Hadamard-type conjecture on graph and level-set concavity

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Let Ω\Omega be a planar C2C^2 domain and let v∈C2(Ω‾)v\in C^2(\overline{\Omega}) be positive with zero boundary values. Write G=graph⁡(v)\mathcal G=\operatorname{graph}(v), and define

Gv=vxxvyy−vxy2,G_v=v_{xx}v_{yy}-v_{xy}^2, Lv=vy2vxx−2vxvyvxy+vx2vyy.L_v=v_y^2v_{xx}-2v_xv_yv_{xy}+v_x^2v_{yy}.

Hadamard-type conjecture. (i) G\mathcal G is concave if and only if Gv≥0G_v\geq 0 for every x∈Ωx\in\Omega. (ii) vv is −∞-\infty-concave, meaning that G\mathcal G has convex level sets {x∈Ω:v(x)>c}\{x\in\Omega:v(x)>c\}, if and only if Lv≤0L_v\leq 0 for every x∈Ωx\in\Omega.

These equivalences relate concavity of the graph and convexity of its superlevel sets to differential inequalities involving the Hessian of vv. The source presents them as conjectural because a proof was not supplied; no resolution is given in the provided text.

References

Primary source

John McCuan, “Isoperimetric flow and convexity of H-graphs”, arXiv:math/9804147 (1998).

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