Coverings and the heat equation on graphs: stochastic incompleteness, the Feller property and uniform transience

Abstract

We study regular coverings of graphs and manifolds with a focus on properties of the heat equation. In particular, we look at stochastic incompleteness, the Feller property and uniform transience; and investigate the connection between the validity of these properties on the base space and its covering. For both graphs and manifolds, we prove the equivalence of stochastic incompleteness of the base and that of its cover. Along the way we also give some new conditions for the Feller property to hold on graphs.