Exponential decay estimates for Singular Integral operators

The following subexponential estimate for commutators is proved |[|\{x\in Q: |[b,T]f(x)|>tM^2f(x)\}|\leq c\,e^{-\sqrt{\alpha\, t\|b\|_{BMO}}}\, |Q|, \qquad t>0.\] where $c$ and $\alpha$ are absolute constants, $T$ is a Calder\'on--Zygmund operator, $M$ is the Hardy Littlewood maximal function and $f$ is any function supported on the cube $Q$. It is also obtained |\{x\in Q: |f(x)-m_f(Q)|>tM_{1/4;Q}^#(f)(x) \}|\le c\, e^{-\alpha\,t}|Q|,\qquad t>0, where $m_f(Q)$ is the median value of $f$ on the cube $Q$ and M_{1/4;Q}^# is Str\"omberg's local sharp maximal function. As a consequence it is derived Karagulyan's estimate $$|\{x\in Q: |Tf(x)|> tMf(x)\}|\le c\, e^{-c\, t}\,|Q|\qquad t>0,$$ improving Buckley's theorem. A completely different approach is used based on a combination of "Lerner's formula" with some special weighted estimates of Coifman-Fefferman obtained via Rubio de Francia's algorithm. The method is flexible enough to derive similar estimates for other operators such as multilinear Calder\'on--Zygmund operators, dyadic and continuous square functions and vector valued extensions of both maximal functions and Calder\'on--Zygmund operators. On each case, $M$ will be replaced by a suitable maximal operator.Comment: To appear in Mathematische Annale

Extreme deviations and applications

Stretched exponential probability density functions (pdf), having the form of the exponential of minus a fractional power of the argument, are commonly found in turbulence and other areas. They can arise because of an underlying random multiplicative process. For this, a theory of extreme deviations is developed, devoted to the far tail of the pdf of the sum $X$ of a finite number $n$ of independent random variables with a common pdf $e^{-f(x)}$. The function $f(x)$ is chosen (i) such that the pdf is normalized and (ii) with a strong convexity condition that $f''(x)>0$ and that $x^2f''(x)\to +\infty$ for $|x|\to\infty$. Additional technical conditions ensure the control of the variations of $f''(x)$. The tail behavior of the sum comes then mostly from individual variables in the sum all close to $X/n$ and the tail of the pdf is $\sim e^{-nf(X/n)}$. This theory is then applied to products of independent random variables, such that their logarithms are in the above class, yielding usually stretched exponential tails. An application to fragmentation is developed and compared to data from fault gouges. The pdf by mass is obtained as a weighted superposition of stretched exponentials, reflecting the coexistence of different fragmentation generations. For sizes near and above the peak size, the pdf is approximately log-normal, while it is a power law for the smaller fragments, with an exponent which is a decreasing function of the peak fragment size. The anomalous relaxation of glasses can also be rationalized using our result together with a simple multiplicative model of local atom configurations. Finally, we indicate the possible relevance to the distribution of small-scale velocity increments in turbulent flow.Comment: 26 pages, 1 figure ps (now available), addition and discussion of mathematical references; appeared in J. Phys. I France 7, 1155-1171 (1997