Tightening and reversing the arithmetic-harmonic mean inequality for symmetrizations of convex sets

Abstract

This paper deals with four symmetrizations of a convex set $C$: the intersection, the harmonic and the arithmetic mean, and the convex hull of $C$ and $-C$. A well-known result of Firey shows that those means build up a subset-chain in the given order. On the one hand, we determine the dilatation factors, depending on the asymmetry of $C$, to reverse the containments between any of those symmetrizations. On the other hand, we tighten the relations proven by Firey and show a stability result concerning those factors near the simplex.