Riesz capacity ratios with negative exponents

Abstract

We investigate sharp inequalities for ratios of Riesz capacities with negative exponents by combining computational experiments with rigorous analysis. For finite subsets of the line, we prove positivity of equilibrium masses when $-1<p<0$, enabling numerical tests of conjectured extremal ratios. In the plane, comparisons of the disk with regular polygon vertex sets reveal a cascade of transitions among the tested competitors and suggest a precise conjecture for the equilibrium measure of odd polygons, for which we give a partial proof. Numerical intersections of equality curves show that the regions where these sets outperform the disk are not simply nested. Similar numerical intersections occur in three dimensions between the regular-simplex equality curve and those of explicit five-point and six-point configurations. Motivated by the dimensional dependence of these comparisons, we prove that for each fixed $p<-2<q<0$, the regular simplex has a larger capacity ratio than the ball in all sufficiently large dimensions. Accompanying Python and Mathematica code supports reproduction and further testing of the conjectures.