A class of elliptic pseudodifferential operators generating symmetric Dirichlet forms (Q1202909)

Pseudodifferential operators with symbols \(L(x,\xi)\) such that \(L(x,\cdot)\) is a continuous negative definite function are natural candidates for generators of Markov processes in \(\mathbb{R}^ n\). The author considers a special class of such operators with elliptic symbols of order \(2r\) where \(0<r\leq 2\), namely the symbols \(L(x,\xi)= \sum_{j=1}^ n b_ j(x) |\xi_ j|^{2r}\) with smooth coefficient functions \(b_ j\) such that \({{\partial b_ j} \over {\partial x_ j}}=0\) and shows that they are generators of non-local Dirichlet forms. Since the symbols are not differentiable with respect to \(\xi\), the standard calculus for pseudodifferential operators does not apply in this case. The author first shows that the corresponding bilinear form is bounded from above and also from below in terms of a Gårding inequality in the Sobolev space \(H^ r(\mathbb{R}^ n)\). This immediately allows to find weak solutions of the equation \((L(x,D)+ \lambda)u=f\in L^ 2(\mathbb{R}^ n)\) in \(H^ r(\mathbb{R}^ n)\) for \(\lambda\) large. Next a much more sophisticated treatment of the operator shows that the solutions have much better regularity properties and in fact for \(f\in C_ 0^ \infty(\mathbb{R}^ n)\) the solution is in \(H^ \infty(\mathbb{R}^ n)\). Together with a result of Ph. Courrège on the positive maximum principle for this kind of operators the Hille-Yosida theorem then implies that \(-L(x,D)\) is the generator of a symmetric Feller semigroup and therefore also of a symmetric Dirichlet form.