Hecke operators on period functions for \(\Gamma _0(n)\) (Q852535)

The author introduces Hecke operators on period functions for Hecke congruence groups. He shows that they can be deduced from the Hecke operators on Maass cusp forms if one identifies the space of cusp forms for the Hecke congruence groups with a suitable space of vector valued Maass cusp forms for the modular group. The strategy is to generalize an integral operator considered by Lewis and Zagier to the vector valued case and show that this operator is injective. Then, by finite dimensionality and the known isomorphy of the space of vector valued Maass cusp forms with the space of vector valued period functions, the integral operator turns out to be a linear isomorphism and an intertwiner for the Hecke operators. The paper opens the path to a better understanding of the Hecke type operators on period functions that have been found by explicit calculations. In particular, they suggest a way to construct an Atkin-Lehner Theory for period functions.