A geometric characterization of a sharp Hardy inequality ✩

In this paper, we prove that the distance function of an open connected set in Rn+1 with a C2 boundary is superharmonic in the distribution sense if and only if the boundary is weakly mean convex. We then prove that Hardy inequalities with a sharp constant hold on weakly mean convex C2 domains. Moreover, we show that the weakly mean convexity condition cannot be weakened. We also prove various improved Hardy inequalities on mean convex domains along the line of Brezis and Marcus (1997) [7]. Published by Elsevier Inc.