The Plancherel formula for an inhomogeneous vector group (Q2338554)

The authors start from a finite dimensional real vector space \(N\), a vector group \(H\) acting on \(N\) by automorphisms and consider the resulting semi-direct product \(G = N \rtimes H\). Their paper deals with the representation theory of \(G\). When \(N = H = \mathbb{R}\) and \(h\cdot x = e^h x\), then \(G\) is the connected affine group, the underlying group for classical wavelet theory. These semidirect products have been considered in more general wavelet constructions, as well as other aspects of both pure and applied harmonic analysis. In the paper, the authors give a concrete realization of the Plancherel measure for the semi-direct product \(G\). To do so, they proceed by realizing a procedure using matrix reductions, which produces explicit (orbital) parameters by which a continuous field of unitary irreducible representations is realized and almost all of the dual space of \(G\) naturally has the structure of a smooth manifold. Indeed, they use the simplest possible field of positive semi-invariant operators to obtain the Plancherel measure by an explicit volume form on a smooth cross-section \(S\) for almost all \(H\)-orbits. They also show associated trace characters to be tempered distributions.