REVIEW 4 major objections 4 minor 42 references
The Lq-Minkowski problem of anisotropic p-torsional rigidity
T0 review · 4 major / 4 minor · reviewed 2026-08-08 · deepseek-v4-flash
Pith's one-line read For every admissible Borel measure there is a convex body whose Lq anisotropic p-torsional measure equals it, for q>1 and 0<q<1.
desk verdict New existence results for a natural L_q-Minkowski problem, but the core variational formula is unproved as written: the proof fixes the PDE solution while the domain moves. read the letter →
The pith
A machine-rendered reading of the paper's core claim, the machinery that carries it, and where it could break.
The reading
What carries the argument
The central object is the $L_q$ anisotropic $p$-torsional measure $S_{F,p,q}(K,\eta)$, defined by $S_{F,p,q}(K,\eta)=\int_{g_K^{-1}(\eta)}\langle x,g_K(x)\rangle^{1-q}F^p(\nabla u(x))\,d\mathcal H^{n-1}(x)$, where $u$ solves the anisotropic $p$-Laplace problem in $K$ and $g_K$ is the Gauss map. The identity carrying the argument is the variational formula of Lemma 2.4: for $h_t=(h_K^q+t f^q)^{1/q}$, the one-sided derivative of $\tau_{F,p}([h_t])$ at $t=0$ equals $\frac1q\int f^q\,dS_{F,p,q}(K,\cdot)$. This formula converts the geometric minimization into the measure equation; for $0<q<1$ the key machinery is instead the strictly concave functional $\Phi_{f,\mu}(\xi)=\int (f(u)-\xi\cdot u)^q\,d\mu(u)$ and its unique maximizer over the Aleksandrov body, which yields the measure equation by an implicit-function argument.
What would settle it
Take $K$ the unit ball, $F(\xi)=|\xi|$, $p=2$, and some $q\neq1$ with a nonconstant $f$, and numerically solve the Poisson problem in the deformed body $[h_t]$ for small $t$ to evaluate $\tau_{F,p}([h_t])$ directly; if the difference quotient does not converge to $\frac1q\int f^q\,dS_{F,p,q}(K,\cdot)$, then Lemma 2.4 is false and the main theorems no longer have a proved basis.
Extended reading notes
Core claim
The paper's central claim is that the solution set of the anisotropic $p$-torsional Minkowski problem is essentially as large as in the classical case. Specifically, Theorem 1.1 asserts that for $1<p<\infty$ and $1<q\neq \frac{p}{p-1}+n$, every nonzero finite Borel measure $\mu$ on $S^{n-1}$ not concentrated in a closed hemisphere is of the form $S_{F,p,q}(K,\cdot)$ for some convex body $K\in\mathcal K_o^n$. Theorem 1.3 asserts the same for $0<q<1$ in the proportional form $d\mu=\lambda\,dS_{F,p,q}(K,\cdot)$ with a positive constant $\lambda$. The proof constructs $K$ as a minimizer of a log-type functional involving $\tau_{F,p}$, then uses the variational formula for the derivative of $\tau_{F,p}$ along $L_q$-Minkowski combinations; for small $q$ it instead uses a concave maximization trick on polyhedral (discrete-measure) approximations and passes to the limit.
Load-bearing premise
The argument stands on the variational formula in Lemma 2.4, which computes the derivative of the torsional rigidity by changing only the domain and holding the PDE solution fixed; if the solution's variation inside the domain contributes to this derivative, the formula fails and the existence theorems lose their support.
Editorial extensions
If this is right
- The $q=1$ case—the ordinary anisotropic $p$-torsional Minkowski problem—sits inside Theorems 1.1 and 1.3 as a limiting special case, so the result unifies and extends the known existence theory.
- For $F(\xi)=\sum_k |\xi_k|$ and $p=2$, the theorems reproduce the known $L_p$ torsional-rigidity Minkowski problem results, giving a single framework that contains them.
- The minimizer produced by the variational proof is automatically a convex body whose $L_q$ anisotropic $p$-torsional measure is the prescribed measure, so existence comes with a constructive variational characterization.
- The $0<q<1$ result holds for general Borel measures, not just discrete ones, because the discrete case is dense in the weak topology under the hypothesis that the measure is not concentrated in a closed hemisphere.
Reading between the lines
- If the variational formula is correct, the same minimization scheme should extend to $q<0$ whenever the functional $\Psi_{F,p,q}$ remains coercive; the paper does not treat that range.
- The formal structure of the measure density—$h^{1-q}$ times a PDE-generated density—mirrors the electrostatic $q$-capacitary Minkowski problem, so techniques from either setting may transfer to the other.
- A direct numerical check of Lemma 2.4 on radial bodies would settle whether the omitted interior variation of the PDE solution is benign; until then, the $q\neq1$ existence results rest on that unverified formula.
Editorial analysis
A structured set of objections, weighed in public.
Referee Report
Summary. The paper studies the L_q-Minkowski problem for the anisotropic p-torsional rigidity τ_{F,p}. It claims existence of a convex body K whose L_q anisotropic p-torsional measure S_{F,p,q}(K,·) equals a prescribed nonzero finite Borel measure μ not concentrated in any closed hemisphere, for two regimes: 1<q, q ≠ p/(p-1)+n (Theorem 1.1) and 0<q<1 up to a positive constant (Theorem 1.3). The proof is variational: a first-order expansion of τ_{F,p} under L_q-Minkowski combinations (Lemma 2.4) is used to derive the Euler-Lagrange equation for a minimization problem (q>1) and a polyhedral-approximation argument for 0<q<1. The abstract states that these are existence results beyond the previously known q=1 case.
Significance. If correct, the paper would provide the first existence theorems for the anisotropic p-torsional L_q-Minkowski problem outside q=1, extending results of Li for q=1 and the isotropic p-torsional results of Chen-Zhao-Wang-Zhao and Hu-Liu. The problem is natural and the variational/polyhedral framework is appropriate. The main obstacle is that the central variational formula in Lemma 2.4, on which both existence theorems rest, is not proved; the proof as written omits the dependence of the PDE solution on the varying domain. This is a load-bearing gap, not a presentation issue.
major comments (4)
- [§2.2, Lemma 2.4] The proof of Lemma 2.4 is not a valid derivation of the claimed variational formula. It writes τ_{F,p}([h_t]) = ∫_{S^{n-1}} ∫_0^{ρ[h_t](v)} F^p(∇u(ξv)) ξ^{n-1} dξ dv, using a function u that appears to be the solution on the fixed body K, and then differentiates only the upper limit ρ[h_t](v) via Lemma 2.2. However τ_{F,p}([h_t]) is defined using the solution u_t of (2.7) on the domain [h_t], and u_t depends on t. No material derivative of u_t is computed, and no Hadamard formula for anisotropic p-torsional rigidity is cited or proved. Consequently the identity lim_{t→0}(τ_{F,p}([h_t])−τ_{F,p}(K))/t = (1/q)∫ f^q dS_{F,p,q} is unproved. This identity is invoked at the decisive points: Lemma 3.1 for q>1 and Corollary 2.5/Lemma 4.3 for the 0<q<1 case. Therefore Theorems 1.1 and 1.3 are not supported by the present proof.
- [§1 and §2.2, definition of S_{F,p,q}] The definition of the L_q anisotropic p-torsional measure is inconsistent across the paper. In the introduction, S_{F,p,q}(K,η) is defined with the prefactor (p−1)/(n(p−1)+p), while equation (2.15) defines it without this prefactor. Lemma 2.4's proof concludes ∫ f^q dS_{F,p,q} using the convention in (2.15). If the introduction's definition is used instead, the variational formula would contain an extra factor. This ambiguity affects the constants in the final existence statements and must be resolved.
- [§4, Lemma 4.3] In the derivation following equation (4.11), the exponent q−1 is replaced by p−1 without justification. Equations (4.12)-(4.14) involve h^{q−1}, but the later identity written as ∫ h^{p−1}(u)f(u)dμ(u) appears with p−1 in several places. The final identification dμ = λ dS_{F,p,q} would be consistent with h^{q−1}, not h^{p−1}. As written, the algebra does not follow; this appears to be a typo, but it occurs in the proof of a main result and must be corrected.
- [§3, Theorem 3.2] The statement of Theorem 3.2 assumes that μ is not concentrated on a great subsphere, but the proof uses the stronger assumption that μ is not concentrated in any closed hemisphere. These hypotheses are not equivalent. The uniform-bound argument with the positive constant c0 requires the closed-hemisphere condition. The theorem as stated is stronger than what the proof establishes.
minor comments (4)
- [§2.2, Lemma 2.4] The hypothesis 'such that ∂K up to set of (n−1)-dimensional Hausdorff measure zero' is grammatically incomplete; the intended regularity condition on ∂K should be stated precisely.
- [§1] There is a typo in 'Meanehile' in the introduction; it should be 'Meanwhile'.
- [§2.1] The reference to 'Porposition 2.5' in Lemma 2.1 should read 'Proposition 2.5'.
- [§2.2, equation (2.15)] After equation (2.15), the text says 'the Lq anisotropic p-torsional measure, S_{F,p,q}(K,·), of K is a Borel measure', but no proof of Borel measurability is given; this is routine and can be stated as a standard consequence of (2.5).
Circularity Check
No significant circularity: the q≠1 existence theorems are not forced by the definitions or by the self-cited q=1 results; the variational lemma is an in-paper derivation attempt, whose proof gap is a correctness issue, not a circular reduction.
full rationale
I walked the derivation chain. The Lq anisotropic p-torsional measure S_{F,p,q}(K,·) is defined independently as an integral over the boundary (intro and (2.15)), and the main existence theorems (Theorems 1.1 and 1.3) are proved by variational minimization and polyhedral approximation. The only in-paper derivation that could make the conclusion an input is Lemma 2.4, but its statement is a formula for the variation of τ_{F,p} in terms of S_{F,p,q}; it is not used to define S_{F,p,q} in a way that presupposes the target measure. The proof does contain a gap: it differentiates the moving boundary ρ[h_t] while keeping the PDE solution u fixed, which is a correctness concern, not a circularity. The self-citations to Li [29] supply the q=1 anisotropic p-torsional measure and properties such as translation invariance, homogeneity, and continuity; these are background facts and do not contain the q≠1 existence claims, nor are they fitted parameters. The minimization problems involve no parameters fitted to the target measure, and the final equations are Euler-Lagrange identities derived from the variational formulas, not renaming of known results. Minor internal inconsistency: the factor (p−1)/(n(p−1)+p) appears in the intro definition of S_{F,p,q} but not in (2.15); this affects normalization but not circularity. Overall score 1 reflects only the presence of a same-author citation in the background, not load-bearing circularity.
Assumptions & free parameters
assumptions (5)
- domain assumption F is a regular norm in I_p = {F∈C^{2,α}(R^n\{0}): (1/p)F^p∈C^2_+(R^n\{0})} and is strictly convex.
- domain assumption Anisotropic Pohozaev identity and integral expression τ_{F,p}(K)= (p-1)/(n(p-1)+p)∫_{S^{n-1}} h_K F^p(∇u) dS.
- domain assumption Continuity, homogeneity, translation invariance, and monotonicity of τ_{F,p} and S_{F,p} in the Hausdorff metric.
- domain assumption Upper bound τ_{F,p}(K) ≤ (p-1)/(n(p-1)+p) n^{-1/(p-1)} κ_n^{-p/(n(p-1))} V(K)^{(n(p-1)+p)/(n(p-1))}.
- domain assumption For 0<q<1, Φ_{f,μ}(ξ)=∫(f(u)-ξ·u)^q dμ(u) is strictly concave and has a unique maximizer ξ_f depending continuously on f.
Cite this review
Pith. "Pith review of The Lq-Minkowski problem of anisotropic p-torsional rigidity." pith.science (2026). https://pith.science/paper/NBPKMWB7
@misc{pith2026250205804,
author = {Pith},
title = {Pith review of: The Lq-Minkowski problem of anisotropic p-torsional rigidity},
year = {2026},
howpublished = {\url{https://pith.science/paper/NBPKMWB7}},
note = {Machine review of arXiv:2502.05804}
}
abstract
In this paper, the $L_q$-Minkowski problem of anisotropic $p$-torsional rigidity is considered. The existence of the solution of the $L_q$-Minkowski problem of anisotropic $p$-torsional rigidity with $0<q<1$ and $1<q\neq \frac{p}{p-1}+n$ is given.
Reference graph
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