Realms of mathematics: elliptic, hyperbolic, parabolic, sub-elliptic (Q1099141)

The classification of conic sections has led mathematicians to label different objects as elliptic, hyperbolic or parabolic. In this essay, it is argued that the portions of mathematics labelled elliptic form a ``realm'' of mathematics, with certain unifying themes and techniques that cut across different branches of mathematics. The elliptic realm includes Riemannian geometry, elliptic p.d.e.'s, potential theory, pseudo-differential operators, compact Lie groups, quantum mechanics, one complex variable, Hilbert space and Brownian motion. Similarly there is a hyperbolic realm which includes Lorentzian geometry, hyperbolic p.d.e.'s, Fourier integral operators, non-compact semisimple Lie groups, and general relativity. However, the evidence for a parabolic realm is less convincing. Instead, a sub-elliptic realm has come into prominence in recent research. A typical representative of this realm is the Hörmander sum-of-squares hypoelliptic operator \(\sum^{m}_{j=1}X^ 2_ j\), where \(X_ 1,...,X_ n\) are real vector fields on a manifold whose brackets span the full tangent space. Other areas that fall in the sub-elliptic realm include nilpotent Lie groups, strictly pseudo-convex domains in \({\mathbb{C}}^ n\), and a sub-Riemannian geometry (also called singular Riemannian or Carnot-Carathéodory geometry) which has applications both to sub-elliptic p.d.e.'s and control theory. The essay concludes with a table in which the realms are listed horizontally and branches of mathematics (ranging over analysis, geometry and mathematical physics) are listed vertically.