Covariant Schrödinger semigroups on Riemannian manifolds (Q1684105)

A large number of publications consider the Schrödinger operator and their heat semigroups. However, in most cases, Schrödinger operators are considered on Euclidean spaces or on manifolds with certain geometric constraints (boundedness of curvature, volume doubling condition, etc.). The aim of the book under review is to establish the foundations of a general theory of covariant Schrödinger semigroups on noncompact Riemannian manifolds without any kind of control on the geometry of \(M\). To this end, the author introduces the concept of \textit{covariant Schrödinger bundles}. These are data of the form \((E,\nabla, V) \to M\), where \begin{itemize} \item[\(\bullet\)] \(M\) is a smooth Riemannian manifold; \item[\(\bullet\)] \(E \to M\) is a smooth complex metric vector bundle with a finite rank; \item[\(\bullet\)] \(\nabla\) is a smooth metric covariant derivative on \(E \to M\); \item[\(\bullet\)] \(V : M \to \text{End}(E)\) is Borel measurable with \(V(x) : E_x \to E_x\) a linear selfadjoint map for every \(x\). \end{itemize} It is assumed that \(V\) belongs to the \textit{Kato class} \(\mathcal{K}(M)\) or the \textit{extended Kato class} (the author uses the name \textit{contractive Dynkin class} for the latter). Such a Schrödinger bundle canonically induces a covariant Schrödinger operator \(H_V^\nabla = (1/2)\nabla^{\dagger}\nabla+V\) in the complex Hilbert space \(\Gamma_{L^2}(M,E)\) of square integrable sections. Among other things, the book contains proofs of the following results: \begin{itemize} \item[(a)] a general weighted \(L^q\)-criterion for the compactness of \(V(H^{\nabla}+1)^{-1}\), which at least in the physically relevant case \(\mathrm{dim}(M)\leq 3\) does not require any control on the geometry of \(M\); in particular, these results entail the stability of the essential spectrum \[ \sigma_{\mathrm{ess}}(H^{\nabla}_V)=\sigma_{\mathrm{ess}}(H^{\nabla}); \] \item[(b)] explicit \(L^q\to L^q\) estimates for \(\mathrm{e}^{-t H^{\nabla}_V}\) without any assumptions on \(M\), where \(q\in [1,\infty]\); \item[(c)] explicit \(L^q\to L^{\infty}_{\mathrm{loc}}\) and \(L^1\to L^{q}_{\mathrm{loc}}\) estimates for \(\mathrm{e}^{-t H^{\nabla}_V}\) without any assumptions on \(M\), where \(q\in (1,\infty)\); \item[(d)] explicit \(L^{q_1}\to L^{q_2}\) estimates for \(\mathrm{e}^{-t H^{\nabla}_V}\) and all \(q_1,q_2\in [1,\infty]\) with \(q_1\leq q_2\), in the case that \(M\) is ultracontractive; \item[(e)] the joint continuity of \((t,x)\mapsto\mathrm{e}^{-t H^{\nabla}_V}f(x)\) on \((0,\infty)\times M\), for all fixed \(f\in \Gamma_{L^2}(M,E)\) and without any assumptions on \(M\), as long as \(|V|\in \mathcal{K}(M)\); \item[(f)] the existence of an integral kernel \(\mathrm{e}^{-t H^{\nabla}_V}(x,y)\) for \(\mathrm{e}^{-t H^{\nabla}_V}\), without any further assumptions on \(M\), as well as estimates for \(\mathrm{e}^{-t H^{\nabla}_V}(x,y)\) and for the trace \(\mathrm{tr}(\mathrm{e}^{-t H^{\nabla}_V})\); \item[(g)] the essential self-adjointness of \(H^{\nabla}_V\) on smooth compactly supported sections, if \(V\) is \(L^2_{\mathrm{loc}}\) and \(M\) is geodesically complete; \item[(h)] the fact that \(\Gamma_{{C^{\infty}}_{c}}(M,E)\) is a core of the form \(Q^{\nabla}_V\), without any further assumptions on \(M\) or \(V\). \end{itemize} Some proofs use probability methods (Brownian motion on Riemannian manifolds, Feynman-Kac formula, etc.). The book treats a variety of applications to operators from quantum mechanics, such as magnetic Schrödinger operators with singular electric potentials, and those from geometry, such as squares of Dirac operators that have possibly unbounded potentials. The book is largely self-contained, making it accessible to graduate and postgraduate students alike. Since it also includes unpublished findings and new proofs of recently published results, it will be interesting for researchers from geometric analysis, stochastic analysis, spectral theory, and mathematical physics. The book is divided into the following chapters: 1. Sobolev Spaces on Vector Bundles. 2. Smooth Heat Kernels on Vector Bundles. 3. Basic Differential Operators in Riemannian Manifolds. 4. Some Specific Results for the Minimal Heat Kernel. 5. Wiener Measure and Brownian Motion on Riemannian Manifolds. 6. Contractive Dynkin and Kato Potentials. 7. Foundations of Covariant Schrödinger Semigroups. 8. Compactness of \(V(H^\nabla + 1)^{-1}\). 9. \(L^q\)-properties of Covariant Schrödinger Semigroups. 10. Continuity Properties of Covariant Schrödinger Semigroups. 11. Integral Kernels. 12. Essential Self-adjointness of Covariant Schrödinger Operators. 13. Smooth Compactly Supported Sections as Form Core. 14. Applications. The Appendix contains the basics of the following topics: smooth manifolds and vector bundles, unbounded linear operators and unbounded sesquilinear forms in Hilbert spaces, and some results from measure theory.