On the gradient of Schwarz symmetrization of functions in Sobolev spaces

Abstract

Let S be a Sobolev or Orlicz-Sobolev space of functions not necessarily vanishing at the boundary of the domain. We give sufficient conditions on a nonnegative function in S in order that its spherical rearrangement ("Schwartz symmetrization") still belongs to S. These results are obtained via relative isoperimetric inequalities and somewhat generalize a well-known Polya-Szego's theorem. We also prove that the rearrangement of any function in S is locally in S.