Symmetry of minimizers of a Gaussian isoperimetric problem

Abstract

We study an isoperimetric problem described by a functional that consists of the standard Gaussian perimeter and the norm of the barycenter. This second term has a repulsive effect, and it is in competition with the perimeter. Because of that, in general the solution is not the half-space. We characterize all the minimizers of this functional, when the volume is close to one, by proving that the minimizer is either the half-space or the symmetric strip, depending on the strength of the repulsive term. As a corollary, we obtain that the symmetric strip is the solution of the Gaussian isoperimetric problem among symmetric sets when the volume is close to one.