Sobolev-Gaffney type inequalities for differential forms on sub-Riemannian contact manifolds with bounded geometry (Q2080908)

The proof of Gaffney's inequality for differential forms goes back to [\textit{M. P. Gaffney}, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 37, 48--50 (1951; Zbl 0042.10205)] for manifolds without boundary, and to [\textit{K. O. Friedrichs}, Commun. Pure Appl. Math. 8, 551--590 (1955; Zbl 0066.07504); \textit{C. B. Morrey jun.}, Multiple integrals in the calculus of variations. Springer, Cham (1966; Zbl 0142.38701)] for manifolds with boundary, where differential forms abide by additional conditions on the boundary. The proof of the above inequality in a compact Riemannian manifold without boundary, replacing the Sobolev space \(W^{1,2}\) by a more general Sobolev space \(W^{1,p}\), is due to [\textit{C. Scott}, Trans. Am. Math. Soc. 347, No. 6, 2075--2096 (1995; Zbl 0849.58002)] where, as a corollary, a \(L^{p}\)-Hodge decomposition result was obtained. Its counterpart, for compact Riemannian manifolds with boundary, is owing to [\textit{T. Iwaniec} et al., Ann. Mat. Pura Appl. (4) 177, 37--115 (1999; Zbl 0963.58003)]. The investigation of the \(L^{p}\)-Hodge theory for noncompact Riemannian manifolds can be seen in [\textit{E. Amar}, Math. Z. 296, No. 1--2, 877--879 (2020; Zbl 1441.58001); \textit{E. Amar}, Math. Z. 287, No. 3--4, 751--795 (2017; Zbl 1404.58005)]. An exhaustive overview of such Gaffney-type inequalities in the Riemannian setting can be found in [\textit{G. Csato} et al., J. Funct. Anal. 274, No. 2, 461--503 (2018; Zbl 1407.58002)]. The principal objective in this paper is to establish a type inequality, in \(W^{1,p}\) Sobolev spaces, for differential forms on sub-Riemannian contact manifolds, without boundary, having bounded geometry. The proof relies on the structure of the Rumin's complex of differential forms in contact manifolds [\textit{M. Rumin}, C. R. Acad. Sci., Paris, Sér. I 310, No. 6, 401--404 (1990; Zbl 0694.57010); \textit{M. Rumin}, J. Differ. Geom. 39, No. 2, 281--330 (1994; Zbl 0973.53524)], on a Sobolev-Gaffney inequality established by \textit{A. Baldi} and \textit{B. Franchi} [J. Funct. Anal. 265, No. 10, 2388--2419 (2013; Zbl 1282.35391)] in the setting of the Heisenberg groups on some geometric properties that can be proved for sub-Riemannian contact manifolds with bounded geometry.