The existence of a global fundamental solution for homogeneous H\"ormander operators via a global lifting method

Abstract

We prove the existence of a global fundamental solution $\Gamma(x;y)$ (with pole $x$) for any H\"ormander operator $\mathcal{L}=\sum_{i=1}^m X_i^2$ on $\mathbb{R}^n$ which is $\delta$-homogeneous of degree $2$. By means of a global Lifting method for homogeneous operators proved by Folland in [On the Rothschild-Stein lifting theorem, Comm. PDEs, 1977], there exists a Carnot group $\mathbb{G}$ and a polynomial surjective map $\pi:\mathbb{G}\to \mathbb{R}^n$ such that $\mathcal{L}$ is $\pi$-related to a sub-Laplacian $\mathcal{L}_{\mathbb{G}}$ on $\mathbb{G}$. We show that it is always possible to perform a (global) change of variable on $\mathbb{G}$ such that the lifting map $\pi$ becomes the projection of $\mathbb{G}\equiv \mathbb{R}^n\times\mathbb{R}^p$ onto $\mathbb{R}^n$. If $\Gamma_{\mathbb{G}}(x,{x}';y,{y}')$ ($x,{x}'\in\mathbb{R}^n$; $y,{y}'\in\mathbb{R}^p$) is the fundamental solution of $\mathcal{L}_{\mathbb{G}}$, we show that $\Gamma_{\mathbb{G}}(x,0;y,{y}')$ is always integrable w.r.t. ${y}'\in \mathbb{R}^p$, and its integral is a fundamental solution for $\mathcal{L}$.