Preprint

Inserted: 1 oct 2026
Last Updated: 1 oct 2026

Year: 2026

Abstract:

We develop a measure-theoretic framework for small-order limits of nonlocal energies with metric-valued maps. For globally $L^p$ maps, we consider interaction measures whose marginals have uniformly bounded $L^\infty$ densities $a_\alpha$ and $b_\alpha$. If these densities converge weakly- to $a_\infty$ and $b_\infty$, the normalized energies converge to the $L^p$ energy weighted by $a_\infty+b_\infty$ if and only if the interaction measures escape every bounded rectangle. For maps that are only locally $L^p$, we introduce target laws describing the distribution of the values sampled at infinity. Convergence of their $p$-distance profiles yields the limiting interaction energy for every $1\leq p<\infty$ and arbitrary Polish targets, with integrated $p$-Wasserstein convergence as a sufficient criterion. The arguments include the endpoint $p=1$ and require no linear structure on the target space. Applications include directional and anisotropic Maz'ya--Shaposhnikova formulas, a Bernoulli-law interpretation of fractional perimeters, and an Abelian principle for heat-semigroup energies.

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