The Minkowski problem for the $k$-torsional rigidity

TL;DR

This paper extends the study of $k$-torsional rigidity by deriving a variational formula, defining a related measure, and solving the Minkowski problem using curvature flow methods.

Contribution

It introduces a Hadamard variational formula for $k$-torsional rigidity, defines a $k$-torsional measure, and proves existence of smooth solutions to the Minkowski problem.

Findings

Derived a Hadamard variational formula for $k$-torsional rigidity.

Defined a $k$-torsional measure from the variational formula.

Proved existence of smooth non-even solutions to the Minkowski problem.

Abstract

P. Salani [Adv. Math., 229 (2012)] introduced the $k$-torsional rigidity associated with a $k$-Hessian equation and obtained the Brunn-Minkowski inequalities $w.r.t.$ the torsional rigidity in $\mathbb{R}^3$. Following this work, we first construct, in the present paper, a Hadamard variational formula for the $k$-torsional rigidity with $1\leq k\leq n-1$, then we can deduce a $k$-torsional measure from the Hadamard variational formula. Based on the $k$-torsional measure, we propose the Minkowski problem for the $k$-torsional rigidity and confirm the existence of its smooth non-even solutions by the method of a curvature flow. Specially, a new proof method for the uniform lower bound estimation in the $C^0$ estimation for the solution to the curvature flow is presented with the help of invariant functional $\Phi(\Omega_t)$.