Harish-Chandra's \(c\)-function; 50 years later (Q341045)

The author presents several aspects of the \(c\)-function of Harish-Chandra and the connection with the horospherical transform. The \(c\)-function was introduced in [\textit{Harish-Chandra}, Am. J. Math. 80, 241--310, 553--613 (1958; Zbl 0093.12801)], in connection with the asymptotic of zonal spherical functions on Riemannian symmetric spaces of noncompact type and the applications to the Plancherel formula on these spaces. The author presents two definitions of the \(c\)-function. In the first definition, the \(c\)-function is introduced as an integral from a certain function defined on the unipotent subgroup \(\overline{N}\) opposite to a maximal unipotent subgroup \(N\) of a simple connected semisimple Lie group \(G\). In the second definition, the \(c\)-function represents the eigenvalues of the horospherical transform under a natural normalization. The author presents some explicit expressions involving the \(c\)-function, introducing a certain intertwining operator, the dual horospherical transform, see. [\textit{S. Gindikin}, in: Representation theory, complex analysis, and integral geometry. Outgrowth of the special term ``Harmonic analysis, representation theory, and integral geometry'' held at the Max Planck Institute for Mathematics and the Hausdorff Research Institute for Mathematics in Bonn, Germany, during the summer of 2007. Basel: Birkhäuser. 87--95 (2012; Zbl 1250.22012); \textit{B. Krötz} (ed.) et al., Representation theory, complex analysis, and integral geometry. Outgrowth of the special term ``Harmonic analysis, representation theory, and integral geometry'' held at the Max Planck Institute for Mathematics and the Hausdorff Research Institute for Mathematics in Bonn, Germany during the summer of 2007. Basel: Birkhäuser (2012; Zbl 1230.00039)], see also [the author, Contemp. Math. 614, 69--80 (2014; Zbl 1306.22003); \textit{J. W. Cogdell} (ed.) et al., Automorphic forms and related geometry: assessing the legacy of I. I. Piatetski-Shapiro. Proceedings of the conference, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA, April 23--27, 2012. Providence, RI: American Mathematical Society (AMS) (2014; Zbl 1286.11002)]. Other important arguments considered by the author: Intermediate horospherical transforms and the wonderful boundary, the inverse horospherical transform, connections with Radon's transform, horospherical Cauchy transform and \(c\)-functions for finite-dimensional representations.