Higher-order Gaussian bounds for maximally subelliptic boundary value problems

Abstract

We establish higher-order Gaussian upper bounds for the heat semigroups associated with a broad class of sectorial maximally subelliptic quadratic forms on manifolds with boundary. Near non-characteristic boundary points and in the interior, we obtain pointwise bounds for all mixed derivatives of the heat kernel in time and along the Hörmander vector fields, expressed in the associated Carnot--Carathéodory geometry. The results apply to operators of arbitrary even order, systems, nonsymmetric forms, and boundary conditions beyond the Dirichlet case.