Dimension of Images of Large Level Sets

Abstract: Let $k$ be a natural number. We consider $k$-times continuously-differentiable real-valued functions $f:E\to\mathbb{R}$, where $E$ is some interval on the line having positive length. For $0<\alpha<1$ let $I_\alpha(f)$ denote the set of values $y\in\mathbb{R}$ whose preimage $f^{-1}(y)$ has Hausdorff dimension $\dim f^{-1}(y) \ge \alpha$. We consider how large can be the Hausdorff dimension of $I_\alpha(f)$, as $f$ ranges over the set $C^k(E,\mathbb{R})$ of all $k$-times continuously-differentiable functions from $E$ into $\mathbb{R}$. We show that the sharp upper bound on $\dim I_\alpha(f)$ is $\displaystyle\frac{1-\alpha}k$.