scientific article; zbMATH DE number 1149961

Publication date 18 March 1999

adelic Grassmannian algebraic curves algebraic vector bundle Baker function commutative algebras of linear operators eigenvalue and spectral problems eigenvalue functions joint eigenfunction linear ordinary differential operators rank 1 bispectral commutative operator algebras torsionfree coherent sheaf

Mathematics Subject Classification ID

Scattering theory, inverse scattering involving ordinary differential operators (34L25) KdV equations (Korteweg-de Vries equations) (35Q53) Ergodic theorems, spectral theory, Markov operators (37A30) Completely integrable finite-dimensional Hamiltonian systems, integration methods, integrability tests (37J35) Completely integrable infinite-dimensional Hamiltonian and Lagrangian systems, integration methods, integrability tests, integrable hierarchies (KdV, KP, Toda, etc.) (37K10) Methods of algebraic topology in functional analysis (cohomology, sheaf and bundle theory, etc.) (46M20) Eigenvalue problems for linear operators (47A75) General theory of ordinary differential operators (47E05) Abstract operator algebras on Hilbert spaces (47L30) Applications of operator theory to differential and integral equations (47N20)

Review text

The bispectral problem for linear ordinary differential equations was formulated by \textit{J. J. Duistermaat} and \textit{F. A. Grünbaum} in [Commun. Math. Phys. 103, No. 3, 177-240 (1986; Zbl 0625.34007)]. The survey paper reviewed here deals with this problem in the following slightly more general setting: Let \({\mathcal A}\) and \({\mathcal A}'\) be commutative algebras of linear operators (of the form \(L\left(x,{\partial\over\partial x}\right)\) and \(\Lambda\left(z,{\partial\over\partial z}\right)\) respectively) such that the elements of \({\mathcal A}\) and \({\mathcal A}'\) have a joint eigenfunction \(\psi(x,z)\). This means that for each pair of operators \(L\in{\mathcal A}\) and \(\Lambda\in{\mathcal A}'\) there exists (nonconstant) ``eigenvalue functions \(f_L(z)\) and \(\theta_\Lambda(x)\) satisfying the identities \[ \begin{aligned} L\psi(x,z) & = f_L(z)\psi(x, z)\\ \Lambda\psi(x,z) & = \theta_\Lambda(x)\psi(x, z).\end{aligned} \] If a commutative algebra \({\mathcal A}\) of linear ordinary differential operators appears in such a context we call it bispectral. The greatest common divisor of the orders of all the operators of \({\mathcal A}\) is called the rank of \({\mathcal A}\). The main results of the paper reviewed here (Theorems A, B and C) represent a characterization of the rank 1 bispectral commutative operator algebras in terms of notions of algebraic geometry. This characterization is based on previous work of J. L. Burchnall and T. W. Chaundy. These authors showed that the maximal spectrum \(\text{Spec }{\mathcal A}\) of a (not necessarily bispectral) commutative operator algebra is endowed with a natural geometric structure of an algebraic curve which has a one-point completion \(X:=\text{Spec }{\mathcal A}\cup \{\infty\}\). To each point of \(\text{Spec }{\mathcal A}\), visualized by a homomorphism \(\lambda:{\mathcal A}\to\mathbb{C}\), there corresponds the (finite-dimensional) vectorspace \(V(\lambda)\) of eigenfunctions \(\psi(x,\lambda)\) having ``eigenvalue \(\lambda\) (refer to the condition that \(L\psi= \lambda(L)\psi\) holds for any \(L\in{\mathcal A}\)). As \(\lambda\) varies over \(\text{Spec }{\mathcal A}\) the vectorspaces \(V(\lambda)\) can be glued together to form an algebraic vector bundle over the curve \(\text{Spec }{\mathcal A}\). This vector bundle can be extended to a torsionfree coherent sheaf \({\mathcal L}\) over the complete curve \(X\). The rank of \({\mathcal L}\) equals the rank of \({\mathcal A}\). In the rank 1 case, the algebra \({\mathcal A}\) can be reconstructed from the data \(X\) and \({\mathcal L}\). The following surprising fact (Theorem A) shows that in this case the property of being bispectral can be fully characterized in geometric terms: a commutative rank 1 operator algebra \({\mathcal A}\) is bispectral if and only if the curve \(\text{Spec }{\mathcal A}\) is rational and without multiple points. If this is the case, the ``dual algebra \({\mathcal A}'\) can be reconstructed from the sheaf \({\mathcal L}\) by means of the space \(W:= \Gamma({\mathcal L}, X-\{\infty\})\) of algebraic sections of \({\mathcal L}\) which are regular everywhere on \(X\) except in the point \(\infty\). Since the curve \(X\) is a rational with only cusp singularities, \(W\) can be characterized as the space of all rational functions of \(\mathbb{C}\) having poles of limited order at given finitely many points of \(\mathbb{C}\) (the positions of the cusps of \(X\)) and satisfying certain linear homogeneous conditions on their Laurent series (the set of all spaces defined in this way is called the adelic Grassmannian \(\text{Gr}^{\text{ad}}\)). To the space \(W\) one associates its Baker function \(\psi_W(x,z)\) which turns out to be an eigenfunction of the operator algebra \({\mathcal A}\). The next Theorem B of the paper says that the function \(\psi_W(z,x)\) is the Baker function of another element \(b(W)\) of \(\text{Gr}^{\text{ad}}\). In symbols we have \[ \psi_W(z,x)= \psi_{b(W)}(x, z). \] Moreover, \(b(W)\) characterizes the ``dual algebra \({\mathcal A}'\). The last Theorem C of the paper says that the set \(\text{Gr}^{\text{ad}}\) of spaces \(W\) is endowed with a geometric structure coming from all conjugacy classes of pairs \((X,Z)\) of square matrices satisfying the condition: \[ [X,Z]+ I\quad\text{has rank }1 \] (here \(I\) denotes the corresponding identity matrix). Finally, an outlook over partial results and open problems in the case of higher rank commutative operator algebras is given in the paper. For the entire collection see [Zbl 0885.00050].

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