Nonnegative kernels and $1$-rectifiability in the Heisenberg group

Abstract

Let $E$ be an $1$-Ahlfors regular subset of the Heisenberg group $\mathbb{H}$. We prove that there exists a $-1$-homogeneous kernel $K_1$ such that if $E$ is contained in a $1$-regular curve the corresponding singular integral is bounded in $L^2(E)$. Conversely, we prove that there exists another $-1$-homogeneous kernel $K_2$, such that the $L^2(E)$-boundedness of its corresponding singular integral implies that $E$ is contained in an $1$-regular curve. These are the first non-Euclidean examples of kernels with such properties. Both $K_1$ and $K_2$ are weighted versions of the Riesz kernel corresponding to the vertical component of $\mathbb{H}$. Unlike the Euclidean case, where all known kernels related to rectifiability are antisymmetric, the kernels $K_1$ and $K_2$ are even and nonnegative.