English

Formalizing the Classical Isoperimetric Inequality in the Two-Dimensional Case

Metric Geometry 2026-03-17 v1 Logic in Computer Science

Abstract

We present a formal verification of the classical isoperimetric inequality in the plane using the Lean 4 proof assistant and its mathematical library Mathlib. We follow Adolf Hurwitz's analytic approach to establish the inequality L24πAL^2 \ge 4\pi A, which states that among all simple closed curves of a given perimeter LL, the circle uniquely maximizes the enclosed area AA. The formalization proceeds in two phases. In the first phase, we establish the Fourier-analytic foundations required by Hurwitz's approach: we formalize orthogonality relations for trigonometric functions over [π,π][-\pi,\pi], Parseval's theorem for classical Fourier series, uniform convergence of Fourier partial sums via the Weierstrass M-test, term-by-term differentiability, and Wirtinger's inequality. In the second phase, we carry out Hurwitz's proof itself: working with simple closed C1C^1 curves given in arc-length parametrization, we reparametrize over [0,2π][0,2\pi], establish the shoelace area formula, apply integration by parts, invoke the AM--GM inequality, apply Wirtinger's inequality, and use the arc-length constraint to derive the bound AL2/(4π)A \le L^2/(4\pi). We discuss the key formalization challenges encountered, including the interchange of infinite sums and integrals, term-by-term differentiation, and the coordination of different indexing conventions within Mathlib. The complete formalization is available at https://github.com/mirajcs/IsoperimetricInequality

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.2603.14663,
  title  = {Formalizing the Classical Isoperimetric Inequality in the Two-Dimensional Case},
  author = {Miraj Samarakkody},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2603.14663},
  year   = {2026}
}
R2 v1 2026-07-01T11:21:08.815Z