Positivity theorem in semi-group theory (Q2475970)

Consider smooth bounded vector fields \(X_0,\dots, X_n\) on \(\mathbb{R}^d\), satisfying Hörmander's condition, the operator \(L= X_0+{1\over 2}\sum^n_{j=1} X^2_j\), and the semigroup \(P_t= \exp({t\over 2} L)\) acting on \(C^\infty_b(\mathbb{R}^d)\), having smooth density \(p_t(x,y)\). The Bismutian semi-distance \(d_B(x,y)\) is then the infimum of the Cameron-Martin norm \(\| h\|\) such that \(x_1(h)= y\) and \(dx_1(h)\) is injective, where \(x_t(h)\) denotes the solution started from \(x\), to the differential equation associated to \(L\) and \(h\): \[ dx_t(h)= X_0(x_t(h))+ \sum^n_{j=1} X_j(x_t(h))\dot h^j_t \,dt. \] The author gives here a new proof without Malliavin calculus of the following result by G. Ben Arous and himself: \(d_B(x,y)<\infty\) implies \(p_t(x,y)> 0\).