In this paper we find estimates for the optimal constant in the critical Sobolev trace inequality $\lambda_1(\Omega)\|u\|_{ L^1(\partial\Omega)} \le \|u\|_{ W^{ 1,1}(\Omega)}$ that are independent of $\Omega$. This estimates generalize those of \cite{ BS} concerning the $p$-Laplacian to the case $p=1$. We apply our results to prove existence of an extremal for this embedding. We then study an optimal design problem related to $\lambda_1$, and eventually compute the shape derivative of the functional $\Omega\to\lambda_1(\Omega)$. As a consequence, we obtain that a ball of $\R^n$ of radius $n$ is critical for volume-preserving deformations.
Categories: math.AP