Shape sensitivity analysis of the Hardy constant

Abstract: We consider the Hardy constant associated with a domain in the $n$-dimensional Euclidean space and we study its variation upon perturbation of the domain. We prove a Fr\'{e}chet differentiability result and establish a Hadamard-type formula for the corresponding derivatives. We also prove a stability result for the minimizers of the Hardy quotient. Finally, we prove stability estimates in terms of the Lebesgue measure of the symmetric difference of domains.