Optimal sets for a geometric oscillation energy

Abstract

We investigate the nonlocal energy corresponding to the $p$-oscillation of the unit normal vector for hypersurfaces, or the unit tangent vector for curves. The energy satisfies geometric inequalities with optimal constants $c(n,p)$ and $C(n,p)$ which are determined by a variational problem over the probability measures on the sphere. The extremal measures for such problem depend critically on the value of $p$. We prove existence of optimal sets for this energy under perimeter and volume constraint, and characterize their shape.