The weighted Hardy constant

Let $\Omega$ be a domain in $R^d$ and $d_\Gamma$ the Euclidean distance to the boundary $\Gamma$. We investigate whether the weighted Hardy inequality $$\|d_\Gamma^{\delta/2-1}\varphi\|_2\leq a_\delta\,\|d_\Gamma^{\delta/2}\,(\nabla\varphi)\|_2$$ is valid, with $\delta\geq 0$ and $a_\delta>0$, for all $\varphi\in C_c^1(\Gamma_r)$ and all small $r>0$ where $\Gamma_r=\{x\in\Omega: d_\Gamma(x)<r\}$. First we prove that if $\delta\in[0,2\rangle$ then the inequality is equivalent to the weighted version of Davies' weak Hardy inequality on $\Omega$ with equality of the corresponding optimal constants. Secondly, we establish that if $\Omega$ is a uniform domain with Ahlfors regular boundary then the inequality is satisfied for all $\delta\geq 0$, and all small $r$, with the exception of the value $\delta=2-(d-d_H)$ where $d_H$ is the Hausdorff dimension of $\Gamma$. Moreover, the optimal constant $a_\delta(\Gamma)$ satisfies $a_\delta(\Gamma)\geq 2/|(d-d_H)+\delta-2|$. Thirdly, if $\Omega$ is a $C^{1,1}$-domain or a convex domain $a_\delta(\Gamma)=2/|\delta-1|$ for all $\delta\geq0$ with $\delta\neq1$. The same conclusion is correct if $\Omega$ is the complement of a convex domain and $\delta>1$ but if $\delta\in[0,1\rangle$ then $a_\delta(\Gamma)$ can be strictly larger than $2/|\delta-1|$. Finally we use these results to establish self-adjointness criteria for degenerate elliptic diffusion operators.