Lower bound of Riesz transform kernels and commutator theorems on stratified nilpotent Lie groups (Q1732998)

A connected, simply connected nilpotent Lie group $G$ is said to be stratified if its Lie algebra $\mathfrak{g}$ of left-invariant vector fields admits the stratification $\mathfrak{g}=\oplus_{i=1}^k V_i$, where $[V_1,V_i]=V_{i+1}$, $1\le i\le k-1$. Let $\{X_j\}_1^n$ be a basis of $\mathfrak{g}$ identified through the exponential map with $G$ and let $\Delta=\sum_1^n X_j^2$ be the sublaplacian on $G$. In the paper under review, the authors study the Riesz transforms $R_j$, $j=1,\ldots,n$, formally defined by $R_j=X_j(-\Delta)^{-1/2}$. The problem of $L^p$ boundedness, $1<p<\infty$, of such transforms was widely studied, not only in the Euclidean case but also in other different settings, for instance, in the case of nilpotent Lie groups [\textit{N. Lohoué}, C. R. Acad. Sci., Paris, Sér. I 301, 559--560 (1985; Zbl 0582.43003)]. In the context of the Heisenberg group, the $L^p$ bound was proved to be independent of the dimension [\textit{T. Coulhon} et al., Math. Ann. 305, No. 2, 369--379 (1996; Zbl 0859.22006)]. \par The first of the two main results of the paper under review furnishes a lower bound of the kernel $K_j(g_1,g_2)$, $g_1,g_2\in G$, where $K_j$ is the kernel associated with $R_j$. The second result establishes an $L^p$ boundedness, $1<p<\infty$, of the commutator operator $f\to [b,R_j]f$, where $b\in \text{BMO}(G)$. More specifically, it is proved that the $L^p$ norm of this operator is comparable with $\|b\|_{\text{BMO}(G)}$. As an application of the obtained results the \textit{curl} operator on the Heisenberg groups and, more generally, on stratified Lie groups is studied.