The spheres-tubes-slabs conjecture for the relative isoperimetric problem in the cube

From papers

Let [0,1]n[0,1]^n be the unit cube in Rn\mathbb{R}^n with the Euclidean metric. For a measurable set U[0,1]nU\subset [0,1]^n of locally finite perimeter, let Vol(U)\operatorname{Vol}(U) denote its nn-dimensional Lebesgue measure and let Rel  Per(U)\mathrm{Rel}\;\mathrm{Per}(U) denote the (n1)(n-1)-dimensional Hausdorff measure of the essential boundary of UU away from [0,1]n\partial[0,1]^n. For V[0,12]V\in[0,\frac12], consider

I(V)=inf{Rel  Per(U):Vol(U)=V}.I(V)=\inf\{\mathrm{Rel}\;\mathrm{Per}(U):\operatorname{Vol}(U)=V\}.

Here Bm(r)B^m(r) is the closed ball of radius rr in Rm\mathbb{R}^m centered at the origin. The spheres-tubes-slabs conjecture. The minimizers for this relative isoperimetric problem, up to isometries of [0,1]n[0,1]^n and sets of measure 00, are of the form

(Bm(r)[0,1]m)×[0,1]nm(B^m(r)\cap[0,1]^m)\times[0,1]^{n-m}

for some r0r\geq0 and m{1,,n}m\in\{1,\dots,n\}. This conjecture describes the expected minimizers in the cube: spherical pieces, cylindrical tubes, and slabs. The case V=12V=\frac12 is known in all dimensions, but the full conjecture remains open in dimensions 3\geq3.

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Primary source

Gregory R. Chambers and Lawrence Mouillé, “On the relative isoperimetric problem for the cube”, arXiv:2302.04382 (2024).

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