Hadamard-type conjecture on graph and level-set concavity

Let Ω\Omega be a planar C2C^2 domain and let vC2(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=vxxvyyvxy2,G_v=v_{xx}v_{yy}-v_{xy}^2, Lv=vy2vxx2vxvyvxy+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 Gv0G_v\geq 0 for every xΩx\in\Omega. (ii) vv is -\infty-concave, meaning that G\mathcal G has convex level sets {xΩ:v(x)>c}\{x\in\Omega:v(x)>c\}, if and only if Lv0L_v\leq 0 for every xΩx\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.

Sources & referencesView supporting material

Primary source

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

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