Published online by Cambridge University Press: 20 November 2018
We introduce the class of Harnack domains in which a Harnack type inequality holds for positive harmonic functions with bounds given in terms of the distance to the domain's boundary. We give conditions connecting Harnack domains with several different complete metrics. We characterize the simply connected plane domains which are Harnack and discuss associated topics. We extend classical results to Harnack domains and give applications concerning the rate of growth of various functions defined in Harnack domains. We present a perhaps new characterization for quasidisks.