Marian Bocea
$506,973
Carnegie-Mellon University
Pennsylvania
Mathematical and Physical Sciences (MPS)
Isoperimetric and Sobolev-type inequalities play a central role in the mathematical fields of analysis and geometry and provide a mathematical framework to describe optimal configurations for various engineering problems and physical systems. For example, one isoperimetric-type inequality gives the mathematical justification that a metal rod will have the strongest resistance to twisting forces if its cross-sections are circular. This project investigates several geometric questions related to isoperimetric and Sobolev-type inequalities, including the following: if one only has measurements of a given rod's resistance to twisting forces, how much geometric information can be recovered about the shape of the rod's cross-sections? Questions of this type have powerful and sometimes unexpected applications in other branches of mathematics. A fundamental part of the project is a two-pillared educational component. First, the Principal Investigator (PI) will organize a workshop for women in analysis at Carnegie Mellon University, integrating research and education through mini-courses, research talks, and opportunities for junior researchers. Second, the PI will initiate a joint Directed Reading Program between Carnegie Mellon University and the neighboring University of Pittsburgh, delivering vertically integrated mathematical and professional development and a timely opportunity to rebuild bridges between the two departments post-pandemic. <br/> <br/>This project, rooted in the calculus of variations and partial differential equations, develops novel applications of isoperimetric and Sobolev-type inequalities to attack central questions in analysis and geometry, and explores the interplay between geometry and optimal constants and equality cases for the inequalities. The PI will develop a framework for proving a new type of broadly applicable quantitative stability estimate in the context of isoperimetric problems for shape functionals driven by partial differential equations; prove quantitative descriptions of local minimizers of isoperimetric problems in Riemannian manifolds and Euclidean domains, expanding the toolbox in this area; via doubly-constrained Sobolev-type minimization problems, build constant scalar curvature conformal metrics with constant mean curvature boundary of prescribed area; and prove localized versions of epsilon-regularity theorems for Riemannian manifolds with lower bounds on scalar curvature, paving the way for the analysis of singularities.<br/><br/>This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.