The sharp constant in the weak (1,1) inequality for the square function: a new proof

Abstract

In this note we give a new proof of the sharp constant $C = e^{-1/2} + \int_0^1 e^{-x^2/2}\,dx$ in the weak (1, 1) inequality for the dyadic square function. The proof makes use of two Bellman functions $\mathbb{L}$ and $\mathbb{M}$ related to the problem, and relies on certain relationships between $\mathbb{L}$ and $\mathbb{M}$, as well as the boundary values of these functions, which we find explicitly. Moreover, these Bellman functions exhibit an interesting behavior: the boundary solution for $\mathbb{M}$ yields the optimal obstacle condition for $\mathbb{L}$, and vice versa.