Sobolev spaces associated to singular and fractional Radon transforms

The purpose of this paper is to study the smoothing properties (in $L^p$ Sobolev spaces) of operators of the form $f\mapsto \psi(x) \int f(\gamma_t(x)) K(t)\: dt$, where $\gamma_t(x)$ is a $C^\infty$ function defined on a neighborhood of the origin in $(t,x)\in\mathbb{R}^N\times \mathbb{R}^n$, satisfying $\gamma_0(x)\equiv x$, $\psi$ is a $C^\infty$ cut-off function supported on a small neighborhood of $0\in \mathbb{R}^n$, and $K$ is a "multi-parameter fractional kernel" supported on a small neighborhood of $0\in \mathbb{R}^N$. When $K$ is a Calder\'on-Zygmund kernel these operators were studied by Christ, Nagel, Stein, and Wainger, and when $K$ is a multi-parameter singular kernel they were studied by the author and Stein. In both of these situations, conditions on $\gamma$ were given under which the above operator is bounded on $L^p$ ($1<p<\infty$). Under these same conditions, we introduce non-isotropic $L^p$ Sobolev spaces associated to $\gamma$. Furthermore, when $K$ is a fractional kernel which is smoothing of an order which is close to $0$ (i.e., very close to a singular kernel) we prove mapping properties of the above operators on these non-isotropic Sobolev spaces. As a corollary, under the conditions introduced on $\gamma$ by Christ, Nagel, Stein, and Wainger, we prove optimal smoothing properties in isotropic $L^p$ Sobolev spaces for the above operator when $K$ is a fractional kernel which is smoothing of very low order.Comment: 94 pages; final version; to appear in Rev. Mat. Iber

Differential Equations with a Difference Quotient

The purpose of this paper is to study a class of ill-posed differential equations. In some settings, these differential equations exhibit uniqueness but not existence, while in others they exhibit existence but not uniqueness. An example of such a differential equation is, for a polynomial $P$ and continuous functions $f(t,x):[0,1]\times [0,1]\rightarrow \mathbb{R}$, \begin{equation*} \frac{\partial}{\partial t} f(t,x) = \frac{ P(f(t,x))-P(f(t,0))}{x}, \quad x>0. \end{equation*} These differential equations are related to inverse problems.Comment: 36 page

Sharp Regularity for the Integrability of Elliptic Structures

As part of his celebrated Complex Frobenius Theorem, Nirenberg showed that given a smooth elliptic structure (on a smooth manifold), the manifold is locally diffeomorphic to an open subset of $\mathbb{R}^r\times \mathbb{C}^n$ (for some $r$ and $n$) in such a way that the structure is locally the span of $\frac{\partial}{\partial t_1},\ldots, \frac{\partial}{\partial t_r},\frac{\partial}{\partial \overline{z}_1},\ldots, \frac{\partial}{\partial \overline{z}_n}$; where $\mathbb{R}^r\times \mathbb{C}^n$ has coordinates $(t_1,\ldots, t_r, z_1,\ldots, z_n)$. In this paper, we give optimal regularity for the coordinate charts which achieve this realization. Namely, if the manifold has Zygmund regularity of order $s+2$ and the structure has Zygmund regularity of order $s+1$ (for some $s>0$), then the coordinate chart may be taken to have Zygmund regularity of order $s+2$. We do this by generalizing Malgrange's proof of the Newlander-Nirenberg Theorem to this setting.Comment: v3: 39 pages, final version, to appear in J. Funct. Ana

The □b\square_b Heat Equation and Multipliers via the Wave Equation

Recently, Nagel and Stein studied the $\square_b$-heat equation, where $\square_b$ is the Kohn Laplacian on the boundary of a weakly-pseudoconvex domain of finite type in \C^2. They showed that the Schwartz kernel of $e^{-t\square_b}$ satisfies good "off-diagonal" estimates, while that of $e^{-t\square_b}-\pi$ satisfies good "on-diagonal" estimates, where $\pi$ is the Szeg\"o projection. We offer a simple proof of these results, which easily generalizes to other, similar situations. Our methods involve adapting the well-known relationship between the heat equation and the finite propagation speed of the wave equation to this situation. In addition, we apply these methods to study multipliers of the form m\l(\square_b\r). In particular, we show that m\l(\square_b\r) is an NIS operator, where $m$ satisfies an appropriate Mihlin-H\"ormander condition.Comment: 29 pages; minor correction

Coordinates Adapted to Vector Fields II: Sharp Results

Given a finite collection of $C^1$ vector fields on a $C^2$ manifold which span the tangent space at every point, we consider the question of when there is locally a coordinate system in which these vector fields are $\mathscr{C}^{s+1}$ for $s\in (1,\infty]$, where $\mathscr{C}^s$ denotes the Zygmund space of order $s$. We give necessary and sufficient, coordinate-free conditions for the existence of such a coordinate system. Moreover, we present a quantitative study of these coordinate charts. This is the second part in a three-part series of papers. The first part, joint with Stovall, addressed the same question, though the results were not sharp, and showed how such coordinate charts can be viewed as scaling maps in sub-Riemannian geometry. When viewed in this light, these results can be seen as strengthening and generalizing previous works on the quantitative theory of sub-Riemannian geometry, initiated by Nagel, Stein, and Wainger, and furthered by Tao and Wright, the author, and others. In the third part, we prove similar results concerning real analyticity.Comment: v5: expository updates, 36 pages. Part 2 in a 3 parts series. Part 1: arXiv:1709.04528 Part 3: arXiv:1808.0463

Multi-parameter singular Radon transforms I: the L2L^2 theory

The purpose of this paper is to study the $L^2$ boundedness of operators of the form $$f\mapsto \psi(x) \int f(\gamma_t(x)) K(t) dt,$$ where $\gamma_t(x)$ is a $C^\infty$ function defined on a neighborhood of the origin in $(t,x)\in \R^N\times \R^n$, satisfying $\gamma_0(x)\equiv x$, $\psi$ is a $C^\infty$ cutoff function supported on a small neighborhood of $0\in \R^n$, and $K$ is a "multi-parameter singular kernel" supported on a small neighborhood of $0\in \R^N$. The goal is, given an appropriate class of kernels $K$, to give conditions on $\gamma$ such that every operator of the above form is bounded on $L^2$. The case when $K$ is a Calder\'on-Zygmund kernel was studied by Christ, Nagel, Stein, and Wainger; we generalize their conditions to the case when $K$ has a "multi-parameter" structure. For example, when $K$ is given by a "product kernel." Even when $K$ is a Calder\'on-Zygmund kernel, our methods yield some new results. This is the first paper in a three part series, the later two of which are joint with E. M. Stein. The second paper deals with the related question of $L^p$ boundedness, while the third paper deals with the special case when $\gamma$ is real analytic.Comment: 60 pages; part 1 of a 3 part series; to appear in Journal d'Analyse Mathematiqu

Sub-Hermitian Geometry and the Quantitative Newlander-Nirenberg Theorem

Given a finite collection of $C^1$ complex vector fields on a $C^2$ manifold $M$ such that they and their complex conjugates span the complexified tangent space at every point, the classical Newlander-Nirenberg theorem gives conditions on the vector fields so that there is a complex structure on $M$ with respect to which the vector fields are $T^{0,1}$. In this paper, we give intrinsic, diffeomorphic invariant, necessary and sufficient conditions on the vector fields so that they have a desired level of regularity with respect to this complex structure (i.e., smooth, real analytic, or have Zygmund regularity of some finite order). By addressing this in a quantitative way we obtain a holomorphic analog of the quantitative theory of sub-Riemannian geometry initiated by Nagel, Stein, and Wainger. We call this sub-Hermitian geometry. Moreover, we proceed more generally and obtain similar results for manifolds which have an associated formally integrable elliptic structure. This allows us to introduce a setting which generalizes both the real and complex theories.Comment: v5: 62 pages, final version, to appear in Adv. Mat

Coordinates Adapted to Vector Fields: Canonical Coordinates

Given a finite collection of $C^1$ vector fields on a $C^2$ manifold which span the tangent space at every point, we consider the question of when there is locally a coordinate system in which these vector fields have a higher level of smoothness. For example, when is there a coordinate system in which the vector fields are smooth, or real analytic, or have Zygmund regularity of some finite order? We address this question in a quantitative way, which strengthens and generalizes previous works on the quantitative theory of sub-Riemannian (aka Carnot-Carath\'eodory) geometry due to Nagel, Stein, and Wainger, Tao and Wright, the second author, and others. Furthermore, we provide a diffeomorphism invariant version of these theories. This is the first part in a three part series of papers. In this paper, we study a particular coordinate system adapted to a collection of vector fields (sometimes called canonical coordinates) and present results related to the above questions which are not quite sharp; these results from the backbone of the series. The methods of this paper are based on techniques from ODEs. In the second paper, we use additional methods from PDEs to obtain the sharp results. In the third paper, we prove results concerning real analyticity and use methods from ODEs.Comment: Part 1 in a 3 part series, 64 pages. final version, to appear in GAFA; part 2: arXiv:1808.04159, part 3: arXiv:1808.0463

Reconstruction in the Calderon Problem with Partial Data

We consider the problem of recovering the coefficient \sigma(x) of the elliptic equation \grad \cdot(\sigma \grad u)=0 in a body from measurements of the Cauchy data on possibly very small subsets of its surface. We give a constructive proof of a uniqueness result by Kenig, Sj\"ostrand, and Uhlmann. We construct a uniquely specified family of solutions such that their traces on the boundary can be calculated by solving an integral equation which involves only the given partial Cauchy data. The construction entails a new family of Green's functions for the Laplacian, and corresponding single layer potentials, which may be of independent interest.Comment: Final version, 17 pages, to appear in Comm in PD

Multi-parameter singular Radon transforms II: the L^p theory

The purpose of this paper is to study the $L^p$ boundedness of operators of the form $$f\mapsto \psi(x) \int f(\gamma_t(x))K(t)\: dt,$$ where $\gamma_t(x)$ is a $C^\infty$ function defined on a neighborhood of the origin in $(t,x)\in \R^N\times \R^n$, satisfying $\gamma_0(x)\equiv x$, $\psi$ is a $C^\infty$ cutoff function supported on a small neighborhood of $0\in \R^n$, and $K$ is a "multi-parameter singular kernel" supported on a small neighborhood of $0\in \R^N$. We also study associated maximal operators. The goal is, given an appropriate class of kernels $K$, to give conditions on $\gamma$ such that every operator of the above form is bounded on $L^p$ ($1<p<\infty$). The case when $K$ is a Calder\'on-Zygmund kernel was studied by Christ, Nagel, Stein, and Wainger; we generalize their work to the case when $K$ is (for instance) given by a "product kernel." Even when $K$ is a Calder\'on-Zygmund kernel, our methods yield some new results. This is the second paper in a three part series. The first paper deals with the case $p=2$, while the third paper deals with the special case when $\gamma$ is real analytic.Comment: 41 pages; part 2 in a three part serie