Symmetry-breaking in a generalized Wirtinger inequality

Abstract

The search of the optimal constant for a generalized Wirtinger inequality in an interval consists in minimizing the p-norm of the derivative among all functions whose q-norm is equal to 1 and whose (r − 1)-power has zero average. Symmetry properties of minimizers have attracted great attention in mathematical literature in the last decades, leading to a precise characterization of symmetry and asymmetry regions. In this paper we provide a proof of the symmetry result without computer assisted steps, and a proof of the asymmetry result which works as well for local minimizers. As a consequence, we have now a full elementary description of symmetry and asymmetry cases, both for global and for local minima. Proofs rely on appropriate nonlinear variable changes.