Resolvent near zero energy on Riemannian scattering (asymptotically conic) spaces (Q2037147)

The author gives resolvent estimates near zero energy on asymptotically conic spaces and their generalizations, using a uniform microlocal Fredholm analysis framework. The author's main result, as it applies to the flat nonnegative Laplacian \(\Delta\) on \(\mathbb{R}^n\), \(n \ge 3\), is as follows. Consider \(P(\sigma)=\Delta+V-\sigma^2\), \(V\) a symbolic potential of \(-2 -\delta\), some \(\delta > 0\). Then there exist certain variable order \(b\)-Sobolev spaces \(H^{\tilde{r}, \ell}_b\) such that \[P(\sigma) : \{ u \in H^{\tilde{r}, \ell}_b : P(\sigma) u \in H^{\tilde{r} -1, \ell+2 }_b \} \to H^{\tilde{r} -1, \ell+2 }_b\] is invertible for \(0 \le \sigma \le \sigma_0\), with this inverse being the \(\pm i0\) limiting resolvent, with the choice of sign corresponding to an appropriate choice of \(\tilde{r}\). The norm of \(P(\sigma)^{-1}\) as a bounded operator \(H^{\tilde{r} -1, \ell+2 }_b \to H^{\tilde{r}, \ell }_b\) is uniform in \([0, \sigma_0]\). Here, \(\ell\) is a constant parameter indicating decay order with respect to \(L^2\), which must obey \(|\ell + 1| < (n-2)/2\), while \(\tilde{r}\) is a certain variable order indicating microlocal b-regularity with respect to \(L^2\). This result can be considered as a microlocal generalization of previous uniform low frequency resolvent estimates [\textit{J.-F. Bony} and \textit{D. Häfner}, Math. Res. Lett. 17, No. 2, 301--306 (2010; Zbl 1228.35165); \textit{A. Jensen} and \textit{T. Kato}, Duke Math. J. 46, 583--611 (1979; Zbl 0448.35080)]. The main ingredient of the proof is a positive commutator, or microlocal energy estimate, with respect to variable order spaces.