Homogenization effects on non-local functionals

Abstract We study the homogenization of a class of non-local functionals featuring a rapidly oscillating periodic weight. By means of two-scale convergence, we explicitly evaluate the $$\Gamma $$ Γ -limit for constant target functions, revealing how the interplay between periodicity and non-locality forces the minimizing sequences to develop highly oscillating microstructures. As a natural consequence, we establish that the effective macroscopic functional fails to admit a standard double-integral representation.