We prove a $C^m$ Lusin approximation theorem for horizontal curves in the Heisenberg group. This states that every absolutely continuous horizontal curve whose horizontal velocity is $m-1$ times $L^1$ differentiable almost everywhere coincides with a $C^m$ horizontal curve except on a set of small measure. Conversely, we show that the result no longer holds if $L^1$ differentiability is replaced by approximate differentiability. This shows our result is optimal and highlights differences between the Heisenberg and Euclidean settings.
A Carnot group $\mathbb{G}$ admits Lusin approximation for horizontal curves if for any absolutely continuous horizontal curve $γ$ in $\mathbb{G}$ and $\varepsilon>0$, there is a $C^1$ horizontal curve $Γ$ such that $Γ=γ$ and $Γ'=γ'$ outside a set of measure at most $\varepsilon$. We verify this property for free Carnot groups of step 2 and show that it is preserved by images of Lie group homomorphisms preserving the horizontal layer. Consequently, all step 2 Carnot groups admit Lusin approximation for horizontal curves.
We show that, given an absolutely continuous horizontal curve $γ$ in the Heisenberg group, there is a $C^1$ horizontal curve $Γ$ such that $Γ=γ$ and $Γ'=γ'$ outside a set of small measure. Conversely, we construct an absolutely continuous horizontal curve in the Engel group with no $C^1$ horizontal approximation.
We characterize which mappings from a compact subset of $\mathbb{R}$ into the Heisenberg group can be extended to a $C^{m,ω}$ horizontal curve for a given modulus of continuity $ω$. We motivate our characterization by showing that the $C^{m,ω}$ extension property fails if we instead use a more direct analogue of the conditions from the $C^{m}$ case.
We study the behavior of Lipschitz functions on intrinsic $C^1$ submanifolds of Heisenberg groups: our main result is their almost everywhere tangential Pansu differentiability. We also provide two applications: a Lusin-type approximation of Lipschitz functions on $\HH$-rectifiable sets, and a coarea formula on $\HH$-rectifiable sets that completes the program started in~\cite{JNGV}.
We characterize those mappings from a compact subset of $\mathbb{R}$ into the Heisenberg group $\mathbb{H}^{n}$ which can be extended to a $C^{m}$ horizontal curve in $\mathbb{H}^{n}$. The characterization combines the classical Whitney conditions with an estimate comparing changes in the vertical coordinate with those predicted by the Taylor series of the horizontal coordinates.
We study the behavior of Sobolev mappings defined on the Heisenberg groups with respect to a foliation by left cosets of a horizontal homogeneous subgroup. We quantitatively estimate, in terms of Euclidean Hausdorff dimension, the size of the set of cosets that are mapped onto sets of high dimension. The proof of our main result combines ideas of Gehring and Mostow about the absolute continuity of quasiconformal mappings with Mattila's projection and slicing machinery.
For a real valued function defined on a compact set $K \subset \mathbb{R}^m$, the classical Whitney Extension Theorem from 1934 gives necessary and sufficient conditions for the existence of a $C^k$ extension to $\mathbb{R}^m$. In this paper, we prove a version of the Whitney Extension Theorem in the case of $C^1$, horizontal extensions for mappings defined on compact subsets of $\mathbb{R}$ taking values in the Heisenberg Group $\mathbb{H}^n$.
In this article we study the validity of the Whitney $C^1$ extension property for horizontal curves in sub-Riemannian manifolds endowed with 1-jets that satisfy a first-order Taylor expansion compatibility condition. We first consider the equiregular case, where we show that the extension property holds true whenever a suitable non-singularity property holds for the input-output maps on the Carnot groups obtained by nilpotent approximation. We then discuss the case of sub-Riemannian manifolds with singular points and we show that all step-2 manifolds satisfy the $C^1$ extension property. We co…
We examine the geometry of the level sets of particular horizontally $p$-harmonic functions in the Heisenberg group. We find sharp, natural geometric conditions ensuring that the level sets of the $p$-capacitary potential of a bounded annulus in the Heisenberg group are strictly starshaped.
We investigate metric properties of level sets of horizontally differentiable maps defined on the first Heisenberg group $(\Bbb{H}^1,d_{cc})$ equipped with the standard sub-Riemannian structure. In particular, we present an exhaustive analysis in a new case of a map $F\in C^1_H(\Bbb{H}^1, \Bbb{R}^2)$ with surjective horizontal differential (an analogue of the classical implicit function theorem). Among other results, we show that a level set of such map is locally a simple curve of Hausdorff sub-Riemannian dimension 2, but, surprisingly, in general its two-dimensional Hausdorff measure can be …
Let $\H= < a,b | a[a,b]=[a,b]a \wedge b[a,b]=[a,b]b>$ be the discrete Heisenberg group, equipped with the left-invariant word metric $d_W(\cdot,\cdot)$ associated to the generating set ${a,b,a^{-1},b^{-1}}$. Letting $B_n= {x\in \H: d_W(x,e_\H)\le n}$ denote the corresponding closed ball of radius $n\in \N$, and writing $c=[a,b]=aba^{-1}b^{-1}$, we prove that if $(X,|\cdot|_X)$ is a Banach space whose modulus of uniform convexity has power type $q\in [2,\infty)$ then there exists $K\in (0,\infty)$ such that every $f:\H\to X$ satisfies {multline*} \sum_{k=1}^{n^2}\sum_{x\in B_n}\frac{|f(xc^k)-f(…
Let $\mathbb{H}$ be the first Heisenberg group, and let $k \in C^{\infty}(\mathbb{H} \, \setminus \, \{0\})$ be a kernel which is either odd or horizontally odd, and satisfies $$|\nabla_{\mathbb{H}}^{n}k(p)| \leq C_{n}\|p\|^{-1 - n}, \qquad p \in \mathbb{H} \, \setminus \, \{0\}, \, n \geq 0.$$ The simplest examples include certain Riesz-type kernels first considered by Chousionis and Mattila, and the horizontally odd kernel $k(p) = \nabla_{\mathbb{H}} \log \|p\|$. We prove that convolution with $k$, as above, yields an $L^{2}$-bounded operator on regular curves in $\mathbb{H}$. This extends a…
Lipschitz and horizontal maps from an $n$-dimensional space into the $(2n+1)$-dimensional Heisenberg group $\H^n$ are abundant, while maps from higher-dimensional spaces are much more restricted. DeJarnette-Hajłasz-Lukyanenko-Tyson constructed horizontal maps from $S^k$ to $\H^n$ which factor through $n$-spheres and showed that these maps have no smooth horizontal fillings. In this paper, however, we build on an example of Kaufman to show that these maps sometimes have Lipschitz fillings. This shows that the Lipschitz and the smooth horizontal homotopy groups of a space may differ. Conversely,…
We compute the horizontal Hessian of the signed Carnot-Charatheodory distance from a surface S in the Heisenberg group H. The expression for the Hessian is in terms of the surface's intrinsic curvatures. As an application, we compute the horizontal Hessian of the Carnot-Charatheodory distance from a point in H.
We give new examples of entire area-minimizing t-graphs in the subriemannian Heisenberg group H^1. Most of the examples are locally lipschitz in Euclidean sense. Some regular examples have prescribed singular set consisting of either a horizontal line or a finite number of horizontal halflines extending from a given point. Amongst them, a large family of area-minimizing cones is obtained.
Consider the sub-Riemannian Heisenberg group $\mathbb{H}$. In this paper, we answer the following question: given a compact set $K \subseteq \mathbb{R}$ and a continuous map $f:K \to \mathbb{H}$, when is there a horizontal $C^m$ curve $F:\mathbb{R} \to \mathbb{H}$ such that $F|_K = f$? Whitney originally answered this question for real valued mappings, and Fefferman provided a complete answer for real valued functions defined on subsets of $\mathbb{R}^n$. We also prove a finiteness principle for $C^{m,\sqrtω}$ horizontal curves in the Heisenberg group in the sense of Brudnyi and Shvartsman.
A theorem of Dorronsoro from the 1980s quantifies the fact that real-valued Sobolev functions on Euclidean spaces can be approximated by affine functions almost everywhere, and at all sufficiently small scales. We prove a variant of Dorronsoro's theorem in Heisenberg groups: functions in horizontal Sobolev spaces can be approximated by affine functions which are independent of the last variable. As an application, we deduce new proofs for certain vertical vs. horizontal Poincaré inequalities for real-valued functions on the Heisenberg group, originally due to Austin-Naor-Tessera and Lafforgue-…
After introducing the sub-Riemannian geometry of the Heisenberg group Hn, n \geq 1, we recall some basics about hypersurfaces endowed with the H-perimeter measure and horizontal Green's formulas. Then, we describe a class of compact closed hypersurfaces of constant horizontal mean curvature called "Isoperimetric Profiles"(they are not CC-balls!); see Section 2.1. Our main purpose is to study a closed eigenvalue problem on Isoperimetric Profiles, i.e. LHS ϕ+ λϕ= 0, where LHS is a 2nd order horizontal tangential operator analogous to the Laplace-Beltrami operator; see Section 1.5. This is done s…
In the context of sub-Riemannian Heisenberg groups Hn, n \geq 1, we shall study Isoperimetric Profiles, which are closed compact hypersurfaces having constant horizontal mean curvature, very similar to ellipsoids. Our main goal is to study the stability of Isoperimetric Profiles.
The Heisenberg groups are examples of sub-Riemannian manifolds homeomorphic, but not diffeomorphic to the Euclidean space. Their metric is derived from curves which are only allowed to move in so-called horizontal directions. We report on some recent progress in the Analysis of the Hölder topology of the Heisenberg group, some related and some unrelated to density questions for Sobolev maps into the Heisenberg group. In particular we describe the main ideas behind a result by Hajłasz, Mirra, and the author regarding Gromov's conjecture, which is based on the linking number. We do not prove or …
This note concerns low-dimensional intrinsic Lipschitz graphs, in the sense of Franchi, Serapioni, and Serra Cassano, in the Heisenberg group $\mathbb{H}^n$, $n\in \mathbb{N}$. For $1\leq k\leq n$, we show that every intrinsic $L$-Lipschitz graph over a subset of a $k$-dimensional horizontal subgroup $\mathbb{V}$ of $\mathbb{H}^n$ can be extended to an intrinsic $L'$-Lipschitz graph over the entire subgroup $\mathbb{V}$, where $L'$ depends only on $L$, $k$, and $n$. We further prove that $1$-dimensional intrinsic $1$-Lipschitz graphs in $\mathbb{H}^n$, $n\in \mathbb{N}$, admit corona decomposi…
I propose an analogue in the first Heisenberg group $\mathbb{H}$ of David and Semmes' local symmetry condition (LSC). For closed $3$-regular sets $E \subset \mathbb{H}$, I show that the (LSC) is implied by the $L^{2}(\mathcal{H}^{3}|_{E})$ boundedness of $3$-dimensional singular integrals with horizontally antisymmetric kernels, and that the (LSC) implies the weak geometric lemma for vertical $β$-numbers.
In this paper we study intrinsic regular submanifolds of $\mathbb{H}^n$, of low co-dimension in relation with the regularity of their intrinsic parametrization. We extend some results proved for one co-dimensional $\mathbb{H}$-regular surfaces, characterizing uniformly intrinsic differentiable functions $ϕ$ acting between two complementary subgroups of the Heisenberg group $\mathbb{H}^n$, with target space horizontal of dimension $k$, with $1 \leq k \leq n$, in terms of the Euclidean regularity of its components with respect to a family of non linear vector fields $\nabla^{ϕ_j}$. Moreover, we …
We study the family of vertical projections whose fibers are right cosets of horizontal planes in the Heisenberg group, $\mathbb{H}^n$. We prove lower bounds for Hausdorff dimension distortion of sets under these mappings, with respect to the Euclidean metric and also the natural quotient metric which we show behaves like the Euclidean metric in this context. Our bounds are sharp in a large part of the dimension range, and we give conjectural sharp lower bounds for the remaining range. Our approach also lets us improve the known almost sure lower bound for the standard family of vertical proje…
Elementary sub-Riemannian geometry on the Heisenberg group H(n) provides a compact picture of symplectic geometry. Any Hamiltonian diffeomorphism on $R^{2n}$ lifts to a volume preserving bi-Lipschitz homeomorphisms of H(n), with the use of its generating function. Any curve of a flow of such homeomorphisms deviates from horizontality by the Hamiltonian of the flow. From the metric point of view this means that any such curve has Hausdorff dimension 2 and the $\mathcal{H}^{2}$ (area) density equal to the Hamiltonian. The non-degeneracy of the Hofer distance is a direct consequence of this fact.
Let $D$ be a closed disk centered at the origin in the horizontal hyperplane $\{t=0\}$ of the sub-Riemannian Heisenberg group $\hh^n$, and $C$ the vertical cylinder over $D$. We prove that any finite perimeter set $E$ such that $D\subset E\subset C$ has perimeter larger than or equal to the one of the rotationally symmetric sphere with constant mean curvature of the same volume, and that equality holds only for the spheres using a recent result by Monti and Vittone [12].
We consider the Carnot-Carathéodory distance $δ_E$ to a closed set $E$ in the sub-Riemannian Heisenberg groups $\mathbb{H}^n$, $n\ge 1$. The $\mathbb{H}$-regularity of $δ_E$ is proved under mild conditions involving a general notion of singular points. In case $E$ is a Euclidean $C^k$ submanifold, $k\ge 2$, we prove that $δ_E$ is $C^k$ out of the singular set. Explicit expressions for the volume of the tubular neighborhood when the boundary of $E$ is of class $C^2$ are obtained, out of the singular set, in terms of the horizontal principal curvatures of $\partial E$ and of the function $\langl…
We prove a rank-one theorem à la G. Alberti for the derivatives of vector-valued maps with bounded variation in a class of Carnot groups that includes Heisenberg groups $\mathbb H^n$ for $n\geq 2$. The main tools are properties relating the horizontal derivatives of a real-valued function with bounded variation and its subgraph.
We consider surfaces of class $C^1$ in the $3$-dimensional sub-Riemannian Heisenberg group ${\mathbb H}^1$. Assuming the surface is area-stationary, i.e., a critical point of the sub-Riemannian perimeter under compactly supported variations, we show that its regular part is foliated by horizontal straight lines. In case the surface is complete and oriented, without singular points, and stable, i.e., a second order minimum of perimeter, we prove that the surface must be a vertical plane. This implies the following Bernstein type result: a complete locally area-minimizing intrinsic graph of a $C…
In this paper we study sets in the $n$-dimensional Heisenberg group $\hhn$ which are critical points, under a volume constraint, of the sub-Riemannian perimeter associated to the distribution of horizontal vector fields in $\hhn$. We define a notion of mean curvature for hypersurfaces and we show that the boundary of a stationary set is a constant mean curvature (CMC) hypersurface. Our definition coincides with previous ones. Our main result describes which are the CMC hypersurfaces of revolution in $\hhn$. The fact that such a hypersurface is invariant under a compact group of rotations allow…
The discrete Heisenberg group $\mathbb{H}_{\mathbb{Z}}^{2k+1}$ is the group generated by $a_1,b_1,\ldots,a_k,b_k,c$, subject to the relations $[a_1,b_1]=\ldots=[a_k,b_k]=c$ and $[a_i,a_j]=[b_i,b_j]=[a_i,b_j]=[a_i,c]=[b_i,c]=1$ for every distinct $i,j\in \{1,\ldots,k\}$. Denote $S=\{a_1^{\pm 1},b_1^{\pm 1},\ldots,a_k^{\pm 1},b_k^{\pm 1}\}$. The horizontal boundary of $Ω\subset \mathbb{H}_{\mathbb{Z}}^{2k+1}$, denoted $\partial_{h}Ω$, is the set of all $(x,y)\in Ω\times (\mathbb{H}_{\mathbb{Z}}^{2k+1}\setminus Ω)$ such that $x^{-1}y\in S$. The horizontal perimeter of $Ω$ is $|\partial_{h}Ω|$. Fo…
We introduce a notion of geodesic curvature $k_ζ$ for a smooth horizontal curve $ζ$ in a three-dimensional contact sub-Riemannian manifold, measuring how much a horizontal curve is far from being a geodesic. We show that the geodesic curvature appears as the first corrective term in the Taylor expansion of the sub-Riemannian distance between two points on a unit speed horizontal curve $$ d_{SR}^2( ζ(t),ζ(t+ε))=ε^2-\frac{k_ζ^2(t)}{720} ε^6 +o(ε^{6}). $$ The sub-Riemannian distance is not smooth on the diagonal, hence the result contains the existence of such an asymptotics. This can be seen as …
We prove a Koebe distortion theorem for the average derivative of a quasiconformal mapping between domains in the sub-Riemannian Heisenberg group $\mathbb{H}_1$. Several auxiliary properties of quasiconformal mappings between subdomains of $\mathbb{H}_1$ are proven, including distortion of balls estimates and local BMO-estimates for the logarithm of the Jacobian of a quasiconformal mapping. Applications of the Koebe theorem include diameter bounds for images of curves, comparison of integrals of the average derivative and the operator norm of the horizontal differential, as well as the study o…
We prove that if $P,\mathcal{L}$ are finite sets of $δ$-separated points and lines in $\mathbb{R}^{2}$, the number of $δ$-incidences between $P$ and $\mathcal{L}$ is no larger than a constant times $$|P|^{2/3}|\mathcal{L}|^{2/3} \cdot δ^{-1/3}.$$ We apply the bound to obtain the following variant of the Loomis-Whitney inequality in the Heisenberg group: $$ |K| \lesssim |π_{x}(K)|^{2/3} \cdot |π_{y}(K)|^{2/3}, \qquad K \subset \mathbb{H}. $$ Here $π_{x}$ and $π_{y}$ are the vertical projections to the $xt$- and $yt$-planes, respectively, and $|\cdot|$ refers to natural Haar measure on either $\…
In Carnot groups of step 2 we consider sets having maximal or minimal possible homogeneous Hausdorff dimension compared to their Euclidean one: in the first case we prove that they must be in a sense vertical, that is a large part of these sets can lie off horizontal planes through their points, and in the latter case close to horizontal. The examples that had been used to prove the sharpness of the sub-Riemannian versus Euclidean dimension comparison intuitively satisfied these geometric properties, which we here quantify and prove to be necessary. We also show the sharpness of our statements…
The Whitney extension theorem is a classical result in analysis giving a necessary and sufficient condition for a function defined on a closed set to be extendable to the whole space with a given class of regularity. It has been adapted to several settings, among which the one of Carnot groups. However, the target space has generally been assumed to be equal to R^d for some d $\ge$ 1. We focus here on the extendability problem for general ordered pairs (G\_1,G\_2) (with G\_2 non-Abelian). We analyze in particular the case G\_1 = R and characterize the groups G\_2 for which the Whitney extensio…
