Critical points of essential norms of singular integral operators in weighted spaces

We show that for any simple piecewise Ljapunov contour there exists a power weight such that the essential norm |S | in the spaceL ₂(, ) does not depend on the angles of the contour and it is given by formula (2). All such weights are described. For the union =₁₂ of two simple piecewise Lyapunov curves we prove that the essential norm |S | inL ₂() is minimal if both ₁ and ₂ are smooth in some neighborhoods of the common points. It is the case when the norm |S | in the spaceL ₂() as well as inL ₂(, ) does not depend on the values of the angles and it can be calculated by formula (5).