An extension of a critical Hardy--Rellich inequality: explicit constants and the sharp weight range

Abstract

We revisit the critical Hardy--Rellich inequalities recently established by Castro in "A critical Hardy--Rellich inequality (preprint, arXiv:2511.16537, 2025)". Using the classical one-dimensional weighted Hardy inequality in Emden--Fowler variables, we prove that the weighted inequality holds exactly for $a\ne N$, with $a=N$ as the unique critical value. We derive explicit constants for $N\ge 2$, obtain the sharp constant in dimension one, and extend the $\Delta u$ formulation to the Muckenhoupt range $-N<a<N(N-1)$, $a\ne N$. This provides a partial solution to an open problem raised in Castro's work.