Conformal operators on weighted forms; their decomposition and null space on Einstein manifolds (Q2448269)

The family of conformally invariant differential operators on pseudo-Riemannian manifolds includes, for example, the conformal Laplacian, the Paneitz operator or higher order GJMS operators. Generalized operators \(L_k^l: {\mathcal{E}}^k[w]\rightarrow {\mathcal{E}}^k[u]\) have similar features. For \(k=0\), these are the usual GJMS operators. For nonzero \(k\) and nonzero \(u\) and \(w\), these are still ``Laplacian like'' operators. They are elliptic for the Riemannian signature and hyperbolic for other signatures. For higher orders, for a given operator, the explicit formulas can be obtained algorithmically using the tractor calculus, but the formulas are very complicated. In previous work (cf.\ [\textit{A. R. Gover}, Math. Ann. 336, No.~2, 311--334 (2006; Zbl 1125.53032)]), it was shown that the simplifications of formulas for GJMS operators can be obtained for conformally Einstein manifolds. The null space of GJMS operators can be described using the eigenspaces of the Laplacian. In [\textit{A. R. Gover} and \textit{J. Šilhan}, Commun. Math. Phys. 284, No.~2, 291--316 (2008; Zbl 1158.53039)], it was shown that for \(w=0\) the operators \(L_k^l\) on \({\mathcal{E}}^k[w]\) can be treated in the similar way. In the present work, the authors handle the situation with \(w\neq 0\), still with an Einstein structure. A new tool is developed, dealing with weights, and a remarkable extension of previous results is obtained. The operators \(L_k^l: {\mathcal{E}}^k[w]\rightarrow {\mathcal{E}}^k[w-2l]\), where \(w=k+l-n/2\), can be expressed as the composition of second order operators \(L_k^l=S_1\cdots S_l\). If the Einstein manifold is non-Ricci flat, which gives relative invertibility of the factors \(S_i\), then the null spaces of the operators \(L_k^l\) can be described explicitly as a direct sum of null spaces of the factors.