Non-local distance functions and geometric regularity

Abstract

We establish the equivalence between the regularity (rectifiability) of sets and suitable estimates on the oscillation of the gradient for smooth non-local distance functions. A prototypical example of such a distance was introduced, as part of a larger PDE theory, by Guy David, Joseph Feneuil, and the third author. The results apply to all dimensions and co-dimensions, require no underlying topological assumptions, and provide a surprisingly rich class of analytic characterizations of rectifiability.