Properties of centered random walks on locally compact groups and Lie groups (Q2468415)

Summary: The basic aim of this paper is to study asymptotic properties of the convolution powers \(K^{(n)} = K*K* \cdots *K\) of a possibly non-symmetric probability density \(K\) on a locally compact, compactly generated group \(G\). If \(K\) is centered, we show that the Markov operator \(T\) associated with \(K\) is analytic in \(L^p(G)\) for \(1 < p < \infty\), and establish Davies-Gaffney estimates in \(L^2\) for the iterated operators \(T^n\). These results enable us to obtain various Gaussian bounds on \(K^{(n)}\). In particular, when \(G\) is a Lie group we recover and extend some estimates of Alexopoulos and of Varopoulos for convolution powers of centered densities and for the heat kernels of centered sub-Laplacians. Finally, in case \(G\) is amenable, we discover that the properties of analyticity or Davies-Gaffney estimates hold only if \(K\) is centered.