Applications of nonstandard analysis to ideal boundaries in potential theory

A solution is given of the generalized Dirichlet problem for an arbitrary compactification of a Brelot harmonic space. A method of obtaining the Martin-Choquet integral representation of positive harmonic functions is given, and the existence is established of an ideal boundary Δ supporting the maximal representing measures for positive bounded and quasibounded harmonic functions with almost all points of Δ being regular for the Dirichlet problem. This work was supported by a grant from the U. S. National Science Foundation. The results in Sections 1–5 were presented at the 1974 Oberwolfach Conferences on Potential Theory and Nonstandard Analysis; Sections 1–6 were discussed at the Abraham Robinson Memorial Conference, Yale, University, May 1975.     

Asymptotics for Certain Harmonic Functions and the Martin Compactification on the Quaternionic Heisenberg Group

In this paper, we make the asymptotic estimates of the heat kernel for the quaternionic Heisenberg group in various cases. We also use these results to deduce the asymptotic estimates of certain harmonic functions on the quaternionic Heisenberg group. Moreover a Martin compactification of the quaternionic Heisenberg group is constructed, and we prove that the Martin boundary of this group is homeomorphic to the unit ball in the quaternionic field.     

Generalized Harmonic Functions and the Dewetting of Thin Films

This paper describes the solvability of Dirichlet problems for Laplace's equation when the boundary data is not smooth enough for the existence of a weak solution in H¹Ω. Scales of spaces of harmonic functions and of boundary traces are defined and the solutions are characterized as limits of classical harmonic functions in special norms. The generalized harmonic functions, and their norms, are defined using series expansions involving harmonic Steklov eigenfunctions on the domain. It is shown that the usual trace operator has a continuous extension to an isometric isomorphism of specific spaces. This provides a characterization of the generalized solutions of harmonic Dirichlet problems. Numerical simulations of a model problem are described. This problem is related to the dewetting of thin films and the associated phenomenology is described.     

Martin compactification for discrete potential theory and the mean value property

A converse of the well-known theorem on themean value property of harmonic functions is given. It is shown that a positive measurable function is harmonic if it possesses arestricted mean value property. Earlier proofs obtained using the probabilistic techniques were given by Veech, Heath and Baxter. Our approach is based on a Martin type compactification built up with the help of some quite elementarya priori inequalities foraveraging kernels.     

Inferior mean of Cantor boundary measures

We establish various bounds for the inferior mean of positive functions, as defined by M. Heins, with respect to the porosity of Cantor sets that support Cantor boundary measures of harmonic functions on the upper half-space.     

Positive Harmonic Functions that Vanish on a Subset of a Cylindrical Surface

This paper investigates positive harmonic functions on domains that are complementary to a subset of a cylindrical surface. It characterizes, both in terms of harmonic measure and of a Wiener-type criterion, those domains that admit minimal harmonic functions with exponential growth. Illustrative examples are provided. Two applications are also given. The first of these concerns minimal harmonic functions associated with an irregular boundary point, and amplifies a recent construction of Gardiner and Hansen. The second concerns the possible non-approximability of positive harmonic functions by integrable positive harmonic functions. This research was supported by Science Foundation Ireland under Grant 06/RFP/MAT057, and is also part of the programme of the ESF Network “Harmonic and Complex Analysis and Applications” (HCAA).     

Harmonic Functions in a Cone Which Vanish on the Boundary

A harmonic function defined in a cone and vanishing on the boundary is expanded into an infinite sum of certain fundamental harmonic functions. The growth conditions under which it is reduced to a finite sum of them are discussed.     

The Riesz decomposition of finely superharmonic functions

This paper answers a question of Fuglede about minimal positive harmonic functions associated with irregular boundary points. As a consequence, an old and central problem of fine potential theory, concerning the Riesz decomposition, is resolved. Namely, it is shown that, on certain fine domains, there exist positive finely superharmonic functions which do not admit any positive finely harmonic minorant and yet are not fine potentials.     

Extended Harnack inequalities with exceptional sets and a boundary Harnack principle

Harnack’s inequality is one of the most fundamental inequalities for positive harmonic functions and has been extended to positive solutions of general elliptic equations and parabolic equations. This article gives a different generalization; namely, we generalize Harnack chains rather than equations. More precisely, we allow a small exceptional set and yet obtain a similar Harnack inequality. The size of an exceptional set is measured by capacity. The results are new even for classical harmonic functions. Our extended Harnack inequality includes information about the boundary behavior of positive harmonic functions. It yields a boundary Harnack principle for a very nasty domain whose boundary is given locally by the graph of a function with modulus of continuity worse than Hölder continuity.     

Harmonic functions of subordinate killed Brownian motion

In this paper we study harmonic functions of subordinate killed Brownian motion in a domain D. We first prove that, when the killed Brownian semigroup in D is intrinsic ultracontractive, all nonnegative harmonic functions of the subordinate killed Brownian motion in D are continuous and then we establish a Harnack inequality for these harmonic functions. We then show that, when D is a bounded Lipschitz domain, both the Martin boundary and the minimal Martin boundary of the subordinate killed Brownian motion in D coincide with the Euclidean boundary ∂D. We also show that, when D is a bounded Lipschitz domain, a boundary Harnack principle holds for positive harmonic functions of the subordinate killed Brownian motion in D.     

Ultradistributional boundary values of harmonic functions on the sphere

We present a theory of ultradistributional boundary values for harmonic functions defined on the Euclidean unit ball. We also give a characterization of ultradifferentiable functions and ultradistributions on the sphere in terms of their spherical harmonic expansions. To this end, we obtain explicit estimates for partial derivatives of spherical harmonics, which are of independent interest and refine earlier estimates by Calderón and Zygmund. We apply our results to characterize the support of ultradistributions on the sphere via Abel summability of their spherical harmonic expansions.     

On a nonlocal problem in function theory

We consider nonlocal boundary value problems for three harmonic functions each of which is defined in its own domain. A contact condition is posed on the common part of the boundaries of these domains, and the Dirichlet or Neumann data (or mixed boundary conditions) are given on the remaining parts of the boundary. We prove the unique solvability of these problems.     

Approximation in the Cone of Positive Harmonic Functions

In the course of studying quadrature domains Gustafsson, Sakai and Shapiro were led to the question of whether it is the case that the positive integrable harmonic functions on a bounded domain are dense among all positive harmonic functions (w.r.t. uniform convergence on compact subsets). In this article we will show how such approximation problems are related to representing measures on the Martin boundary, and then we use these results to give a counterexample to the question posed above. This research was supported by Science Foundation Ireland under Grant 06/RFP/MAT057.     

The Poisson boundary of the mapping class group

A theory of random walks on the mapping class group and its non-elementary subgroups is developed. We prove convergence of sample paths in the Thurston compactification and show that the space of projective measured foliations with the corresponding harmonic measure can be identified with the Poisson boundary of random walks. The methods are based on an analysis of the asymptotic geometry of Teichmüller space and of the contraction properties of the action of the mapping class group on the Thurston boundary. We prove, in particular, that Teichmüller space is roughly isometric to a graph with uniformly bounded vertex degrees. Using our analysis of the mapping class group action on the Thurston boundary we prove that no non-elementary subgroup of the mapping class group can be a lattice in a higher rank semi-simple Lie group. Oblatum 10-V-1995 & 11-IX-1995     

The Dirichlet problem of a discontinuous Markov process

Given a Markov process satisfying certain general type conditions, whose paths are not assumed to be continuous. LetD be an open subset of the state spaceE. Any bounded function defined on the complement ofD extends to be a function onE such that it is harmonic inD and satisfies the Dirichlet boundary condition at any regular boundary point ofD. The relation between harmonic functions and the characteristic operator of the given process is discussed.     

Angular limits of harmonic functions defined in a unit circle

Necessary and sufficient conditions for existence of angular boundary limits at an arbitrary point of a unit circumference are presented in this paper for harmonic functions defined in a unit circle.     

Positive harmonic functions of finite order in a Denjoy type domain

We introduce a Denjoy type domain and prove that the dimension of the cone of positive harmonic functions of finite order in the domain with vanishing boundary values is one or two, whenever the boundary is included in a certain set.

     

Combinatorics & Topology of Stratifications of The Space of Monic Polynomials With Real Coefficients

We study the stratification of the space of monic polynomials with real coefficients according to the number and multiplicities of real zeros. In the first part, for each of these strata we provide a purely combinatorial chain complex calculating (co)homology of its one-point compactification and describe the homotopy type by order complexes of a class of posets of compositions. In the second part, we determine the homotopy type of the one-point compactification of the space of monic polynomials of fixed degree which have only real roots (i.e., hyperbolic polynomials) and at least one root is of multiplicity k. More generally, we describe the homotopy type of the one-point compactification of strata in the boundary of the set of hyperbolic polynomials, that are defined via certain restrictions on root multiplicities, by order complexes of posets of compositions. In general, the methods are combinatorial and the topological problems are mostly reduced to the study of partially ordered sets.     

Martin points on open manifolds of non-positive curvature

The Martin boundary of a Cartan-Hadamard manifold describes a fine geometric structure at infinity, which is a sub-space of positive harmonic functions. We describe conditions which ensure that some points of the sphere at infinity belong to the Martin boundary as well. In the case of the universal cover of a compact manifold with Ballmann rank one, we show that Martin points are generic and of full harmonic measure. The result of this paper provides a partial answer to an open problem of S. T. Yau.

     

Unification of extremal length geometry on Teichmüller space via intersection number

In this paper, we give a framework for the study of the extremal length geometry of Teichmüller space after S. Kerckhoff, F. Gardiner and H. Masur. There is a natural compactification using extremal length geometry introduced by Gardiner and Masur. The compactification is realized in a certain projective space. We develop the extremal length geometry in the cone which is defined as the inverse image of the compactification via the quotient mapping. The compactification is identified with a subset of the cone by taking an appropriate lift. The cone contains canonically the space of measured foliations in the boundary. We first extend the geometric intersection number on the space of measured foliations to the cone, and observe that the restriction of the intersection number to Teichmüller space is represented by an explicit formula in terms of the Gromov product with respect to the Teichmüller distance. From this observation, we deduce that the Gromov product extends continuously to the compactification. As an application, we obtain an alternative approach to a characterization of the isometry group of Teichmüller space. We also obtain a new realization of Teichmüller space, a hyperboloid model of Teichmüller space with respect to the Teichmüller distance.