On Strichartz's uncertainty inequality for the Heisenberg group (Q1423895)

One form of the Heisenberg inequality for the Fourier transform \(\widehat f (\xi) = \int e^{ i x\cdot \xi} f(x)\, dx\) on the Euclidean space \(\mathbb R^n\) states that if \(\int | \xi| ^2| \widehat f(\xi)| ^2 \, d\xi\leq \| f\| _2^2\) then \(\int | x| ^2 | f(x)| ^2\, dx \geq (n^2/4)\| f\| _2^2\). The authors generalize this version to other expansions and settings in replacing the condition on the variance of \(\widehat f\) to corresponding localizations of (i) coefficients in Hermite expansions in \(\mathbb R^n\), (ii) coefficients of special Hermite expansions in \(\mathbb C^n\) and (iii) Fourier expansions on the Heisenberg group. The three corresponding criteria (Theorems 2.1, 3.1 and 4.1, respectively) all boil down to the same uncertainty inequality for Laguerre expansions (Theorem 5.1). Consider the case of Hermite expansions in \(\mathbb R^n\) (Theorem 2.1). The \(n\)-dimensional orthonormal Hermite basis functions \(\Phi_\alpha=\prod_{j=1}^n h_{\alpha_j}\) are tensor products of the Hermite functions \(h_k(t)=(2^k k!\sqrt{\pi})^{-1/2} e^{t^2/2} \frac{d^k}{dt^k} (e^{-t^2})\). Let \(P_k\) denote the operator with integral kernel \(\sum_{| \alpha| =k} \Phi_\alpha(x)\Phi_\alpha(y)\) and for \(A\subset \{0,1,2,\dots\}\) let \(P_A=\sum_{k\in A} P_k\). Now let \(A\) be the union of two increasing sequences \(\{a_j\}\) and \(\{b_j\}\) where \(a_j\) are even, \(b_j\) are odd, \(0\leq a_0,b_0\leq b\) and \(a_{j+1}-a_j\leq b\) and \(b_{j+1}-b_j\leq b\). As the Hermite functions are eigenfunctions of the Fourier transform (as well as of the Schrödinger operator \(-\Delta+| x| ^2\)), the hypothesis that \(\| P_A f\| _2^2 \leq \| f\| _2^2/(4b)\) is a statement that the spectrum of \(f\) is not too spread out. Theorem 2.1 states that, under this hypothesis, \(\int | x| ^2| f(x)| ^2\geq \| f\| _2^2/(8b^2)\). Theorems 3.1 and 4.1 have similar statements and interpretations.