Inversion and characterization of the hemispherical transform

Explicit inversion formulas are obtained for the hemispherical transform(FΜ)(x) = Μ{y ∃S ⁿ :x. y ≥ 0},x ∃S ⁿ, whereS ⁿ is thendimensional unit sphere in ℝⁿ⁺¹,n ≥ 2, and Μ is a finite Borel measure onS ⁿ. If Μ is absolutely continuous with respect to Lebesgue measuredy onS ⁿ, i.e.,dΜ(y) =f(y)dy, we write(F f)(x) = ∫ _{x.y> 0} f(y)dy and consider the following cases: (a)f ∃C ^∞(Sⁿ); (b)f ∃ L^p(S ⁿ), 1 ≤ p < ∞; and (c)f ∃C(Sⁿ). In the case (a), our inversion formulas involve a certain polynomial of the Laplace-Beltrami operator. In the remaining cases, the relevant wavelet transforms are employed. The range ofF is characterized and the action in the scale of Sobolev spacesL _p ^γ (Sⁿ) is studied. For zonalf ∃ L¹(S ²), the hemispherical transformF f was inverted explicitly by P. Funk (1916); we reproduce his argument in higher dimensions. Partially sponsored by the Edmund Landau Center for Research in Mathematical Analysis, supported by the Minerva Foundation (Germany).