On the quasi-regularity of semi-Dirichlet forms (Q5951863)

Let \(E\) be a metrisable, co-Souslin space and \(X\) be a transient right Markov process, with state space \(E\) and transition semigroup \((P_{t})_{t>0}\). Suppose that there is a \(\sigma\)-finite measure \(m\) on \(E\), such that \((P_{t})_{t>0}\) acts as a strongly continuous contraction semigroup in \(L^{2}(m)\). If \(L\) denotes the corresponding infinitesimal generator with domain \(D(L)\subset L^{2}(m)\), the following estimate (the sector condition) is assumed: \[ |(f, -Lg)|\leq K (f, -L f)^{1/2} (g, -L g)^{1/2}, \quad\forall f, g \in D(L). \] Under these conditions, the main result of the paper asserts that \(X\) is necessarily \(m\)-standard, \(m\)-special and \(m\)-tight. By the main result of \textit{Z.-M. Ma, L. Overbeck} and \textit{M. Röckner} [Osaka J. Math. 32, No. 1, 97-119 (1995; Zbl 0834.60086)] the semi-Dirichlet form obtained by completing \(D(L)\) with respect to the norm \((f, -L f)^{1/2}\) is quasi-regular. The quasi-regularity of a Dirichlet form was given by S. Albeverio, Z.-M. Ma and M. Röckner as an analytic condition for the existence of a ``nice'' associated Markov process [see e.g. \textit{Z.-M. Ma} and \textit{M. Röckner}, ``Introduction to the theory of (non-symmetric) Dirichlet forms'' (1992; Zbl 0826.31001)]. Such questions concerning ``automatic regularity'' of right processes which are associated with semi-Dirichlet forms were previously considered by the author [J. Funct. Anal. 85, No. 2, 287-306 (1989; Zbl 0686.60077)] and by the author together with \textit{R. K. Getoor} [Math. Ann. 281, No. 3, 495-512 (1988; Zbl 0627.60067)] for the case of right Markov processes associated with symmetric or nearly symmetric Dirichlet forms. Based on an analog of the Revuz correspondence between continuous additive functionals and smooth measures in the semi-Dirichlet form context, the final section proves that the quasi-regularity of the semi-Dirichlet form is stable with respect to time change and also with respect to killing the associated right process at the first exit time from some subset of its state space.