Shift operators, residue families and degenerate Laplacians (Q827430)

In this paper the authors develop a theory of some second-order differential operators, found via representation theory as shift operators between symmetry breaking operators. These operators are natural and admit generalisations within a framework defined by Riemannian metrics. In flat spaces they are intertwining operators related to symmetry breaking differential operators. In the curved case they are connected with ideas of holography and the works of Fefferman-Graham, Gover-Waldron. One of the main applications concerns the residue families. The authors obtain a new description of the residue families in conformal geometry in terms of composition of shift operators (new proofs of some basic properties). They can be regarded as curved analogues of symmetry breaking differential operators. Through the relation between residue families and iterated shift operators, they also derive a new holographic formula for the critical \textit{\(Q\)-curvatures} of a manifold of even dimension (a very natural proof is given). The aspects studied in this paper lead to the unification of constructions in representation theory and conformal geometry.