Local solvability of linear differential operators with double characteristics. I: Necessary conditions (Q2464025)

The paper is devoted to necessary conditions for local solvability of doubly characteristic linear partial differential operators \(L\) defined on an open set \(\Omega\subset \mathbb{R}^n\). Here L is called locally solvable near \(x_0\in \Omega\) if there is an open neighborhood \(U\) of \(x_0\) such that \(L(D'(U))\supset C_0^\infty(U)\). The main result is the following: Let the principal symbol \(p\) of \(L\) vanish of second order at \((x_0,\xi_0)\in T^*\Omega\setminus 0\). If \(L\) is locally solvable at \(x_0\) (and satisfies some rank condition and some mild additional assumptions) then \(\Re(e^{i\theta}Q_\mathcal{H})\geq 0\) for some \(\theta\in \mathbb{R}^n\) where \(Q_\mathcal{H}\) is the Hessian form associated to \(p\) on \(T_{(x_0,\xi_0)}T^*\Omega\). The condition should be compared with the condition \((P)\) of Nirenberg and Treves which also is a sign-condition and characterizes local solvability for principal type operators. By Hörmander's classical necessary condition the proof reduces to the following problem for two real quadratic forms \(Q_A\) and \(Q_B\) on a finite dimensional symplectic vector space \(V\): when there is \(x\in V\) such that \(Q_A(x)=Q_B(x)=0\) while \(Q_C(x)\neq 0\) for \(Q_C:=\{Q_A,Q_B\}\) defined by their Poisson bracket. The main result is applied to second order operators where it means that \(L\) should be dissipative at \(x_0\) in the sense that \(\Re(e^{i\theta}\mathcal{A}(x_0))\geq 0\) for some \(\theta\in \mathbb{R}^n\) where the principal part of \(L\) is given by the symmetric matrix \( \mathcal{A}(x)\). Several examples are provided to discuss if the additional assumptions in the main theorem are indispensable.