\mathcal H^1\restriction E)\) implies the rectifiability of \(E\). If, in addition, \(E\) is \(1\)-AD regular then the previous boundedness property characterizes uniform \(1\)-rectifiability. An important feature of the proofs in the paper is the consideration of the symmetrizations \(p_{\alpha,n} ^i(x,y,z)\) of the kernels \(K_{\alpha,n} ^i \), where \(x,y,z\) are distinct points in \(\mathbb R^d\). The authors prove that the permutations \(p_{\alpha,n} ^i(x,y,z)\) behave like the inverse of the largest side of the triangle determined by the points \(x,y,z\) to the power \(2\alpha\). This is reminiscent of the formula relating the permutations of the Cauchy kernel with the Menger curvature, discovered by \textit{M. S. Mel'nikov} [Sb. Math. 186, No. 6, 827--846 (1995); translation from Mat. Sb. 186, No. 6, 57--76 (1995; Zbl 0840.30008)] which was used, for example, in [\textit{J. C. Léger}, Ann. Math. (2) 149, No. 3, 831--869 (1999; Zbl 0966.28003)] in order to show that the boundedness of the Cauchy transform implies rectifiability.