Higher-order affine Sobolev inequalities

Abstract

Zhang refined the classical Sobolev inequality $\|f\|_{L^{Np/(N-p)}} \lesssim \| \nabla f \|_{L^p}$, where $1\leq p \lt N$, by replacing $\|\nabla f\|_{L^p}$ with a smaller quantity invariant by unimodular affine transformations. The analogue result in homogeneous fractional Sobolev spaces $\mathring{W}^{s,p}$, with $0 \lt s \lt 1$ and $sp \lt N$, was obtained by Haddad and Ludwig. We generalize their results to the case where $s \gt 1$. Our approach, based on the existence of optimal unimodular transformations, allows us to obtain various affine inequalities, such as affine Sobolev inequalities, reverse affine inequalities, and affine Gagliardo-Nirenberg type inequalities. In a different but related direction, we also answer a question concerning reverse affine inequalities, raised by Haddad, Jim\'enez, and Montenegro.