Stability theorems for H-type Carnot groups (Q6169171)

Classical examples in the theory of real \(2\)-step nilpotent Lie algebras are the Heisenberg algebras \(\mathbb{H}^n\) of dimension \(2n+1\). These have as a basis the vectors \(X_1, \ldots, X_n\), \(Y_1, \ldots, Y_n\) and \(T\), with the Lie bracket defined as \begin{align*} [X_i,Y_i] = T \end{align*} for all \(1 \leq i \leq n\), and \(0\) otherwise. For metric \(2\)-step nilpotent Lie algebras \(\mathfrak{g}\), i.e., Lie algebras equipped with an inner product \(\langle \cdot, \cdot \rangle : \mathfrak{g} \times \mathfrak{g} \to \mathbb{R}\), there is a natural generalization as follows. Write \(\mathfrak{n}_2 = [\mathfrak{g},\mathfrak{g}]\) for the commutator algebra and \(\mathfrak{n}_1\) for the orthogonal complement of \(\mathfrak{n}_2\), so \(\mathfrak{g} = \mathfrak{n}_1 \oplus \mathfrak{n}_2\). Any \(Z \in \mathfrak{n}_2\) induces a unique skew-symmetric map \(J_Z: \mathfrak{n}_1 \to \mathfrak{n}_1\) given by \[\langle J_Z(X),Y \rangle = \langle [X,Y],Z\rangle.\] On \(\mathbb{H}^n\) for example, with inner product \(\langle \cdot, \cdot \rangle\) given by making the basis above orthonormal, the map \(J_T: \mathfrak{n}_1 \to \mathfrak{n}_1\) satisfies \(J_T(X_i) = Y_i\) and \(J_T(Y_i) = -X_i\) for all \(1 \leq i \leq n\). We say that \(\mathfrak{g}\) is of \(H\)-type if \(J_Z^2 = - I_{\mathfrak{n}_1}\) for all \(Z \in \mathfrak{n}_2\) with \(\Vert Z \Vert = 1\), which indeed holds for \(\mathbb{H}^n\) and the metric given above. Of course, this definition depends on the choice of inner product on \(\mathfrak{g}\). In the paper under review, the author fixes an inner product on \(\mathfrak{n}_1\) and investigates whether there exists an extension to the whole Lie algebra \(\mathfrak{g}\) such that it is of \(H\)-type. For this purpose, he introduces the H-type deviation of \(\mathfrak{g}\), which is a real number measuring how close \(\mathfrak{g}\) is to being of H-type over all possible inner products on \(\mathfrak{n}_2\). In particular, this deviation is \(0\) if and only if an extension exists making it of H-type. The author then computes this deviation for several classes of examples. Next, the author relates the deviation to analytic properties of Kaplan's quasinorm, as presented in Theorems 1.4. and 1.5. This is inspired by several results in the literature, which are remembered in the excellent introduction of the paper. The motivation for this paper stems from the polarizability conjecture for Carnot groups, as recalled in the final section. The author relates this conjecture to a different conjecture on the deviation, and then uses the methods of the paper to prove it for certain anisotropic Heisenberg groups.