Generation of analytic semigroups in theL p topology by elliptic operators inR n

Strongly elliptic differential operators with (possibly) unbounded lower order coefficients are shown to generate analytic semigroups of linear operators onL ^p(R ⁿ ), 1≦p≦∞. An explicit characterization of the domain is given for 1<p<∞. An application to parabolic problems is also included. This work has been partially supported by the Research Funds of the Ministero della Pubblica Istruzione. The authors are members of GNAFA (Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche).