On the existence of optimizers for nonlinear time-frequency concentration problems: the Born--Jordan distribution

Abstract

We study the $L^p$ concentration problem for the Born--Jordan distribution in dimension $d>1$, thus extending the one-dimensional analysis in [Stra-Svela-Trapasso, J. Math. Pures Appl. (2026)]. We show that the existence of concentration optimizers depends on the exponent $p$ with a critical threshold at $p_*(d)= \frac{2d}{d-2}$ for $d\geq2$ (with the understanding that $p_*(2)=\infty$). In particular, for subcritical exponents $1\leq p<p_*(d)$ we prove that the supremum is finite and is attained, whereas for supercritical exponents $p>p_*(d)$ we show that the functional is unbounded. We also provide the complete solution in the (significantly more) challenging critical regime in dimension $d=2$.