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Steve Hofmann

Publications and source records attributed to Steve Hofmann.

At least 73 records · Page 4Linked to original sources
arXiv2014

The Regularity problem for second order elliptic operators with complex-valued bounded measurable coefficients

The present paper establishes a certain duality between the Dirichlet and Regularity problems for elliptic operators with $t$-independent complex bounded measurable coefficients ($t$ being the transversal direction to the boundary). To be precise, we show that the Dirichlet boundary value problem is solvable in $L^{p'}$, subject to the square function and non-tangential maximal function estimates, if and only if the corresponding Regularity problem is solvable in $L^p$. Moreover, the solutions admit layer potential representations. In particular, we prove that for any elliptic operator with $t$-independent real (possibly non-symmetric) coefficients there exists a $p>1$ such that the Regularity problem is well-posed in $L^p$.

math.AP↗
arXiv2014

A new characterization of chord-arc domains

We show that if $Ω\subset \mathbb{R}^{n+1}$, $n\geq 1$, is a uniform domain (aka 1-sided NTA domain), i.e., a domain which enjoys interior Corkscrew and Harnack Chain conditions, then uniform rectifiability of the boundary of $Ω$ implies the existence of exterior Corkscrew points at all scales, so that in fact, $Ω$ is a chord-arc domain, i.e., a domain with an Ahlfors-David regular boundary which satisfies both interior and exterior Corkscrew conditions, and an interior Harnack Chain condition. We discuss some implications of this result, for theorems of F. and M. Riesz type, and for certain free boundary problems.

math.CA↗
arXiv2014

Square Function Estimates in Spaces of Homogeneous Type and on Uniformly Rectifiable Euclidean Sets

We announce a local $T(b)$ theorem, an inductive scheme, and $L^p$ extrapolation results for $L^2$ square function estimates related to the analysis of integral operators that act on Ahlfors-David regular sets of arbitrary codimension in ambient quasi-metric spaces. The inductive scheme is a natural application of the local $T(b)$ theorem and it implies the stability of $L^2$ square function estimates under the so-called big pieces functor. In particular, this analysis implies $L^p$ and Hardy space square function estimates for integral operators on uniformly rectifiable subsets of the Euclidean space.

math.AP↗
arXiv2013

The method of layer potentials in $L^p$ and endpoint spaces for elliptic operators with $L^\infty$ coefficients

We consider layer potentials associated to elliptic operators $Lu=-{\rm div}(A \nabla u)$ acting in the upper half-space $\mathbb{R}^{n+1}_+$ for $n\geq 2$, or more generally, in a Lipschitz graph domain, where the coefficient matrix $A$ is $L^\infty$ and $t$-independent, and solutions of $Lu=0$ satisfy interior estimates of De Giorgi/Nash/Moser type. A "Calderón-Zygmund" theory is developed for the boundedness of layer potentials, whereby sharp $L^p$ and endpoint space bounds are deduced from $L^2$ bounds. Appropriate versions of the classical "jump-relation" formulae are also derived. The method of layer potentials is then used to establish well-posedness of boundary value problems for $L$ with data in $L^p$ and endpoint spaces.

math.AP↗
arXiv2013

Layer potentials and boundary value problems for elliptic equations with complex $L^{\infty}$ coefficients satisfying the small Carleson measure norm condition

We consider divergence form elliptic equations $Lu:=\nabla\cdot(A\nabla u)=0$ in the half space $\mathbb{R}^{n+1}_+ :=\{(x,t)\in \mathbb{R}^n\times(0,\infty)\}$, whose coefficient matrix $A$ is complex elliptic, bounded and measurable. In addition, we suppose that $A$ satisfies some additional regularity in the direction transverse to the boundary, namely that the discrepancy $A(x,t) -A(x,0)$ satisfies a Carleson measure condition of Fefferman-Kenig-Pipher type, with small Carleson norm. Under these conditions, we establish a full range of boundedness results for double and single layer potentials in $L^p$, Hardy, Sobolev, BMO and Hölder spaces. Furthermore, we prove solvability of the Dirichlet problem for $L$, with data in $L^p(\mathbb{R}^n)$, $BMO(\mathbb{R}^n)$, and $C^α(\mathbb{R}^n)$, and solvability of the Neumann and Regularity problems, with data in the spaces $L^p(\mathbb{R}^n)/H^p(\mathbb{R}^n)$ and $L^p_1(\mathbb{R}^n)/H^{1,p}(\mathbb{R}^n)$ respectively, with the appropriate restrictions on indices, assuming invertibility of layer potentials in for the $t$-independent operator $L_0:= -\nabla\cdot(A(\cdot,0)\nabla)$.

math.AP↗
arXiv2013

$L^p$-Square Function Estimates on Spaces of Homogeneous Type and on Uniformly Rectifiable Sets

We establish square function estimates for integral operators on uniformly rectifiable sets by proving a local $T(b)$ theorem and applying it to show that such estimates are stable under the so-called big pieces functor. More generally, we consider integral operators associated with Ahlfors-David regular sets of arbitrary codimension in ambient quasi-metric spaces. The local $T(b)$ theorem is then used to establish an inductive scheme in which square function estimates on so-called big pieces of an Ahlfors-David regular set are proved to be sufficient for square function estimates to hold on the entire set. Extrapolation results for $L^p$ and Hardy space versions of these estimates are also established. Moreover, we prove square function estimates for integral operators associated with variable coefficient kernels, including the Schwartz kernels of pseudodifferential operators acting between vector bundles on subdomains with uniformly rectifiable boundaries on manifolds.

math.AP↗
arXiv2012

Generalized local Tb Theorems for Square Functions, and applications

A local Tb theorem is an L^2 boundedness criterion by which the question of the global behavior of an operator is reduced to its local behavior, acting on a family of test functions b_Q indexed by the dyadic cubes. We present several versions of such results, in particular, treating square function operators whose kernels do not satisfy the standard Littlewood-Paley pointwise estimates. As an application of one version of the local Tb theorem, we show how the solvability of the Kato problem (which was implicitly based on local Tb theory) may be deduced from this general criterion. We also present another version, from which we deduce boundedness of layer potentials associated to certain complex elliptic operators in divergence form.

math.CA↗
arXiv2012

Uniform Rectifiability and Harmonic Measure III: Riesz transform bounds imply uniform rectifiability of boundaries of 1-sided NTA domains

Let $E\subset \mathbb{R}^{n+1}$, $n\ge 2$, be a closed, Ahlfors-David regular set of dimension $n$ satisfying the "Riesz Transform bound" $$\sup_{\varepsilon>0}\int_E\left|\int_{\{y\in E:|x-y|>\varepsilon\}}\frac{x-y}{|x-y|^{n+1}} f(y) dH^n(y)\right|^2 dH^n(x) \leq C \int_E|f|^2 dH^n .$$ Assume further that $E$ is the boundary of a domain $Ω\subset \mathbb{R}^{n+1}$ satisfying the Harnack Chain condition plus an interior (but not exterior) Corkscrew condition. Then $E$ is uniformly rectifiable.

math.CA↗
arXiv2012

Uniform rectifiability and harmonic measure II: Poisson kernels in $L^p$ imply uniform rectifiability

We present the converse to a higher dimensional, scale-invariant version of a classical theorem of F. and M. Riesz. More precisely, for $n\geq 2$, for an ADR domain $Ω\subset \re^{n+1}$ which satisfies the Harnack Chain condition plus an interior (but not exterior) Corkscrew condition, we show that absolute continuity of harmonic measure with respect to surface measure on $\partialΩ$, with scale invariant higher integrability of the Poisson kernel, is sufficient to imply uniformly rectifiable of $\partialΩ$.

math.CA↗
arXiv2012

Square function/non-tangential maximal function estimates and the dirichlet problem for non-symmetric elliptic operators

We consider divergence form elliptic operators L = - div A(x)\nabla, defined in the half space R^{n+1}_+, n \geq 2, where the coefficient matrix A(x) is bounded, measurable, uniformly elliptic, t-independent, and not necessarily symmetric. We establish square function/non-tangential maximal function estimates for solutions of the homogeneous equation Lu = 0, and we then combine these estimates with the method of "ε-approximability" to show that L-harmonic measure is absolutely continuous with respect to surface measure (i.e., n-dimensional Lebesgue measure) on the boundary, in a scale-invariant sense: more precisely, that it belongs to the class A_\infty with respect to surface measure (equivalently, that the Dirichlet problem is solvable with data in L^p, for some p < \infty). Previously, these results had been known only in the case n = 1.

math.AP↗
arXiv2010

Vertical versus conical square functions

We study the difference between vertical and conical square functions in the abstract and also in the specific case where the square functions come from an elliptic operator.

math.CA↗
arXiv2010

Second order elliptic operators with complex bounded measurable coefficients in $L^p$, Sobolev and Hardy spaces

Let $L$ be a second order divergence form elliptic operator with complex bounded measurable coefficients. The operators arising in connection with $L$, such as the heat semigroup and Riesz transform, are not, in general, of Calderón-Zygmund type and exhibit behavior different from their counterparts built upon the Laplacian. The current paper aims at a thorough description of the properties of such operators in $L^p$, Sobolev, and some new Hardy spaces naturally associated to $L$. First, we show that the known ranges of boundedness in $L^p$ for the heat semigroup and Riesz transform of $L$, are sharp. In particular, the heat semigroup $e^{-tL}$ need not be bounded in $L^p$ if $p\not\in [2n/(n+2),2n/(n-2)]$. Then we provide a complete description of {\it all} Sobolev spaces in which $L$ admits a bounded functional calculus, in particular, where $e^{-tL}$ is bounded. Secondly, we develop a comprehensive theory of Hardy and Lipschitz spaces associated to $L$, that serves the range of $p$ beyond $[2n/(n+2),2n/(n-2)]$. It includes, in particular, characterizations by the sharp maximal function and the Riesz transform (for certain ranges of $p$), as well as the molecular decomposition and duality and interpolation theorems.

math.FA↗
arXiv2007

The Green function estimates for strongly elliptic systems of second order

We establish existence and pointwise estimates of fundamental solutions and Green's matrices for divergence form, second order strongly elliptic systems in a domain $Ω\subseteq \mathbb{R}^n$, $n \geq 3$, under the assumption that solutions of the system satisfy De Giorgi-Nash type local Hölder continuity estimates. In particular, our results apply to perturbations of diagonal systems, and thus especially to complex perturbations of a single real equation.

math.AP↗
arXiv2007

Functional calculus of Dirac operators and complex perturbations of Neumann and Dirichlet problems

We prove that the Neumann, Dirichlet and regularity problems for divergence form elliptic equations in the half space are well posed in $L_2$ for small complex $L_\infty$ perturbations of a coefficient matrix which is either real symmetric, of block form or constant. All matrices are assumed to be independent of the transversal coordinate. We solve the Neumann, Dirichlet and regularity problems through a new boundary operator method which makes use of operators in the functional calculus of an underlaying first order Dirac type operator. We establish quadratic estimates for this Dirac operator, which implies that the associated Hardy projection operators are bounded and depend continuously on the coefficient matrix. We also prove that certain transmission problems for $k$-forms are well posed for small perturbations of block matrices.

math.AP↗
arXiv2007

Hardy and BMO spaces associated to divergence form elliptic operators

Consider the second order divergence form elliptic operator $L$ with complex bounded coefficients. In general, the operators related to it (such as Riesz transform or square function) lie beyond the scope of the Calderón-Zygmund theory. They need not be bounded in the classical Hardy, BMO and even some $L^p$ spaces. In this work we generalize the classical approach and develop a theory of Hardy and BMO spaces associated to $L$, which includes, in particular, molecular decomposition, maximal function characterization, duality of Hardy and BMO spaces, John-Nirenberg inequality, and allows to handle aforementioned operators.

math.AP↗
arXiv2004

Riesz transform on manifolds and heat kernel regularity

One considers the class of complete non-compact Riemannian manifolds whose heat kernel satisfies Gaussian estimates from above and below. One shows that the Riesz transform is $L^p$ bounded on such a manifold, for $p$ ranging in an open interval above 2, if and only if the gradient of the heat kernel satisfies a certain $L^p$ estimate in the same interval of $p$'s.

math.AP↗
arXiv2002

Carleson measures, trees, extrapolation, and $T(b)$ theorems

The theory of Carleson measures, stopping time arguments, and atomic decompositions has been well-established in harmonic analysis. More recent is the theory of phase space analysis from the point of view of wave packets on tiles, tree selection algorithms, and tree size estimates. The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate that the two theories are in fact closely related, by taking existing results and reproving them in a unified setting. In particular we give a dyadic version of extrapolation for Carleson measures, with two separate proofs, as well as a two-sided local dyadic $T(b)$ theorem which generalizes earlier $T(b)$ theorems of David, Journe, Semmes, and Christ.

math.CA↗