The space of Hardy-weights for quasilinear operators on discrete graphs

Abstract

We study Hardy inequalities for $p$-Schr\"odinger operators on general weighted graphs. Specifically, we prove a Maz'ya-type result, where we characterize the space of Hardy weights for $ p $-Schr\"odinger operators via a generalized capacity. The novel ingredient in the proof is the demonstration that the simplified energy of the $ p $-Schr\"odinger energy functional is compatible with certain normal contractions. As a consequence, we obtain a necessary integrability criterion for Hardy weights. Finally, using some tools of criticality theory, we investigate the existence of minimizers in the Hardy inequalities and discuss relations to Cheeger type estimates.