Variational problems for tree roots and branches

Abstract

This paper studies two classes of variational problems introduced in [7], related to the optimal shapes of tree roots and branches. Given a measure $\mu$ describing the distribution of leaves, a sunlight functional $\S(\mu)$ computes the total amount of light captured by the leaves. For a measure $\mu$ describing the distribution of root hair cells, a harvest functional $\H(\mu)$ computes the total amount of water and nutrients gathered by the roots. In both cases, we seek a measure $\mu$ that maximizes these functionals subject to a rami?ed transportation cost, for transporting nutrients from the roots to the trunk or from the trunk to the leaves. Compared with [7], here we do not impose any a priori bound on the total mass of the optimal measure $\mu$, and more careful a priori estimates are thus required. In the unconstrained optimization problem for branches, we prove that an optimal measure exists, with bounded support and bounded total mass. In the unconstrained problem for tree roots, we prove that an optimal measure exists, with bounded support but possibly unbounded total mass. The last section of the paper analyzes how the size of the optimal tree depends on the parameters defining the various functionals.