Harmonic quasi-isometric maps between rank one symmetric spaces (Q2358744)

A map \(f:X \to Y\) between two metric spaces \(X\) and \(Y\) is said to be quasi-isometry (rough-isometry) if there exists a constant \(C \geq 1\) such that for any \(x, x' \in X\) \[ C^{-1} d(x, x') -C\leq d(f(x), f(x')) \leq C d(x, x') +C. \] Such a map \(f\) is called a quasi-isometry if one has \(\sup_{y \in Y} d(y, f(X)) < \infty\). When \(X= Y={\mathbb H}^2\), the hyperbolic \(2\)-space, Schoen proposed a conjecture that if \(f: {\mathbb H}^2 \to {\mathbb H}^2\) is a quasi-isometric map, then there exists a unique harmonic map \(h: {\mathbb H}^2 \to {\mathbb H}^2\) such that \(\sup_{x\in {\mathbb H}^2} d(h(x), f(x))< \infty\). Li and Wang conjectured the same when \(X = Y\), rank one symmetric space, and they proved the uniqueness of a harmonic map \(h: X \to X\). In this paper, the authors show the existence of such a harmonic map \(h\) including the case \(X\) is not equal to \(Y\). The authors prove that if \(f: X \to Y\) is a quasi-isometric map between rank one symmetric spaces \(X\) and \(Y\), then there exists a unique harmonic map \(h: X \to Y\) such that \(\sup_{x\in {\mathbb H}^2} d(h(x), f(x))< \infty\). For Part II, see [the authors, J. Eur. Math. Soc. (JEMS) 23, No. 9, 2861-2911 (2021; Zbl 1482.53082)].