A class of Orlicz-Sobolev spaces with applications to variational problems involving nonlinear Hill's equations

Necessary and sufficient conditions are proved for a $\text{b}$⁽²⁾-Young function G (with independent variable t) to be convex (resp. concave) in t² in terms of inequalities between the second derivative of G and the first derivative of its Legendre transform G? (with independent variable s). It is then proven that a Young function G is convex (resp. concave) in t² if and only if G? is concave (resp. convex) in s². These results, along with another set of inequalities for functions G convex (resp. concave) in t², allow the proof of the uniform convexity and thereby of the reflexivity with respect to Luxemburg's norm $\text{∥f∥}{}_{\mathrm{G}}\text{=}\text{inf}\text{{k > 0: ∝}{}_{\mathrm{\Omega }}\text{dξ G(f}\text{(ξ)}\text{k}\text{) ? 1}}$ of the Orlicz space $\text{L}{}_{\mathrm{G}}\text{(Ω)}$ over an open domain Ω ?$\text{R}$_N with Lebesgue measure dξ. When applied to $\text{G(t) =}\text{¦t¦}{}^{\mathrm{p}}\text{p}$ and $\text{G}\text{?}\text{(s) =}\text{¦s¦}{}^{\mathrm{p\prime }}\text{p′}$ with p^?1 + (p′)^?1 = 1, the preceding results lead to the shortest proof to date of two Clarkson's inequalities and of the reflexivity of L^p-spaces for 1 < p < +∞. Finally, some of these results are used to solve by direct methods variational problems associated with the existence question of periodic orbits for a class of nonlinear Hill's equations; these variational problems are formulated on suitable Orlicz-Sobolev spaces $\text{W}{}^{\mathrm{m}}\text{L}{}_{\mathrm{G}}\text{(Ω)}$ and thereby allow for nonlinear terms which may grow faster than any power of the variable.