The absolute continuity of convolutions of orbital measures in \(SO(2n+1)\) (Q2172589)

Let \(G\) be a compact, connected Lie group. Given \(x\in G\) we let \(\mu_x\) denote the \(G\)-invariant measure on \(G\) supported on the conjugacy class containing \(x\). These are known as orbital measures. Let \(G\) be a compact Lie group of Lie type \(B_n\), such as \(SO(2n+1)\). The author characterizes the tuples \((x_1, \dots, x_L)\) of the elements \(x_j\in G\) which have the property that the product of their conjugacy classes has non-empty interior. Equivalently, the convolution product of the orbital measures supported on their conjugacy classes is absolutely continuous with respect to Haar measure. The characterization depends on the dimensions of the largest eigenspaces of each \(x_j\). Such a characterization was previously only known for the compact Lie groups of type \(A_n\).