An example on the maximal function associated to a nondoubling measure (Q2574025)

Let \(X\) be a metric space and let \(\mu\) be a Borel measure on \(X\). Assuming that \(\mu\) has polynomial growth, that is, there exist \(c,d>0\) such that \(\mu(B(x,r))\leq c\,r^d\) for every \(x\in X\) and \(r>0\), in \textit{F. Nazarov}, \textit{S. Treil} and \textit{A. Volberg} [Int. Math. Res. Not. 1998, No.~9, 463--487 (1998; Zbl 0918.42009)] it is shown that Calderón-Zygmund operators defined in this context are of weak-type \((1,1)\), although the measure \(\mu\) may be non-doubling. As the centered Hardy-Littlewood maximal function could be unbounded, the authors use the following modified maximal operator \[ \tilde{M} f(x) =\sup_{r>0} \frac1{\mu (B(x,3\,r))}\,\int_{B(x,r)} | f| \,d\mu. \] By the Vitali covering lemma, it is easy to obtain that \(\tilde{M}\) is of weak-type \((1,1)\). In some cases, one can directly work with the classical centered Hardy-Littlewood maximal function where usual averages are considered. This happens for instance in the Euclidean setting as one has the Besicovitch covering lemma. It is natural to wonder whether weak-type \((1,1)\) estimates hold for the centered Hardy-Littlewood maximal function on general metric spaces with measures \(\mu\) with polynomial growth. In the present paper the author finds a measure \(\mu\) on the hyperbolic plane \({\mathbb H}\) such that \(\mu(B(w,s))\leq c\,s\) for every \(w\in {\mathbb H}\) and \(s>0\) and for which the centered maximal function is not of weak-type \((1,1)\). The measure \(\mu\) is the sum of the Gaussian probability on \({\mathbb R}^2\) restricted to the upper half plane and the planar Lebesgue measure restricted to the set \(\{(x,y): x>1, x^{-1}>y>0\}\).