A bilinear approach to cone multipliers. I: Restriction estimates (Q1976294)

Let \(S_1\) and \(S_2\) be two smooth compact hypersurfaces with boundary in \(\mathbb{R}^3\), with Lebesgue measure \(d\sigma_1\) and \(d\sigma_2\), respectively. If \(0< p,q\leq\infty\), one says that the bilinear adjoint restriction estimate \(R^*_{S_1,S_2}(p\times p\to q)\) holds if \[ \Biggl\|\prod^2_{t=1} (f^\wedge_t d\sigma_t)\Biggr\|_{L^q(\mathbb{R}^3)}\leq C \prod^2_{t=1} \|f_t\|_p, \] for all test functions \(f_1\), \(f_2\) supported on \(S_1\) and \(S_2\), respectively. One also can define a local version \(R^*_{S_1,S_2}(p\times p\to q,\alpha)\) for \(\alpha>0\) by the statement \[ \Biggl\|\prod^2_{t=1} (f^\wedge_t d\sigma_t)\Biggr\|_{L^q(B(0,R))}\leq C R^\alpha \prod^2_{t= 1} \|f_t\|_p,\quad\text{for all }R\gg 1. \] In this paper, the authors continue the study of three-dimensional bilinear restriction and Kakeya estimate which was initiated in [\textit{T. Tao}, \textit{A. Vargas} and \textit{L. Vega}, J. Am. Math. Soc. 11, No. 4, 967-1000 (1998; Zbl 0924.42008)]. In that paper, the bilinear estimates were studied under the assumption that \(S_1\) and \(S_2\) are unit-separated subsets of a graph of an elliptic phase function. In that case the main interest was to obtain new progress on the corresponding linear estimates for the restriction problem, and also for Bochner-Riesz multipliers. One of the basic tools developed was an equivalence between linear restriction estimates and bilinear restriction estimates when the exponents \(p\), \(q\) are in the conjectured range for the restriction range. In the paper under review, the authors extend the above results to more general surfaces. In particular, they give new linear and bilinear restriction estimates for the cone, sphere, and paraboloid in \(\mathbb{R}^3\), building upon and unifying previous work in this direction by Bourgain, Wolff, and others. Some applications also are given. See also Part II in Geom. Funct. Anal. 10, No. 1, 216-258 (2000; following review).