The subelliptic heat kernel on \(\mathbf{SU}(2)\): representations, asymptotics and gradient bounds (Q1031852)

The Lie group \({\mathbf {SU}}(2)\), endowed with its canonical sub-Riemannian structure coming from the Hopf fibration \(\mathbb S^2 \rightarrow \mathbb S^3\), appears as a three-dimensional model of a positively curved subelliptic space. The authors investigate the subelliptic heat kernel on \({\mathbf {SU}}(2)\) and some related functional inequalities. They provide its spectral decomposition, prove an integral representation of it and compute its small times asymptotics. In the classification of three-dimensional homogeneous sub-Riemannian structures, the role played by this group could be compared to the role played by the sphere in Riemannian geometry. In the flat three-dimensional subelliptic model, that is the Heisenberg group, the subelliptic heat kernel is well understood. \textit{B. Gaveau} [Acta Math. 139, No.~1--2, 95--153 (1977; Zbl 0366.22010)] gave a useful integral representation and deduced from it small times asymptotics. Numerous papers have been devoted to the study of this kernel. In the case of \({\mathbf {SU}}(2)\), the authors obtain an integral representation of the heat kernel and deduce the small times asymptotics, which give a way to compute explicitly the Carnot-Carathéodory distance associated to the sub-Riemannian structure of \({\mathbf {SU}}(2)\). Recent works have started to study gradient estimates for subelliptic semigroups. From the point of view of partial differential equations, gradient estimates have proved to be a very efficient tool for the control of the rate of convergence to equilibrium, quantitative estimates on the regularization properties of heat kernels, functional inequalities such as Poincaré, logarithmic Sobolev, Gaussian isoperimetric inequalities for heat kernel measures, etc. When dealing with linear heat equations, those gradient estimates rely on the control of the intrinsic Ricci curvature associated to the generator of the heat equation. Those methods basically require some form of ellipticity of the generator and fail in typical subelliptic situations. From the point of view of geometry, these gradient estimates are interesting, since they should contain information on the curvature of the space. In Riemannian geometry, the functional inequality \(\|\nabla e^{t\Delta} f\|^2\leq e^{-2\rho t} e^{t \Delta} (\|\nabla f\|^2)\) is equivalent to the fact that the lower bound of the Ricci curvature is greater than or equal to \(\rho\). In sub-Riemannian geometry, there is no real analogue of Ricci curvature. The authors show that one obtains exponential decays for the long-time behavior of gradient estimates of the subelliptic semigroup on the model space \({\mathbf {SU}}(2)\). The construction is systematic and clear.