arXiv:0704.1102v1  [math-ph]  9 Apr 2007
Spectral analysis for convolution operators on locally compact groups
M. Măntoiu1 and R. Tiedra de Aldecoa2
1 Institute of Mathematics “Simion Stoilow” of the Romanian Academy,
P. O. Box 1-764, 014700 Bucharest, Romania
2 Département de mathématiques, Université de Cergy-Pontoise,
2, Avenue Adolphe Chauvin, 95302 Cergy-Pontoise Cedex, France
E-mails: Marius.Mantoiu@imar.ro, rafael.tiedra@u-cergy.fr
Abstract
We consider operators Hµ of convolution with measures µ on locally compact groups. We characterize
the spectrum of Hµ by constructing auxiliary operators whose kernel contain the pure point and singular
subspaces of Hµ, respectively. The proofs rely on commutator methods.
Key words and phrases: locally compact group, convolution operator, positive commutator, point spec-
trum, singular spectrum.
2000 Mathematics Subject Classification: 34L05, 81Q10, 44A35, 22D05
1 Introduction
Any selfadjoint operator H in a Hilbert space H, with spectral measure EH and spectrum σ(H), is reduced by
an orthogonal decomposition
H = Hac(H)⊕Hp(H)⊕Hsc(H),
that we briefly recall (cf. [30, Sec. 7.4]). Denote by Bor(R) the family of Borel subsets of R. Then, for any
f ∈ H, one has the positive Borel measure
H : Bor(R) → [0,∞), A 7→ ν
H(A) := ‖EH(A)f‖
= 〈f, EH(A)f〉 .
We say that f belongs to the spectral subspace Hp(H) if ν
H is pure point, f belongs to the spectral subspace
Hac(H) if ν
H is absolutely continuous with respect to the Lebesgue measure, and f belongs to the spectral
subspace Hsc(H) if ν
H is singularly continuous with respect to the Lebesgue measure. One also uses the nota-
tions Hc(H) := Hac(H)⊕Hsc(H) for the continuous subspace of H and Hs(H) := Hp(H)⊕Hsc(H) for the
singular subspace of H . The sets σp(H) := σ
H |Hp(H)
, σac(H) := σ
H |Hac(H)
, σsc(H) := σ
H |Hsc(H)
σc(H) := σ(H |Hc(H)) and σs(H) := σ(H |Hs(H)) are called pure point spectrum, absolutely continuous spec-
trum, continuous spectrum, and singular spectrum of H , respectively.
An important issue in spectral theory consists in determining the above spectral subspaces or subsets for
concrete selfadjoint operators. Under various assumptions this has been performed for important classes of op-
erators: Schrödinger and more general partial differential operators, Toeplitz operators, Wiener-Hopf operators,
and many others. Since the mathematical literature on this subject is considerable, it seems pointless to try to
indicate references.
In the present article we consider locally compact groups X , abelian or not, and convolution operators
Hµ, acting on L
2(X), defined by suitable measures µ belonging to M(X), the Banach ∗-algebra of complex
Radon measures on X . The case µ = χS , the characteristic function of a compact generating subset, leads to
Hecke operators associated to the left regular representation (notice that our groups need not to be discrete). The
precise definitions and statements are gathered in the next section. Essentially, our result consists in determining
http://arxiv.org/abs/0704.1102v1
subspaces K1µ and K
µ of L
2(X), explicitly defined in terms of µ and the family Hom(X,R) of continuous group
morphisms Φ : X → R, such that Hp(Hµ) ⊂ K
µ and Hs(Hµ) ⊂ K
µ. The cases K
µ = {0} or K
µ = {0} are
interesting; in the first case Hµ has no eigenvalues, and in the second case Hµ is purely absolutely continuous.
The subspaces K1µ and K
µ can be calculated explicitly only in very convenient situations. Rather often we are
only able to show that they differ from H.
In Section 3 we prove the results stated and discussed in Section 2. The proofs rely on a modification of a
positive commutator technique called the method of the weakly conjugate operator. This method, an unbounded
version of the Kato-Putnam theorem [26, Thm. XIII.28], developed and used in various situations [5, 6, 19, 23,
24, 25, 27], is recalled in Section 3.1. The last section is devoted to examples.
We refer to [2, 3, 4, 7, 8, 9, 11, 15, 17, 18, 20, 21, 22, 29] for some related works on the spectral theory
of operators on groups and graphs. Some of these articles put into evidence (Hecke-type) operators with large
singular or singular continuous components. In [25], where analogous technics are used, one gets restrictions on
the singular spectrum for adjacency operators on certain classes of graphs (which could be of non-Cayley type).
2 The main result
We give in this section the statement of our main result for convolution operators on arbitrary locally compact
groups (LCG). The reader is referred to [10, 16] for general information on the theory of LCG.
2.1 Statement of the main result
Let X be a LCG with identity e, center Z(X) and modular function ∆. Let us fix a left Haar measure λ on X ,
using the notation dx := dλ(x). The associated right Haar measure ρ is defined by ρ(E) := λ(E−1) for each
Borel subset E of X . Whenever X is compact, λ is normalized, i.e. λ(X) = 1. On discrete groups the counting
measure (assigning mass 1 to every point) is considered. The notation a.e. stands for “almost everywhere” and
refers to the Haar measure λ. The Lebesgue space Lp(X) ≡ Lp(X, dλ), 1 ≤ p ≤ ∞, of X with respect to λ is
endowed with the usual norm
‖f‖p :=
dx |f(x)|p
We are interested in convolution of functions by measures. Namely, we consider for every measure µ ∈
M(X) and every function f ∈ Lp(X), 1 ≤ p < ∞, the convolution of µ and f given (essentially) by
(µ ∗ f)(x) :=
dµ(y) f(y−1x) for a.e. x ∈ X.
It is known [16, Thm. 20.12] that µ ∗ f ∈ Lp(X) and that ‖µ ∗ f‖p ≤ ‖µ‖ ‖f‖p, where ‖µ‖ := |µ|(X) is the
norm of the measure µ. Since we are mainly concerned with the hilbertian theory, we consider in the sequel the
convolution operator Hµ, µ ∈ M(X), acting in the Hilbert space H := L
2(X):
Hµf := µ ∗ f, f ∈ H.
The operator Hµ is bounded with norm ‖Hµ‖ ≤ ‖µ‖, and it admits an adjoint operator H
µ equal to Hµ∗ , the
convolution operator by µ∗ ∈ M(X) defined by µ∗(E) = µ(E−1). If the measure µ is absolutely continuous
w.r.t. the left Haar measure λ, so that dµ = a dλ with a ∈ L1(X), then µ∗ is also absolutely continuous w.r.t. λ
and dµ∗ = a∗dλ, where a∗(x) := a(x−1)∆(x−1) for a.e. x ∈ X . In such a case we simply write Ha for Hadλ.
We shall always assume that Hµ is selfadjoint, i.e. that µ = µ
Let U(H) stands for the group of unitary operators in H and let L : X → U(H) be the left regular
representation of X . Then Hµ is equal to the strong operator integral
dµ(y)L(y),
and µ 7→ Hµ is the integrated form of L.
We recall that given two measures µ, ν ∈ M(X), their convolution µ∗ν ∈ M(X) is defined by the relation
[10, Eq. 2.34] generalizing the usual convolution of L1-functions:
d(µ ∗ ν)(x) g(x) :=
dµ(x)dν(y) g(xy) ∀g ∈ C0(X),
where C0(X) denotes the C
∗-algebra of continuous complex functions on X decaying at infinity. The inequality
‖µ ∗ ν‖ ≤ ‖µ‖ ‖ν‖ holds.
Given µ ∈ M(X), let ϕ : X → R be such that the linear functional
F : C0(X) → C, g 7→
dµ(x)ϕ(x)g(x)
is bounded. Then there exists a unique measure in M(X) associated to F , due to the Riesz-Markov representa-
tion theorem. We write ϕµ for this measure, and we simply say that ϕ is such that ϕµ ∈ M(X).
Let us call real character any continuous group morphism Φ : X → R. Their set forms a real vector space
Hom(X,R), which can be infinite dimensional.
Definition 2.1. Let µ = µ∗ ∈ M(X).
(a) A real character Φ is semi-adapted to µ if Φµ,Φ2µ ∈ M(X), and (Φµ) ∗ µ = µ ∗ (Φµ). The set of real
characters that are semi-adapted to µ is denoted by Hom1µ(X,R).
(b) A real character Φ is adapted to µ if Φ is semi-adapted to µ,Φ3µ ∈ M(X), and (Φµ) ∗ (Φ2µ) =
(Φ2µ) ∗ (Φµ). The set of real characters that are adapted to µ is denoted by Hom2µ(X,R).
Let Kjµ :=
Φ∈Hom
µ(X,R)
ker(HΦµ), for j = 1, 2; then our main result is the following.
Theorem 2.2. Let X be a LCG and let µ = µ∗ ∈ M(X). Then
Hp(Hµ) ⊂ K
µ and Hs(Hµ) ⊂ K
A more precise result is obtained in a particular situation.
Corollary 2.3. Let X be a LCG and let µ = µ∗ ∈ M(X). Assume that there exists a real character Φ adapted
to µ such that Φ2 is equal to an nonzero constant on supp(µ). Then Hµ has a purely absolutely continuous spec-
trum, with the possible exception of an eigenvalue located at the origin, with eigenspace ker(Hµ) = ker(HΦµ).
Corollary 2.3 specially applies to adjacency operators on certain classes of Cayley graphs, which are
Hecke-type operators in the regular representation, thus convolution operators on discrete groups.
Remark 2.4. Using the method of the weakly conjugate operator, some extra results (as a Limiting Absorp-
tion Principle, global smooth operators, perturbations of Hµ) can also be obtained. For simplicity we do not
include them here, even if they can be inferred quite straightforwardly from [5] and [6]. Improvements in the
assumptions are also possible, but with the cost of more complicated statements and proofs. Proposition 2.1 in
[6] shows the generality of the method.
2.2 Comments and remarks
(A) One obstacle in applying Theorem 2.2 is the fact that certain locally compact groups admit few nonzero real
characters, maybe none.
We say that x ∈ X is compact, and we write x ∈ B(X), if the closed subgroup generated by x is compact.
If the order of x ∈ B(X) is finite, then x is clearly a compact element (but in non-discrete groups there could
be others). Although B(X) is the union of all the compact subgroups of X , it is in general neither a subgroup,
nor a closed set in X . We write B(X) for the closed subgroup generated by B(X).
A continuous group morphism sends compact subgroups to compact subgroups. But the unique compact
subgroup of R is {0}. Thus a real character on X annihilates B(X). It is not clear in general that the “smallness”
of the vector space Hom(X,R) is related to a tendancy for convolution operators on X to have a substantial
singular subspace, but for certain classes of groups this is indeed the case. For example, if X is compact, then
X = B(X), Hom(X,R) = {0} and all operators Hµ, µ ∈ M(X), are pure point (see (B) below).
(B) It is not at all exceptional for a convolution operator to have eigenvalues. For example, if a type I repre-
sentation U is contained in the left regular representation L, then any function a ∈ L1(X) which is transformed
by (the integrated form of) U into a compact operator will lead to a convolution operator Ha having eigenvalues.
To consider just an exteme case, let us assume that X is a CCR group and that L is completely reducible.
Then Ha can be written as a direct sum of compact operators, thus it has pure point spectrum. These conditions
are fulfilled in the very particular case of compact groups. Actually, in this case, the irreducible representations
are all finite-dimensional, so even convolution operators by elements of M(X) are pure point.
(C) The occurrence in Theorem 2.2 of the subspaces Kjµ is not as mysterious as it could seem at first sight.
For example, if µ = δe, then Φµ = 0 for any Φ ∈ Hom(X,R), so that K
µ = H. Accordingly Hµ = 1, with
spectrum composed of the single eigenvalue 1 with corresponding eigenspace H.
Another simple example is obtained by considering X compact. On one hand the single real character is
Φ = 0, with associated subspaces Kjµ = H for any µ = µ
∗ ∈ M(X). On the other hand we know from (B) that
Hp(Hµ) is also equal to H.
If the support of µ is contained in a subgroup Y of X with 0 < λ(Y ) < ∞, then a direct calculation shows
that the associated characteristic function χY is an eigenvector of Hµ with eigenvalue µ(Y ). Actually, since
(Φµ)(Y ) = 0 for any Φ ∈ Hom(X,R) with Φµ ∈ M(X), CχY is contained in ker(HΦµ).
3 Proof of the main result
The proof of Theorem 2.2 relies on an abstract method, that we briefly recall in a simple form.
3.1 The method of the weakly conjugate operator
The method of the weakly conjugate operator works for unbounded operators, but for our purposes it will
be enough to assume H bounded. It also produces estimations on the boundary values of the resolvent and
information on wave operators, but we shall only concentrate on spectral results.
We start by introducing some notations. The symbol H stands for a Hilbert space with scalar product 〈·, ·〉
and norm ‖ · ‖. Given two Hilbert spaces H1 and H2, we denote by B(H1,H2) the set of bounded operators
from H1 to H2, and put B(H) := B(H,H). We assume that H is endowed with a strongly continuous unitary
group {Wt}t∈R. Its selfadjoint generator is denoted by A and has domain D(A). In most of the applications A
is unbounded.
Definition 3.1. A bounded selfadjoint operator H in H belongs to C1(A;H) if one of the following equivalent
condition is satisfied:
(i) the map R ∋ t 7→ W−tHWt ∈ B(H) is strongly differentiable,
(ii) the sesquilinear form
D(A)×D(A) ∋ (f, g) 7→ i 〈Hf,Ag〉 − i 〈Af,Hg〉 ∈ C
is continuous when D(A) is endowed with the topology of H.
We denote by B the strong derivative in (i) calculated at t = 0, or equivalently the bounded selfadjoint
operator associated with the extension of the form in (ii). The operator B provides a rigorous meaning to the
commutator i[H,A]. We shall write B > 0 if B is positive and injective, namely if 〈f,Bf〉 > 0 for all
f ∈ H \ {0}.
Definition 3.2. The operator A is weakly conjugate to the bounded selfadjoint operator H if H ∈ C1(A;H)
and B ≡ i[H,A] > 0.
For B > 0 let us consider the completionB of H with respect to the norm ‖f‖B := 〈f,Bf〉
. The adjoint
space B∗ of B can be identified with the completion of BH with respect to the norm ‖g‖B∗ :=
g,B−1g
One has then the continuous dense embeddings B∗ →֒ H →֒ B, and B extends to an isometric operator
from B to B∗. Due to these embeddings it makes sense to assume that {Wt}t∈R restricts to a C0-group in
B∗, or equivalently that it extends to a C0-group in B. Under this assumption (tacitly assumed in the sequel)
we keep the same notation for these C0-groups. The domain of the generator of the C0-group in B (resp. B
endowed with the graph norm is denoted by D(A,B) (resp. D(A,B∗)). In analogy with Definition 3.1 the
requirement B ∈ C1(A;B,B∗) means that the map R ∋ t 7→ W−tBWt ∈ B(B,B
∗) is strongly differentiable,
or equivalently that the sesquilinear form
D(A,B)×D(A,B) ∋ (f, g) 7→ i 〈f,BAg〉 − i 〈Af,Bg〉 ∈ C
is continuous when D(A,B) is endowed with the topology of B. Here, 〈·, ·〉 denotes the duality between B and
Theorem 3.3. Assume that A is weakly conjugate to H and that B ≡ i[H,A] belongs to C1(A;B,B∗). Then
the spectrum of H is purely absolutely continuous.
Note that the method should be conveniently adapted when absolute continuity is expected only in a sub-
space of the Hilbert space. This is the case considered in the sequel.
3.2 Proof of Theorem 2.2
In this section we construct suitable weakly conjugate operators in the framework of section 2, and we prove our
main result. For that purpose, let us fix a real character Φ ∈ Hom(X,R) and a measure µ = µ∗ ∈ M(X). We
shall keep writing Φ for the associated operator of multiplication in H. In most of the applications this operator
is unbounded; its domain is equal to D(Φ) ≡ {f ∈ H | Φf ∈ H}.
One ingredient of our approach is the fact that multiplication by morphisms behaves like a derivation
with respect to the convolution product: for suitable functions or measures f, g : X → C, one has Φ(f ∗ g) =
(Φf)∗g+f∗(Φg). Using this observation we show in the next lemma that the commutator i[Hµ,Φ] (constructed
as in Definition 3.1) is related to the operator HΦµ. This provides a partial explanation of our choice of the
“semi-adapted” and “adapted” conditions.
Lemma 3.4. (a) If Φ is semi-adapted to µ, then Hµ ∈ C1(Φ;H), and i[Hµ,Φ] = −iHΦµ ∈ B(H). Simi-
larly, −iHΦµ ∈ C
1(Φ,H), and i[−iHΦµ,Φ] = −HΦ2µ ∈ B(H). Moreover, the equality [Hµ, HΦµ] = 0
holds.
(b) If Φ is adapted to µ, then −HΦ2µ ∈ C
1(Φ,H), and the equality [HΦµ, HΦ2µ] = 0 holds.
Proof. (a) Let Φ be semi-adapted to µ and let f ∈ D(Φ). Then one has µ,Φµ ∈ M(X) and f,Φf ∈ H. Thus
µ ∗ f ∈ D(Φ), and the equality Φ(Hµf) = (Φµ) ∗ f + µ ∗ (Φf) holds in H. It follows that i(HµΦ−ΦHµ) is
well-defined on D(Φ) and is equal to −iHΦµ. Hence Condition (ii) of Definition 3.1 is fulfilled.
The proof that −iHΦµ belongs toC
1(Φ,H) and that i[−iHΦµ,Φ] = −HΦ2µ is similar. Finally the equality
[Hµ, HΦµ] = 0 is clearly equivalent to the requirement (Φµ) ∗ µ = µ ∗ (Φµ).
(b) The proof is completely analogous to that of point (a).
If Φ is semi-adapted to µ, we set K := i[Hµ,Φ] = −iHΦµ and L := i[K,Φ] = i[−iHΦµ,Φ] = −HΦ2µ
(for the sake of simplicity, we omit to write the dependence of these operators in Φ and µ). The first part of the
previous lemma states that Hµ and K belongs to C
1(Φ;H). In particular, it follows that K leaves invariant the
domain D(Φ), and the operator
A := 1
(ΦK +KΦ)
is well-defined and symmetric on D(Φ). Similarly, if Φ is adapted to µ, the second part of the lemma states that
L belongs to C1(Φ;H). Therefore the operator L leaves D(Φ) invariant, and the operator
A′ := 1
(ΦL+ LΦ)
is well-defined and symmetric on D(Φ).
Lemma 3.5. (a) If Φ is semi-adapted to µ, then the operator A is essentially selfadjoint on D(Φ). The
domain of its closure A is D(A) = D(ΦK) = {f ∈ H | ΦKf ∈ H} and A acts on D(A) as the
operator ΦK − i
(b) If Φ is adapted to µ, then the operator A′ is essentially selfadjoint on D(Φ). The domain of its closure
A′ is D(A′) = D(ΦL) = {f ∈ H | ΦLf ∈ H}.
Proof. One just has to reproduce the proof of [11, Lemma 3.1], replacing their couple (N,S) by (Φ,K) for the
point (a) and by (Φ, L) for the point (b).
In the next lemma we collect some results on commutators with A or A′. The commutation relations
exhibited in Lemma 3.4, i.e. [Hµ,K] = 0 if Φ is semi-adapted to µ and [K,L] = 0 if Φ is adapted to µ, are
essential.
Lemma 3.6. If Φ is semi-adapted to µ, then
(a) The quadratic form D(A) ∋ f 7→ i 〈Hµf,Af〉 − i 〈Af,Hµf〉 extends uniquely to the bounded form
defined by the operator K2,
(b) The quadratic form D(A) ∋ f 7→ i
K2f,Af
Af,K2f
extends uniquely to the bounded form
defined by the operator KLK + 1
K2L+ LK2
(which reduces to 2KLK if Φ is adapted to µ),
(c) If Φ is adapted to µ, then the quadratic form D(A′) ∋ f 7→ i 〈Kf,A′f〉 − i 〈A′f,Kf〉 extends uniquely
to the bounded form defined by the operator L2.
The proof is straightforward. Computations may be performed on the core D(Φ). These results imply that
Hµ ∈ C
1(A;H), K2 ∈ C1(A;H) and (when Φ is adapted) K ∈ C1(A′;H). Using these results we now
establish a relation between the kernels of the operators Hµ, K and L.
Lemma 3.7. If Φ is semi-adapted to µ, then one has
ker(Hµ) ⊂ Hp(Hµ) ⊂ ker(K) ⊂ Hp(K).
If Φ is adapted to µ, one also has
Hp(K) ⊂ ker(L) ⊂ Hp(L).
Proof. Let f be an eigenvector of Hµ. Due to the Virial Theorem [1, Proposition 7.2.10] and the fact that Hµ
belongs to C1(A;H), one has 〈f, i[Hµ, A]f〉 = 0. It follows by Lemma 3.6.(a) that 0 =
f,K2f
= ‖Kf‖2,
i.e. f ∈ ker(K). The inclusion Hp(Hµ) ⊂ ker(K) follows. Similarly, by using A
′ instead of A and Lemma
3.6.(c) one gets (when Φ is adapted) the inclusion Hp(K) ⊂ ker(L), and the lemma is proved.
Assume now that Φ is semi-adapted to µ. Then we can decompose the Hilbert space H into the direct
sum H = K ⊕ G, where K := ker(K) and G is the closure of the range KH. It is easy to see that Hµ and
K are reduced by this decomposition and that their restrictions to the Hilbert space G are bounded selfadjoint
operators. In the next lemma we prove that this decomposition of H also reduces the operator A if Φ is adapted
to µ.
Lemma 3.8. If Φ is adapted to µ, then the decomposition H = K ⊕ G reduces the operator A. The restriction
of A to G defines a selfadjoint operator denoted by A0.
Proof. We already know that on D(A) = D(ΦK) one has A = ΦK − i
L. By using Lemma 3.7 it follows that
K ⊂ ker(A) ⊂ D(A). Then one trivially checks that (i) A [K ∩ D(A)] ⊂ K, (ii) A [G ∩ D(A)] ⊂ G and (iii)
D(A) = [K ∩ D(A)] + [G ∩ D(A)], which means that A is reduced by the decomposition H = K⊕G. Thus by
[30, Theorem 7.28] the restriction of A to D(A0) ≡ D(A) ∩ G is selfadjoint in G.
Proof of Theorem 2.2. We know from Lemma 3.7 that Hp(Hµ) ⊂ ker(−iHΦµ) for each Φ ∈ Hom
µ(X,R).
This obviously implies the first inclusion of the theorem.
Let us denote by H0 and K0 the restrictions to G of the operators Hµ and K . We shall prove in points
(i)-(iii) below that if Φ is adapted to µ, then the method of the weakly conjugate operator, presented in Section
3.1, applies to the operators H0 and A0 in the Hilbert space G. It follows then that G ⊂ Hac(Hµ), and a fortiori
that Hsc(Hµ) ⊂ K = ker(−iHΦµ). Since this result holds for each Φ ∈ Hom
µ(X,R), the second inclusion of
the theorem follows straightforwardly.
(i) Lemma 3.6.(a) implies that i(H0A0 −A0H0) is equal in the form sense to K
0 on D(A0) ≡ D(A) ∩ G.
Therefore the corresponding quadratic form extends uniquely to the bounded form defined by the operator K20 .
This implies that H0 belongs to C
1(A0;G).
(ii) Since B0 := i[H0, A0] ≡ K
0 > 0 in G, the operator A0 is weakly conjugate to H0. So we define the
space B as the completion of G with respect to the norm ‖f‖B := 〈f,B0f〉
. The adjoint space of B is denoted
by B∗ and can be identified with the completion of B0G with respect to the norm ‖f‖B∗ :=
f,B−10 f
can also be expressed as the closure of the subspace KH = K0G with respect to the same norm ‖f‖B∗ =∥∥|K0|−1f
∥∥. Due to Lemma 3.6.(b) the quadratic form D(A0) ∋ f 7→ i 〈B0fA0f〉 − i 〈A0f,B0f〉 extends
uniquely to the bounded form defined by the operator 2K0L0K0, where L0 is the restriction of L to G. We write
i[B0, A0] for this extension, which clearly defines an element of B(B,B
(iii) Let {Wt}t∈R be the unitary group in G generated by A0. We check now that this group extends to a
C0-group in B. This easily reduces to proving that for any t ∈ R there exists a constant C(t) ≥ 0 such that
‖Wtf‖B ≤ C(t)‖f‖B for all f ∈ D(A0). Due to point (ii) one has for each f ∈ D(A0)
‖Wtf‖
B = 〈f,B0f〉+
dτ 〈Wτf, i[B0, A0]Wτf〉 ≤ ‖f‖
B + 2‖L0‖
∫ |t|
dτ ‖Wτf‖
Since G →֒ B, the function (0, |t|) ∋ τ 7→ ‖Wτf‖
B ∈ R is bounded. Thus we get the inequality ‖Wtf‖B ≤
e|t|‖L0‖ ‖f‖B by using a simple form of the Gronwall Lemma. Therefore {Wt}t∈R extends to a C0-group in B,
and by duality {Wt}t∈R also defines a C0-group in B
∗. This concludes the proof of the fact that B0 extends to
an element of C1(A0;B,B
∗). Thus all hypotheses of Theorem 3.3 are satisfied and this gives the result.
Proof of Corollary 2.3. Since L = −HΦ2µ is proportional with Hµ, one has
ker(Hµ) = Hp(Hµ) ⊂ Hs(Hµ) ⊂ ker(HΦµ)
due to Lemma 3.7 and Theorem 2.2. Using this with µ replaced by iΦµ, one easily gets the identity ker(HΦµ) =
ker(Hµ). Therefore
ker(Hµ) = Hp(Hµ) = Hs(Hµ) = ker(HΦµ),
and the claim is proved.
4 Examples
4.1 Perturbations of central measures
In this section, we exploit commutativity in a non-commutative setting by using central measures. The group X
is assumed to be unimodular.
By definition, the central measures are the elements of the center Z[M(X)] of the convolution Banach
∗-algebra M(X). They can be characterized by the condition µ(yEy−1) = µ(E) for any y ∈ X and any
Borel set E ⊂ X . The central (or class) functions are the elements of Z[M(X)] ∩ L1(X) = Z[L1(X)]. Thus a
characteristic function χE is central iff λ(E) < ∞ and E is invariant under all inner automorphisms.
The relevant simple facts are the following: if µ is central, Φ ∈ Hom(X,R) and Φµ ∈ M(X), then Φµ is
also central (this follows from the identity Φ(yxy−1) = Φ(y)+Φ(x)−Φ(y) = Φ(x), ∀x, y ∈ X). On the other
hand, if µ is arbitrary but supported on B(X), then Φµ = 0 for any real character Φ. Thus all the commutation
relations in Definition 2.1 are satisfied, and one gets from Theorem 2.2 the following result:
Corollary 4.1. Let X be a unimodular LCG, let µ0 = µ∗0 ∈ M(X) be a central measure, and let µ1 = µ
M(X) with supp(µ1) ⊂ B(X). Then
Hp(Hµ0+µ1) ⊂
Φ∈Hom(X,R)
Φµ0,Φ
2µ0∈M(X)
ker(HΦµ0)
Hs(Hµ0+µ1) ⊂
Φ∈Hom(X,R)
Φµ0,Φ
2µ0,Φ
3µ0∈M(X)
ker(HΦµ0 ).
In order to get more explicit results, we restrict ourselves in the next section to a convenient class of LCG,
generalizing both abelian and compact groups.
4.2 Convolution operators on central groups
Following [12], we say that X is central (or of class [Z]) if the quotient X/Z(X) is compact. Central groups
possess a specific structure [12, Thm. 4.4]: If X is central, then X isomorphic to a direct productRd×H , where
H contains a compact open normal subgroup.
Proposition 4.2. Let X be a central group and µ0 = µ∗0 ∈ M(X) a central measure such that supp(µ0) is
compact and not included in B(X). Let µ1 = µ
1 ∈ M(X) with supp(µ1) ⊂ B(X) and set µ := µ0 + µ1.
Then Hac(Hµ) 6= {0}.
Proof. Central groups are unimodular [13, Prop. p. 366], and Φµ,Φ2µ,Φ3µ ∈ M(X) for any Φ ∈ Hom(X,R),
due to the hypotheses. Furthermore we know by [12, Thm. 5.7] that B(X) = B(X) is a closed normal subgroup
of X and that X/B(X) is isomorphic to the direct product Rd ×D, where D is a discrete torsion-free abelian
group. But the groups Rd ×D are exactly those for which the real characters separate points [12, Cor. p. 335].
Therefore for any x ∈ supp(µ0) \ B(X) there exists Φ ∈ Hom(X,R) such that Φ(x) 6= 0. Thus HΦµ is a
nonzero convolution operator, and the claim follows by Corollary 4.1.
In a central groupX there exists plenty of central compactly supported measures. For instance there always
exists in X [12, Thm. 4.2] a neighbourhood base of e composed of compact sets S = S−1 which are invariant
(under the inner automorphisms), i.e. central groups belong to the class [SIN]. Therefore the measures µ0 =
χS dλ satisfy µ0 = µ
0 and are subject to Proposition 4.2. Actually this also applies to central characteristic
functions χS with “large” S, since in X any compact set is contained in a compact invariant neighbourhood
of the identity [13, Lemma p. 365]. One can also exihibit central measures satisfying Proposition 4.2 defined
by continuous functions. Indeed we know by [13, Thm. 1.3] that for any neighbourhood U of the identity e
of a central group X there exists a non-negative continuous central function aU , with supp(aU ) ⊂ U and
aU (e) > 0.
A simple way to construct examples is as follows. Let X := K×Y , where K is a compact group with Haar
measure λK and Y is an abelian LCG with Haar measure λY . Clearly X is central and B(X) = K × B(Y ).
Let E be a finite family of invariant subsets of K such that each E ∈ E satisfies λK(E) > 0 and E
−1 ∈ E .
For each E ∈ E , let IE be a compact subset of Y such that λY (IE) > 0 and (IE)
−1 = IE−1 . Suppose also
that IE0 is not a subset of B(Y ) for some E0 ∈ E . Then one easily shows that the set S :=
E∈E E × IE
satisfies the following properties: S is compact, S = S−1, S is invariant, and S not included in B(X). Thus
Hac(HχS+µ1) 6= {0} for any µ1 = µ
1 ∈ M(X) with supp(µ1) ⊂ K × B(Y ), due to Proposition 4.2.
The following two examples are applications of the preceding construction.
Example 4.3. Let X := S3 ×Z, where S3 is the symmetric group of degree 3. The group S3 has a presentation〈
a, b | a2, b2, (ab)3
, and its conjugacy classes are E1 = E
1 = {e}, E2 = E
2 = {a, b, aba} and E3 =
E−13 = {ab, ba}. Set E := {E2, E3} and choose IE1 , IE2 two finite symetric subsets of Z, each of them
containing at least two elements. Clearly these sets satisfy all the requirements of the above construction. Thus
Hac(HχS ) 6= {0} if S :=
E∈E E × IE .
Example 4.4. Let X = SU(2)×R, where SU(2) is the group (with Haar measure λ2) of 2×2 unitary matrices
of determinant +1. For each ϑ ∈ [0, π] let C(ϑ) be the conjugacy class of the matrix diag(eiϑ, e−iϑ) in SU(2).
A direct calculation (using for instance Euler angles) shows that λ2
ϑ∈J C(ϑ)
> 0 for each J ⊂ [0, π] with
nonzero Lebesgue measure. Set E1 :=
ϑ∈(0,1) C(ϑ), E2 :=
ϑ∈(2,π)C(ϑ), E := {E1, E2}, IE1 := (−1, 1),
and IE2 := (−3,−2) ∪ (2, 3). Clearly these sets and many others satisfy all the requirements of the above
construction. Thus Hac(HχS ) 6= {0} if S :=
E∈E E × IE .
A nice example of a central group which is not the product of a compact and an abelian group can be found
in [14, Ex. 4.7].
In a simple situation one even gets purely absolutely continuous operators; this should be compared with
the discussion in Section 2.2:
Example 4.5. Let X be a central group, let z ∈ Z(X) \ B(X), and set µ := δz + δz−1 + µ1 for some
µ1 = µ
1 ∈ M(X) with supp(µ1) ⊂ B(X). Then µ satisfies the hypotheses of Proposition 4.2, and we can
choose Φ ∈ Hom(X,R) such that Φ(z) = 1
Φ(z2) 6= 0 (note in particular that z /∈ B(X) iff z2 /∈ B(X)
and that Φµ1 = 0). Thus Hs(Hµ) ⊂ ker(HΦµ). But f ∈ H belongs to ker(HΦµ) = ker
HΦ(δz+δz−1)
f(z−1x) = f(zx) for a.e. x ∈ X . This periodicity w.r.t. the non-compact element z2 easily implies that the
2-function f should vanish a.e. and thus that Hac(Hµ) = H.
4.3 Abelian groups
We consider in this section the case of locally compact abelian groups (LCAG), whose theory can be found in
the monograph [16]. LCAG are particular cases of central groups. Their convolution algebra M(X) is abelian,
so spectral results on convolution operators can be deduced from the preceding section. We shall not repete
them here, but rather invoke duality to obtain properties of a class of multiplication operators on the dual group
Let X stands for a LCAG with elements x, y, z, . . ., and let X̂ be the dual group of X , i.e. the set of
characters of X endowed with the topology of compact convergence on X . The elements of X̂ are denoted by
ξ, η, ζ, . . . and we shall use the notation 〈x, ξ〉 for the expression ξ(x). The Fourier transform m of a measure
µ ∈ M(X) is given by
m(ξ) ≡ [F (µ)](ξ) :=
dµ(x) 〈x, ξ〉, ξ ∈ X̂.
We recall from [16, Thm. 23.10] that m belongs to the C∗-algebra BC(X̂) of bounded continuous complex
functions on X̂ , and that ‖m‖∞ ≤ ‖µ‖ (showing that the bound ‖Hµ‖ ≤ ‖µ‖ is not optimal in general).
Actually the subspace F (M(X)) is dense in BC(X̂), and the subspace F (L1(X)) is densely contained in
C0(X̂), the ideal of BC(X̂) composed of continuous complex functions on X̂ vanishing at infinity. For a
suitably normalized Haar measure on X̂ , the Fourier transform also defines a unitary isomorphism from H onto
2(X̂), which we denote by the same symbol. It maps unitarily Hµ on the operator Mm of multiplication with
m = F (µ). Moreover µ = µ∗, iff m is real, and
σ(Hµ) = σ(Mm) = m(X̂), σp(Hµ) = σp(Mm) = {s ∈ R | λ∧ (m−1(s)) > 0},
where λ∧ is any Haar measure on X̂ .
This does not solve the problem of determining the nature of the spectrum, at least for three reasons. First,
simple or natural conditions on µ could be obscured when using the Fourier transform; the function m = F (µ)
could be difficult to compute or to evaluate. Second, the dual group X̂ can be complicated. We are not aware
of general results on the nature of the spectrum of multiplication operators on LCAG. Third, even for X̂ = Rd,
the spectral theory of multiplication operators is quite subtle. For the particular case X̂ = Rd, one finds in [1,
Sec. 7.1.4 & 7.6.2] refined results both on the absolute continuity and on the occurence of singular continuous
spectrum for multiplication operators.
Let us recall that there is an almost canonical identification ofHom(X,R)with the vector spaceHom(R, X̂)
of all continuous one-parameter subgroups of X̂ . For a given real character Φ, we denote by ϕ ∈ Hom(R, X̂)
the unique element satisfying
〈x, ϕ(t)〉 = eitΦ(x), ∀t ∈ R, x ∈ X.
Definition 4.6. The function m : X̂ → C is differentiable at ξ ∈ X̂ along the one-parameter subgroup ϕ ∈
Hom(R, X̂) if the function R ∋ t 7→ m(ξ + ϕ(t)) ∈ C is differentiable at t = 0. In such a case we write
(dϕm) (ξ) for
m(ξ + ϕ(t))
. Higher order derivatives, when existing, are denoted by dkϕm, k ∈ N.
This definition triggers a formalism which has some of the properties of the differential calculus on Rd.
However a differentiable function might not be continuous. Moreover, if X̂ is totally disconnected, then the
theory is trivial: Every complex function defined on X̂ is differentiable with respect to the single trivial element
of Hom(R, X̂), and the derivative is always zero. If µ ∈ M(X) is such that Φµ ∈ M(X), then [28, p. 68]
m = F (µ) is differentiable at any point ξ along the one-parameter subgroup ϕ and −iF (Φµ) = dϕm.
Let us fix a bounded continuous function m : X̂ → R such that F−1(m) ∈ M(X). We say that the
one-parameter subgroup ϕ : R → X̂ is in Hom1m(R, X̂) if m is twice differentiable w.r.t. ϕ and dϕm, d
F (M(X)). If, in addition, m is thrice differentiable w.r.t. ϕ and d3ϕm ∈ F (M(X)) too, we say that ϕ belongs
to Hom2m(R, X̂). Then next result follows directly from Corollary 4.1.
Corollary 4.7. Let X be a LCAG and let m0,m1 be real functions with F−1(m0),F−1(m1) ∈ M(X) and
supp(F−1(m1)) ⊂ B(X). Then
Hp(Mm0+m1) ⊂
ϕ∈Hom1m0
(R, bX)
ker(Mdϕm0)
Hs(Mm0+m1) ⊂
ϕ∈Hom2m0
(R, bX)
ker(Mdϕm0).
It is worth noting that for X abelian, the following assertions are equivalent [16, Thm. 24.34 & Cor. 24.35]:
(i) B(X) = {e}, (ii) the real characters separate points, (iii) the dual group X̂ is connected, (iv)X is isomorphic
to Rd ×D, where D is a discrete torsion-free abelian group.
Up to our knowledge, Corollary 4.7 is not known in the present generality. It is a by-product of a theory
working in a non-commutative framework and it is obviously far from being optimal. We hope to treat the spec-
tral analysis of (unbounded) multiplication operators on LCAG in greater detail in a forthcoming publication.
One may interpret our use of Hom(X,R) in Theorem 2.2 as an attempt to involve “smoothness” and
“derivatives” in spectral theory for groups which might not be abelian or might not have a given Lie structure.
4.4 Semidirect products
Let N,G be two discrete groups with G abelian (for which we use additive notations), and let τ : G → Aut(N)
be a group morphism. Let X := N ×τ G be the τ -semidirect produt of N by G. The multiplication in X is
defined by
(n, g)(m,h) := (nτg(m), g + h),
so that
(n, g)−1 = (τ−g(n
−1),−g).
In the sequel we only consider real characters Φ ∈ Hom(X,R) of the form Φ = φ ◦ π, where φ ∈ Hom(G,R)
and π : X → G is the canonical morphism given by π(n, g) := g.
Proposition 4.8. Let a0 = a∗0 : X → C have a finite support and satisfy
n1,n2∈N
m=n1τg1 (n2)
a0(n1, g1)a0(n2, g2) =
n1,n2∈N
m=n1τg2(n2)
a0(n1, g2)a0(n2, g1), ∀g1, g2 ∈ G, ∀m ∈ N. (4.1)
Let a1 = a
1 : X → C have a finite support contained in B(X) and be such that a1 ∗ a0 = a0 ∗ a1. Then
Hs(Ha0+a1) ⊂
φ∈Hom(G,R)
H(φ◦π)a0
Proof. Since a := a0 + a1 has a finite support, we only have to check that
Φa ∗ a− a ∗ Φa = Φa ∗ Φ2a− Φ2a ∗ Φa = 0 for any Φ = φ ◦ π, φ ∈ Hom(G,R). (4.2)
Since a1 ∗ a0 = a0 ∗ a1 and Φa1 = 0 for each Φ ∈ Hom(X,R), we are easily reduced to check (4.2) only for
a0. Let (m,h) ∈ X ; then a direct calculation gives
(Φa0 ∗ a0 − a0 ∗ Φa0)(m,h) =
φ(2g − h)
n1,n2∈N
m=n1τg(n2)
a0(n1, g)a0(n2, h− g).
This leads to the identity
(Φa0 ∗ a0 − a0 ∗ Φa0)(m,h) = −(Φa0 ∗ a0 − a0 ∗ Φa0)(m,h)
by using Condition (4.1) and the change of variable g′ := h− g. Thus Φa0 ∗ a0 − a0 ∗ Φa0 = 0.
By a similar argument one obtains that Φa0 ∗ Φ
2a0 − Φ
2a0 ∗ Φa0 = 0 (the extra factor involved in this
computation is symmetric with respect to the change of variables).
The proposition tells us that Ha has a non-trivial absolutely continuous component if there exists a real
character φ ∈ Hom(G,R) such that (φ ◦ π)a 6= 0. Consequently, as soon as supp(a) is not included in
N × B(G), we are done. For instance if G = Zd, we simply have to ask for the existence of an element
(n, g) ∈ supp(a) with g 6= 0. In the remaining part we indicate several situations to which Proposition 4.8
applies; the perturbation a1 is left apart for simplicity.
Procedure 4.9. Let G0 be a finite subset of G such that G0 = −G0. For each g ∈ G0 let Ng be a finite subset
of N such that τg
= N−1g for each g ∈ G0. Set
Ng × {g}.
This is a convenient description of the most general finite subset of X satisfying S−1 = S (which is equivalent
to χS = χ
S). Condition (4.1) amounts to
#{(n1, n2) ∈ Ng1 ×Ng2 | m = n1τg1(n2)} = #{(n1, n2) ∈ Ng2 ×Ng1 | m = n1τg2(n2))} (4.3)
for each g1, g2 ∈ G0 and m ∈ N . Under these assumptions Proposition 4.8 applies and HχS has a non-trivial
absolutely continuous component if G0 ∩ [G \ B(G)] 6= ∅.
One can ensure in various situations that S is a system of generators (which is needed to assign a connected
Cayley graph to (X,S)). This happens, for instance, if G0 generates G, ∪g∈G0Ng generates N and the unit e
of N belongs to Ng for each g ∈ G0.
Example 4.10. Let N := S3 =
a, b | a2, b2, (ab)3
, G := Z, G0 := {−1, 1},N−1 := {a, aba},N1 := {a, b},
and τg(n) := a
gna−g for each g ∈ Z and n ∈ S3. Then direct calculations show that all the assumptions in Pro-
cedure 4.9 are verified. Hence Hac(HχS ) 6= {0} for X := S3 ×τ Z if S = {(a,−1), (aba,−1), (a, 1), (b, 1)}.
Actually, by applying Corollary 2.3 with Φ(n, g) := g, one finds that the single possible component of the sin-
gular spectrum of HχS is an eigenvalue located at the origin. However a careful inspection shows us that HχS
is injective, and thus that Hac(HχS ) = H.
A rather simple (but not trivial) possibility consists in takingNg ≡ N0 independent on g ∈ G0 in Procedure
4.9. In such a case S = N0 ×G0 and χS = χN0 ⊗ χG0 (which does not implies in general that HχS is a tensor
product of operators). If we also assume that N0 is invariant under the set {τg | g ∈ G0}, then all the necessary
assumptions are satisfied. For instance, the invariance of N0 permits to define a bijection between the two sets
in Formula (4.3). A particular case would be to choose G := Zd, with G0 := {(±1, . . . , 0), . . . , (0, . . . ,±1)}.
By using the real morphism φ : Zd → R defined by φ(±1, . . . , 0) =: ±1, . . . , φ(0, . . . ,±1) =: ±1, one can
apply Corollary 2.3 to conclude that, except the possible eigenvalue 0, HχS is purely absolutely continuous.
The following two examples are applications of the preceding construction.
Example 4.11. We consider a simple type of wreath product. Take G a discrete abelian group and put N :=
RJ , where R is an arbitrary discrete group and J is a finite set on which G acts by (g, j) 7→ g(j). Then
{rj}j∈J
:= {rg(j)}j∈J defines an action of G on R
J , thus we can construct the semidirect product RJ ×τ
G. If G0 = −G0 ⊂ G and R0 = R
0 ⊂ R are finite subsets with G0 ∩ [G \ B(G)] 6= ∅, then N0 := R
satisfies all the required conditions. Thus Hac(HχS ) 6= {0} if S := N0 ×G0.
Example 4.12. Let G be a discrete abelian group, let N be the free group generated by the family {a1, . . . , an},
and set N0 :=
a±11 , . . . , a
. Choose a finite set G0 = −G0 ⊂ G with G0 ∩ [G \B(G)] 6= ∅ and an action
τ on N such that the conditions on S := N0×G0 are satisfied (for instance τg , g ∈ G0, may act by permutation
on the generators). Then HχS has a non-trivial absolutely continuous part.
Virtually the methods of this article could also be applied to non-split group extensions.
Acknowledgements
M.M. acknowledges support from the contract 2-CEx 06-11-34. R.T.d.A. thanks the Swiss National Science
Foundation for financial support. Part of this work was done while M.M. was visiting the University of Paris XI.
He would like to thank Professor B. Helffer for his kind hospitality. Both authors are grateful to V. Georgescu
and S. Richard for useful discussions.
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  We consider operators $H_\mu$ of convolution with measures $\mu$ on locally
compact groups. We characterize the spectrum of $H_\mu$ by constructing
auxiliary operators whose kernel contain the pure point and singular subspaces
of $H_\mu$, respectively. The proofs rely on commutator methods.

Introduction
Any selfadjoint operator H in a Hilbert space H, with spectral measure EH and spectrum σ(H), is reduced by
an orthogonal decomposition
H = Hac(H)⊕Hp(H)⊕Hsc(H),
that we briefly recall (cf. [30, Sec. 7.4]). Denote by Bor(R) the family of Borel subsets of R. Then, for any
f ∈ H, one has the positive Borel measure
H : Bor(R) → [0,∞), A 7→ ν
H(A) := ‖EH(A)f‖
= 〈f, EH(A)f〉 .
We say that f belongs to the spectral subspace Hp(H) if ν
H is pure point, f belongs to the spectral subspace
Hac(H) if ν
H is absolutely continuous with respect to the Lebesgue measure, and f belongs to the spectral
subspace Hsc(H) if ν
H is singularly continuous with respect to the Lebesgue measure. One also uses the nota-
tions Hc(H) := Hac(H)⊕Hsc(H) for the continuous subspace of H and Hs(H) := Hp(H)⊕Hsc(H) for the
singular subspace of H . The sets σp(H) := σ
H |Hp(H)
, σac(H) := σ
H |Hac(H)
, σsc(H) := σ
H |Hsc(H)
σc(H) := σ(H |Hc(H)) and σs(H) := σ(H |Hs(H)) are called pure point spectrum, absolutely continuous spec-
trum, continuous spectrum, and singular spectrum of H , respectively.
An important issue in spectral theory consists in determining the above spectral subspaces or subsets for
concrete selfadjoint operators. Under various assumptions this has been performed for important classes of op-
erators: Schrödinger and more general partial differential operators, Toeplitz operators, Wiener-Hopf operators,
and many others. Since the mathematical literature on this subject is considerable, it seems pointless to try to
indicate references.
In the present article we consider locally compact groups X , abelian or not, and convolution operators
Hµ, acting on L
2(X), defined by suitable measures µ belonging to M(X), the Banach ∗-algebra of complex
Radon measures on X . The case µ = χS , the characteristic function of a compact generating subset, leads to
Hecke operators associated to the left regular representation (notice that our groups need not to be discrete). The
precise definitions and statements are gathered in the next section. Essentially, our result consists in determining
http://arxiv.org/abs/0704.1102v1
subspaces K1µ and K
µ of L
2(X), explicitly defined in terms of µ and the family Hom(X,R) of continuous group
morphisms Φ : X → R, such that Hp(Hµ) ⊂ K
µ and Hs(Hµ) ⊂ K
µ. The cases K
µ = {0} or K
µ = {0} are
interesting; in the first case Hµ has no eigenvalues, and in the second case Hµ is purely absolutely continuous.
The subspaces K1µ and K
µ can be calculated explicitly only in very convenient situations. Rather often we are
only able to show that they differ from H.
In Section 3 we prove the results stated and discussed in Section 2. The proofs rely on a modification of a
positive commutator technique called the method of the weakly conjugate operator. This method, an unbounded
version of the Kato-Putnam theorem [26, Thm. XIII.28], developed and used in various situations [5, 6, 19, 23,
24, 25, 27], is recalled in Section 3.1. The last section is devoted to examples.
We refer to [2, 3, 4, 7, 8, 9, 11, 15, 17, 18, 20, 21, 22, 29] for some related works on the spectral theory
of operators on groups and graphs. Some of these articles put into evidence (Hecke-type) operators with large
singular or singular continuous components. In [25], where analogous technics are used, one gets restrictions on
the singular spectrum for adjacency operators on certain classes of graphs (which could be of non-Cayley type).
2 The main result
We give in this section the statement of our main result for convolution operators on arbitrary locally compact
groups (LCG). The reader is referred to [10, 16] for general information on the theory of LCG.
2.1 Statement of the main result
Let X be a LCG with identity e, center Z(X) and modular function ∆. Let us fix a left Haar measure λ on X ,
using the notation dx := dλ(x). The associated right Haar measure ρ is defined by ρ(E) := λ(E−1) for each
Borel subset E of X . Whenever X is compact, λ is normalized, i.e. λ(X) = 1. On discrete groups the counting
measure (assigning mass 1 to every point) is considered. The notation a.e. stands for “almost everywhere” and
refers to the Haar measure λ. The Lebesgue space Lp(X) ≡ Lp(X, dλ), 1 ≤ p ≤ ∞, of X with respect to λ is
endowed with the usual norm
‖f‖p :=
dx |f(x)|p
We are interested in convolution of functions by measures. Namely, we consider for every measure µ ∈
M(X) and every function f ∈ Lp(X), 1 ≤ p < ∞, the convolution of µ and f given (essentially) by
(µ ∗ f)(x) :=
dµ(y) f(y−1x) for a.e. x ∈ X.
It is known [16, Thm. 20.12] that µ ∗ f ∈ Lp(X) and that ‖µ ∗ f‖p ≤ ‖µ‖ ‖f‖p, where ‖µ‖ := |µ|(X) is the
norm of the measure µ. Since we are mainly concerned with the hilbertian theory, we consider in the sequel the
convolution operator Hµ, µ ∈ M(X), acting in the Hilbert space H := L
2(X):
Hµf := µ ∗ f, f ∈ H.
The operator Hµ is bounded with norm ‖Hµ‖ ≤ ‖µ‖, and it admits an adjoint operator H
µ equal to Hµ∗ , the
convolution operator by µ∗ ∈ M(X) defined by µ∗(E) = µ(E−1). If the measure µ is absolutely continuous
w.r.t. the left Haar measure λ, so that dµ = a dλ with a ∈ L1(X), then µ∗ is also absolutely continuous w.r.t. λ
and dµ∗ = a∗dλ, where a∗(x) := a(x−1)∆(x−1) for a.e. x ∈ X . In such a case we simply write Ha for Hadλ.
We shall always assume that Hµ is selfadjoint, i.e. that µ = µ
Let U(H) stands for the group of unitary operators in H and let L : X → U(H) be the left regular
representation of X . Then Hµ is equal to the strong operator integral
dµ(y)L(y),
and µ 7→ Hµ is the integrated form of L.
We recall that given two measures µ, ν ∈ M(X), their convolution µ∗ν ∈ M(X) is defined by the relation
[10, Eq. 2.34] generalizing the usual convolution of L1-functions:
d(µ ∗ ν)(x) g(x) :=
dµ(x)dν(y) g(xy) ∀g ∈ C0(X),
where C0(X) denotes the C
∗-algebra of continuous complex functions on X decaying at infinity. The inequality
‖µ ∗ ν‖ ≤ ‖µ‖ ‖ν‖ holds.
Given µ ∈ M(X), let ϕ : X → R be such that the linear functional
F : C0(X) → C, g 7→
dµ(x)ϕ(x)g(x)
is bounded. Then there exists a unique measure in M(X) associated to F , due to the Riesz-Markov representa-
tion theorem. We write ϕµ for this measure, and we simply say that ϕ is such that ϕµ ∈ M(X).
Let us call real character any continuous group morphism Φ : X → R. Their set forms a real vector space
Hom(X,R), which can be infinite dimensional.
Definition 2.1. Let µ = µ∗ ∈ M(X).
(a) A real character Φ is semi-adapted to µ if Φµ,Φ2µ ∈ M(X), and (Φµ) ∗ µ = µ ∗ (Φµ). The set of real
characters that are semi-adapted to µ is denoted by Hom1µ(X,R).
(b) A real character Φ is adapted to µ if Φ is semi-adapted to µ,Φ3µ ∈ M(X), and (Φµ) ∗ (Φ2µ) =
(Φ2µ) ∗ (Φµ). The set of real characters that are adapted to µ is denoted by Hom2µ(X,R).
Let Kjµ :=
Φ∈Hom
µ(X,R)
ker(HΦµ), for j = 1, 2; then our main result is the following.
Theorem 2.2. Let X be a LCG and let µ = µ∗ ∈ M(X). Then
Hp(Hµ) ⊂ K
µ and Hs(Hµ) ⊂ K
A more precise result is obtained in a particular situation.
Corollary 2.3. Let X be a LCG and let µ = µ∗ ∈ M(X). Assume that there exists a real character Φ adapted
to µ such that Φ2 is equal to an nonzero constant on supp(µ). Then Hµ has a purely absolutely continuous spec-
trum, with the possible exception of an eigenvalue located at the origin, with eigenspace ker(Hµ) = ker(HΦµ).
Corollary 2.3 specially applies to adjacency operators on certain classes of Cayley graphs, which are
Hecke-type operators in the regular representation, thus convolution operators on discrete groups.
Remark 2.4. Using the method of the weakly conjugate operator, some extra results (as a Limiting Absorp-
tion Principle, global smooth operators, perturbations of Hµ) can also be obtained. For simplicity we do not
include them here, even if they can be inferred quite straightforwardly from [5] and [6]. Improvements in the
assumptions are also possible, but with the cost of more complicated statements and proofs. Proposition 2.1 in
[6] shows the generality of the method.
2.2 Comments and remarks
(A) One obstacle in applying Theorem 2.2 is the fact that certain locally compact groups admit few nonzero real
characters, maybe none.
We say that x ∈ X is compact, and we write x ∈ B(X), if the closed subgroup generated by x is compact.
If the order of x ∈ B(X) is finite, then x is clearly a compact element (but in non-discrete groups there could
be others). Although B(X) is the union of all the compact subgroups of X , it is in general neither a subgroup,
nor a closed set in X . We write B(X) for the closed subgroup generated by B(X).
A continuous group morphism sends compact subgroups to compact subgroups. But the unique compact
subgroup of R is {0}. Thus a real character on X annihilates B(X). It is not clear in general that the “smallness”
of the vector space Hom(X,R) is related to a tendancy for convolution operators on X to have a substantial
singular subspace, but for certain classes of groups this is indeed the case. For example, if X is compact, then
X = B(X), Hom(X,R) = {0} and all operators Hµ, µ ∈ M(X), are pure point (see (B) below).
(B) It is not at all exceptional for a convolution operator to have eigenvalues. For example, if a type I repre-
sentation U is contained in the left regular representation L, then any function a ∈ L1(X) which is transformed
by (the integrated form of) U into a compact operator will lead to a convolution operator Ha having eigenvalues.
To consider just an exteme case, let us assume that X is a CCR group and that L is completely reducible.
Then Ha can be written as a direct sum of compact operators, thus it has pure point spectrum. These conditions
are fulfilled in the very particular case of compact groups. Actually, in this case, the irreducible representations
are all finite-dimensional, so even convolution operators by elements of M(X) are pure point.
(C) The occurrence in Theorem 2.2 of the subspaces Kjµ is not as mysterious as it could seem at first sight.
For example, if µ = δe, then Φµ = 0 for any Φ ∈ Hom(X,R), so that K
µ = H. Accordingly Hµ = 1, with
spectrum composed of the single eigenvalue 1 with corresponding eigenspace H.
Another simple example is obtained by considering X compact. On one hand the single real character is
Φ = 0, with associated subspaces Kjµ = H for any µ = µ
∗ ∈ M(X). On the other hand we know from (B) that
Hp(Hµ) is also equal to H.
If the support of µ is contained in a subgroup Y of X with 0 < λ(Y ) < ∞, then a direct calculation shows
that the associated characteristic function χY is an eigenvector of Hµ with eigenvalue µ(Y ). Actually, since
(Φµ)(Y ) = 0 for any Φ ∈ Hom(X,R) with Φµ ∈ M(X), CχY is contained in ker(HΦµ).
3 Proof of the main result
The proof of Theorem 2.2 relies on an abstract method, that we briefly recall in a simple form.
3.1 The method of the weakly conjugate operator
The method of the weakly conjugate operator works for unbounded operators, but for our purposes it will
be enough to assume H bounded. It also produces estimations on the boundary values of the resolvent and
information on wave operators, but we shall only concentrate on spectral results.
We start by introducing some notations. The symbol H stands for a Hilbert space with scalar product 〈·, ·〉
and norm ‖ · ‖. Given two Hilbert spaces H1 and H2, we denote by B(H1,H2) the set of bounded operators
from H1 to H2, and put B(H) := B(H,H). We assume that H is endowed with a strongly continuous unitary
group {Wt}t∈R. Its selfadjoint generator is denoted by A and has domain D(A). In most of the applications A
is unbounded.
Definition 3.1. A bounded selfadjoint operator H in H belongs to C1(A;H) if one of the following equivalent
condition is satisfied:
(i) the map R ∋ t 7→ W−tHWt ∈ B(H) is strongly differentiable,
(ii) the sesquilinear form
D(A)×D(A) ∋ (f, g) 7→ i 〈Hf,Ag〉 − i 〈Af,Hg〉 ∈ C
is continuous when D(A) is endowed with the topology of H.
We denote by B the strong derivative in (i) calculated at t = 0, or equivalently the bounded selfadjoint
operator associated with the extension of the form in (ii). The operator B provides a rigorous meaning to the
commutator i[H,A]. We shall write B > 0 if B is positive and injective, namely if 〈f,Bf〉 > 0 for all
f ∈ H \ {0}.
Definition 3.2. The operator A is weakly conjugate to the bounded selfadjoint operator H if H ∈ C1(A;H)
and B ≡ i[H,A] > 0.
For B > 0 let us consider the completionB of H with respect to the norm ‖f‖B := 〈f,Bf〉
. The adjoint
space B∗ of B can be identified with the completion of BH with respect to the norm ‖g‖B∗ :=
g,B−1g
One has then the continuous dense embeddings B∗ →֒ H →֒ B, and B extends to an isometric operator
from B to B∗. Due to these embeddings it makes sense to assume that {Wt}t∈R restricts to a C0-group in
B∗, or equivalently that it extends to a C0-group in B. Under this assumption (tacitly assumed in the sequel)
we keep the same notation for these C0-groups. The domain of the generator of the C0-group in B (resp. B
endowed with the graph norm is denoted by D(A,B) (resp. D(A,B∗)). In analogy with Definition 3.1 the
requirement B ∈ C1(A;B,B∗) means that the map R ∋ t 7→ W−tBWt ∈ B(B,B
∗) is strongly differentiable,
or equivalently that the sesquilinear form
D(A,B)×D(A,B) ∋ (f, g) 7→ i 〈f,BAg〉 − i 〈Af,Bg〉 ∈ C
is continuous when D(A,B) is endowed with the topology of B. Here, 〈·, ·〉 denotes the duality between B and
Theorem 3.3. Assume that A is weakly conjugate to H and that B ≡ i[H,A] belongs to C1(A;B,B∗). Then
the spectrum of H is purely absolutely continuous.
Note that the method should be conveniently adapted when absolute continuity is expected only in a sub-
space of the Hilbert space. This is the case considered in the sequel.
3.2 Proof of Theorem 2.2
In this section we construct suitable weakly conjugate operators in the framework of section 2, and we prove our
main result. For that purpose, let us fix a real character Φ ∈ Hom(X,R) and a measure µ = µ∗ ∈ M(X). We
shall keep writing Φ for the associated operator of multiplication in H. In most of the applications this operator
is unbounded; its domain is equal to D(Φ) ≡ {f ∈ H | Φf ∈ H}.
One ingredient of our approach is the fact that multiplication by morphisms behaves like a derivation
with respect to the convolution product: for suitable functions or measures f, g : X → C, one has Φ(f ∗ g) =
(Φf)∗g+f∗(Φg). Using this observation we show in the next lemma that the commutator i[Hµ,Φ] (constructed
as in Definition 3.1) is related to the operator HΦµ. This provides a partial explanation of our choice of the
“semi-adapted” and “adapted” conditions.
Lemma 3.4. (a) If Φ is semi-adapted to µ, then Hµ ∈ C1(Φ;H), and i[Hµ,Φ] = −iHΦµ ∈ B(H). Simi-
larly, −iHΦµ ∈ C
1(Φ,H), and i[−iHΦµ,Φ] = −HΦ2µ ∈ B(H). Moreover, the equality [Hµ, HΦµ] = 0
holds.
(b) If Φ is adapted to µ, then −HΦ2µ ∈ C
1(Φ,H), and the equality [HΦµ, HΦ2µ] = 0 holds.
Proof. (a) Let Φ be semi-adapted to µ and let f ∈ D(Φ). Then one has µ,Φµ ∈ M(X) and f,Φf ∈ H. Thus
µ ∗ f ∈ D(Φ), and the equality Φ(Hµf) = (Φµ) ∗ f + µ ∗ (Φf) holds in H. It follows that i(HµΦ−ΦHµ) is
well-defined on D(Φ) and is equal to −iHΦµ. Hence Condition (ii) of Definition 3.1 is fulfilled.
The proof that −iHΦµ belongs toC
1(Φ,H) and that i[−iHΦµ,Φ] = −HΦ2µ is similar. Finally the equality
[Hµ, HΦµ] = 0 is clearly equivalent to the requirement (Φµ) ∗ µ = µ ∗ (Φµ).
(b) The proof is completely analogous to that of point (a).
If Φ is semi-adapted to µ, we set K := i[Hµ,Φ] = −iHΦµ and L := i[K,Φ] = i[−iHΦµ,Φ] = −HΦ2µ
(for the sake of simplicity, we omit to write the dependence of these operators in Φ and µ). The first part of the
previous lemma states that Hµ and K belongs to C
1(Φ;H). In particular, it follows that K leaves invariant the
domain D(Φ), and the operator
A := 1
(ΦK +KΦ)
is well-defined and symmetric on D(Φ). Similarly, if Φ is adapted to µ, the second part of the lemma states that
L belongs to C1(Φ;H). Therefore the operator L leaves D(Φ) invariant, and the operator
A′ := 1
(ΦL+ LΦ)
is well-defined and symmetric on D(Φ).
Lemma 3.5. (a) If Φ is semi-adapted to µ, then the operator A is essentially selfadjoint on D(Φ). The
domain of its closure A is D(A) = D(ΦK) = {f ∈ H | ΦKf ∈ H} and A acts on D(A) as the
operator ΦK − i
(b) If Φ is adapted to µ, then the operator A′ is essentially selfadjoint on D(Φ). The domain of its closure
A′ is D(A′) = D(ΦL) = {f ∈ H | ΦLf ∈ H}.
Proof. One just has to reproduce the proof of [11, Lemma 3.1], replacing their couple (N,S) by (Φ,K) for the
point (a) and by (Φ, L) for the point (b).
In the next lemma we collect some results on commutators with A or A′. The commutation relations
exhibited in Lemma 3.4, i.e. [Hµ,K] = 0 if Φ is semi-adapted to µ and [K,L] = 0 if Φ is adapted to µ, are
essential.
Lemma 3.6. If Φ is semi-adapted to µ, then
(a) The quadratic form D(A) ∋ f 7→ i 〈Hµf,Af〉 − i 〈Af,Hµf〉 extends uniquely to the bounded form
defined by the operator K2,
(b) The quadratic form D(A) ∋ f 7→ i
K2f,Af
Af,K2f
extends uniquely to the bounded form
defined by the operator KLK + 1
K2L+ LK2
(which reduces to 2KLK if Φ is adapted to µ),
(c) If Φ is adapted to µ, then the quadratic form D(A′) ∋ f 7→ i 〈Kf,A′f〉 − i 〈A′f,Kf〉 extends uniquely
to the bounded form defined by the operator L2.
The proof is straightforward. Computations may be performed on the core D(Φ). These results imply that
Hµ ∈ C
1(A;H), K2 ∈ C1(A;H) and (when Φ is adapted) K ∈ C1(A′;H). Using these results we now
establish a relation between the kernels of the operators Hµ, K and L.
Lemma 3.7. If Φ is semi-adapted to µ, then one has
ker(Hµ) ⊂ Hp(Hµ) ⊂ ker(K) ⊂ Hp(K).
If Φ is adapted to µ, one also has
Hp(K) ⊂ ker(L) ⊂ Hp(L).
Proof. Let f be an eigenvector of Hµ. Due to the Virial Theorem [1, Proposition 7.2.10] and the fact that Hµ
belongs to C1(A;H), one has 〈f, i[Hµ, A]f〉 = 0. It follows by Lemma 3.6.(a) that 0 =
f,K2f
= ‖Kf‖2,
i.e. f ∈ ker(K). The inclusion Hp(Hµ) ⊂ ker(K) follows. Similarly, by using A
′ instead of A and Lemma
3.6.(c) one gets (when Φ is adapted) the inclusion Hp(K) ⊂ ker(L), and the lemma is proved.
Assume now that Φ is semi-adapted to µ. Then we can decompose the Hilbert space H into the direct
sum H = K ⊕ G, where K := ker(K) and G is the closure of the range KH. It is easy to see that Hµ and
K are reduced by this decomposition and that their restrictions to the Hilbert space G are bounded selfadjoint
operators. In the next lemma we prove that this decomposition of H also reduces the operator A if Φ is adapted
to µ.
Lemma 3.8. If Φ is adapted to µ, then the decomposition H = K ⊕ G reduces the operator A. The restriction
of A to G defines a selfadjoint operator denoted by A0.
Proof. We already know that on D(A) = D(ΦK) one has A = ΦK − i
L. By using Lemma 3.7 it follows that
K ⊂ ker(A) ⊂ D(A). Then one trivially checks that (i) A [K ∩ D(A)] ⊂ K, (ii) A [G ∩ D(A)] ⊂ G and (iii)
D(A) = [K ∩ D(A)] + [G ∩ D(A)], which means that A is reduced by the decomposition H = K⊕G. Thus by
[30, Theorem 7.28] the restriction of A to D(A0) ≡ D(A) ∩ G is selfadjoint in G.
Proof of Theorem 2.2. We know from Lemma 3.7 that Hp(Hµ) ⊂ ker(−iHΦµ) for each Φ ∈ Hom
µ(X,R).
This obviously implies the first inclusion of the theorem.
Let us denote by H0 and K0 the restrictions to G of the operators Hµ and K . We shall prove in points
(i)-(iii) below that if Φ is adapted to µ, then the method of the weakly conjugate operator, presented in Section
3.1, applies to the operators H0 and A0 in the Hilbert space G. It follows then that G ⊂ Hac(Hµ), and a fortiori
that Hsc(Hµ) ⊂ K = ker(−iHΦµ). Since this result holds for each Φ ∈ Hom
µ(X,R), the second inclusion of
the theorem follows straightforwardly.
(i) Lemma 3.6.(a) implies that i(H0A0 −A0H0) is equal in the form sense to K
0 on D(A0) ≡ D(A) ∩ G.
Therefore the corresponding quadratic form extends uniquely to the bounded form defined by the operator K20 .
This implies that H0 belongs to C
1(A0;G).
(ii) Since B0 := i[H0, A0] ≡ K
0 > 0 in G, the operator A0 is weakly conjugate to H0. So we define the
space B as the completion of G with respect to the norm ‖f‖B := 〈f,B0f〉
. The adjoint space of B is denoted
by B∗ and can be identified with the completion of B0G with respect to the norm ‖f‖B∗ :=
f,B−10 f
can also be expressed as the closure of the subspace KH = K0G with respect to the same norm ‖f‖B∗ =∥∥|K0|−1f
∥∥. Due to Lemma 3.6.(b) the quadratic form D(A0) ∋ f 7→ i 〈B0fA0f〉 − i 〈A0f,B0f〉 extends
uniquely to the bounded form defined by the operator 2K0L0K0, where L0 is the restriction of L to G. We write
i[B0, A0] for this extension, which clearly defines an element of B(B,B
(iii) Let {Wt}t∈R be the unitary group in G generated by A0. We check now that this group extends to a
C0-group in B. This easily reduces to proving that for any t ∈ R there exists a constant C(t) ≥ 0 such that
‖Wtf‖B ≤ C(t)‖f‖B for all f ∈ D(A0). Due to point (ii) one has for each f ∈ D(A0)
‖Wtf‖
B = 〈f,B0f〉+
dτ 〈Wτf, i[B0, A0]Wτf〉 ≤ ‖f‖
B + 2‖L0‖
∫ |t|
dτ ‖Wτf‖
Since G →֒ B, the function (0, |t|) ∋ τ 7→ ‖Wτf‖
B ∈ R is bounded. Thus we get the inequality ‖Wtf‖B ≤
e|t|‖L0‖ ‖f‖B by using a simple form of the Gronwall Lemma. Therefore {Wt}t∈R extends to a C0-group in B,
and by duality {Wt}t∈R also defines a C0-group in B
∗. This concludes the proof of the fact that B0 extends to
an element of C1(A0;B,B
∗). Thus all hypotheses of Theorem 3.3 are satisfied and this gives the result.
Proof of Corollary 2.3. Since L = −HΦ2µ is proportional with Hµ, one has
ker(Hµ) = Hp(Hµ) ⊂ Hs(Hµ) ⊂ ker(HΦµ)
due to Lemma 3.7 and Theorem 2.2. Using this with µ replaced by iΦµ, one easily gets the identity ker(HΦµ) =
ker(Hµ). Therefore
ker(Hµ) = Hp(Hµ) = Hs(Hµ) = ker(HΦµ),
and the claim is proved.
4 Examples
4.1 Perturbations of central measures
In this section, we exploit commutativity in a non-commutative setting by using central measures. The group X
is assumed to be unimodular.
By definition, the central measures are the elements of the center Z[M(X)] of the convolution Banach
∗-algebra M(X). They can be characterized by the condition µ(yEy−1) = µ(E) for any y ∈ X and any
Borel set E ⊂ X . The central (or class) functions are the elements of Z[M(X)] ∩ L1(X) = Z[L1(X)]. Thus a
characteristic function χE is central iff λ(E) < ∞ and E is invariant under all inner automorphisms.
The relevant simple facts are the following: if µ is central, Φ ∈ Hom(X,R) and Φµ ∈ M(X), then Φµ is
also central (this follows from the identity Φ(yxy−1) = Φ(y)+Φ(x)−Φ(y) = Φ(x), ∀x, y ∈ X). On the other
hand, if µ is arbitrary but supported on B(X), then Φµ = 0 for any real character Φ. Thus all the commutation
relations in Definition 2.1 are satisfied, and one gets from Theorem 2.2 the following result:
Corollary 4.1. Let X be a unimodular LCG, let µ0 = µ∗0 ∈ M(X) be a central measure, and let µ1 = µ
M(X) with supp(µ1) ⊂ B(X). Then
Hp(Hµ0+µ1) ⊂
Φ∈Hom(X,R)
Φµ0,Φ
2µ0∈M(X)
ker(HΦµ0)
Hs(Hµ0+µ1) ⊂
Φ∈Hom(X,R)
Φµ0,Φ
2µ0,Φ
3µ0∈M(X)
ker(HΦµ0 ).
In order to get more explicit results, we restrict ourselves in the next section to a convenient class of LCG,
generalizing both abelian and compact groups.
4.2 Convolution operators on central groups
Following [12], we say that X is central (or of class [Z]) if the quotient X/Z(X) is compact. Central groups
possess a specific structure [12, Thm. 4.4]: If X is central, then X isomorphic to a direct productRd×H , where
H contains a compact open normal subgroup.
Proposition 4.2. Let X be a central group and µ0 = µ∗0 ∈ M(X) a central measure such that supp(µ0) is
compact and not included in B(X). Let µ1 = µ
1 ∈ M(X) with supp(µ1) ⊂ B(X) and set µ := µ0 + µ1.
Then Hac(Hµ) 6= {0}.
Proof. Central groups are unimodular [13, Prop. p. 366], and Φµ,Φ2µ,Φ3µ ∈ M(X) for any Φ ∈ Hom(X,R),
due to the hypotheses. Furthermore we know by [12, Thm. 5.7] that B(X) = B(X) is a closed normal subgroup
of X and that X/B(X) is isomorphic to the direct product Rd ×D, where D is a discrete torsion-free abelian
group. But the groups Rd ×D are exactly those for which the real characters separate points [12, Cor. p. 335].
Therefore for any x ∈ supp(µ0) \ B(X) there exists Φ ∈ Hom(X,R) such that Φ(x) 6= 0. Thus HΦµ is a
nonzero convolution operator, and the claim follows by Corollary 4.1.
In a central groupX there exists plenty of central compactly supported measures. For instance there always
exists in X [12, Thm. 4.2] a neighbourhood base of e composed of compact sets S = S−1 which are invariant
(under the inner automorphisms), i.e. central groups belong to the class [SIN]. Therefore the measures µ0 =
χS dλ satisfy µ0 = µ
0 and are subject to Proposition 4.2. Actually this also applies to central characteristic
functions χS with “large” S, since in X any compact set is contained in a compact invariant neighbourhood
of the identity [13, Lemma p. 365]. One can also exihibit central measures satisfying Proposition 4.2 defined
by continuous functions. Indeed we know by [13, Thm. 1.3] that for any neighbourhood U of the identity e
of a central group X there exists a non-negative continuous central function aU , with supp(aU ) ⊂ U and
aU (e) > 0.
A simple way to construct examples is as follows. Let X := K×Y , where K is a compact group with Haar
measure λK and Y is an abelian LCG with Haar measure λY . Clearly X is central and B(X) = K × B(Y ).
Let E be a finite family of invariant subsets of K such that each E ∈ E satisfies λK(E) > 0 and E
−1 ∈ E .
For each E ∈ E , let IE be a compact subset of Y such that λY (IE) > 0 and (IE)
−1 = IE−1 . Suppose also
that IE0 is not a subset of B(Y ) for some E0 ∈ E . Then one easily shows that the set S :=
E∈E E × IE
satisfies the following properties: S is compact, S = S−1, S is invariant, and S not included in B(X). Thus
Hac(HχS+µ1) 6= {0} for any µ1 = µ
1 ∈ M(X) with supp(µ1) ⊂ K × B(Y ), due to Proposition 4.2.
The following two examples are applications of the preceding construction.
Example 4.3. Let X := S3 ×Z, where S3 is the symmetric group of degree 3. The group S3 has a presentation〈
a, b | a2, b2, (ab)3
, and its conjugacy classes are E1 = E
1 = {e}, E2 = E
2 = {a, b, aba} and E3 =
E−13 = {ab, ba}. Set E := {E2, E3} and choose IE1 , IE2 two finite symetric subsets of Z, each of them
containing at least two elements. Clearly these sets satisfy all the requirements of the above construction. Thus
Hac(HχS ) 6= {0} if S :=
E∈E E × IE .
Example 4.4. Let X = SU(2)×R, where SU(2) is the group (with Haar measure λ2) of 2×2 unitary matrices
of determinant +1. For each ϑ ∈ [0, π] let C(ϑ) be the conjugacy class of the matrix diag(eiϑ, e−iϑ) in SU(2).
A direct calculation (using for instance Euler angles) shows that λ2
ϑ∈J C(ϑ)
> 0 for each J ⊂ [0, π] with
nonzero Lebesgue measure. Set E1 :=
ϑ∈(0,1) C(ϑ), E2 :=
ϑ∈(2,π)C(ϑ), E := {E1, E2}, IE1 := (−1, 1),
and IE2 := (−3,−2) ∪ (2, 3). Clearly these sets and many others satisfy all the requirements of the above
construction. Thus Hac(HχS ) 6= {0} if S :=
E∈E E × IE .
A nice example of a central group which is not the product of a compact and an abelian group can be found
in [14, Ex. 4.7].
In a simple situation one even gets purely absolutely continuous operators; this should be compared with
the discussion in Section 2.2:
Example 4.5. Let X be a central group, let z ∈ Z(X) \ B(X), and set µ := δz + δz−1 + µ1 for some
µ1 = µ
1 ∈ M(X) with supp(µ1) ⊂ B(X). Then µ satisfies the hypotheses of Proposition 4.2, and we can
choose Φ ∈ Hom(X,R) such that Φ(z) = 1
Φ(z2) 6= 0 (note in particular that z /∈ B(X) iff z2 /∈ B(X)
and that Φµ1 = 0). Thus Hs(Hµ) ⊂ ker(HΦµ). But f ∈ H belongs to ker(HΦµ) = ker
HΦ(δz+δz−1)
f(z−1x) = f(zx) for a.e. x ∈ X . This periodicity w.r.t. the non-compact element z2 easily implies that the
2-function f should vanish a.e. and thus that Hac(Hµ) = H.
4.3 Abelian groups
We consider in this section the case of locally compact abelian groups (LCAG), whose theory can be found in
the monograph [16]. LCAG are particular cases of central groups. Their convolution algebra M(X) is abelian,
so spectral results on convolution operators can be deduced from the preceding section. We shall not repete
them here, but rather invoke duality to obtain properties of a class of multiplication operators on the dual group
Let X stands for a LCAG with elements x, y, z, . . ., and let X̂ be the dual group of X , i.e. the set of
characters of X endowed with the topology of compact convergence on X . The elements of X̂ are denoted by
ξ, η, ζ, . . . and we shall use the notation 〈x, ξ〉 for the expression ξ(x). The Fourier transform m of a measure
µ ∈ M(X) is given by
m(ξ) ≡ [F (µ)](ξ) :=
dµ(x) 〈x, ξ〉, ξ ∈ X̂.
We recall from [16, Thm. 23.10] that m belongs to the C∗-algebra BC(X̂) of bounded continuous complex
functions on X̂ , and that ‖m‖∞ ≤ ‖µ‖ (showing that the bound ‖Hµ‖ ≤ ‖µ‖ is not optimal in general).
Actually the subspace F (M(X)) is dense in BC(X̂), and the subspace F (L1(X)) is densely contained in
C0(X̂), the ideal of BC(X̂) composed of continuous complex functions on X̂ vanishing at infinity. For a
suitably normalized Haar measure on X̂ , the Fourier transform also defines a unitary isomorphism from H onto
2(X̂), which we denote by the same symbol. It maps unitarily Hµ on the operator Mm of multiplication with
m = F (µ). Moreover µ = µ∗, iff m is real, and
σ(Hµ) = σ(Mm) = m(X̂), σp(Hµ) = σp(Mm) = {s ∈ R | λ∧ (m−1(s)) > 0},
where λ∧ is any Haar measure on X̂ .
This does not solve the problem of determining the nature of the spectrum, at least for three reasons. First,
simple or natural conditions on µ could be obscured when using the Fourier transform; the function m = F (µ)
could be difficult to compute or to evaluate. Second, the dual group X̂ can be complicated. We are not aware
of general results on the nature of the spectrum of multiplication operators on LCAG. Third, even for X̂ = Rd,
the spectral theory of multiplication operators is quite subtle. For the particular case X̂ = Rd, one finds in [1,
Sec. 7.1.4 & 7.6.2] refined results both on the absolute continuity and on the occurence of singular continuous
spectrum for multiplication operators.
Let us recall that there is an almost canonical identification ofHom(X,R)with the vector spaceHom(R, X̂)
of all continuous one-parameter subgroups of X̂ . For a given real character Φ, we denote by ϕ ∈ Hom(R, X̂)
the unique element satisfying
〈x, ϕ(t)〉 = eitΦ(x), ∀t ∈ R, x ∈ X.
Definition 4.6. The function m : X̂ → C is differentiable at ξ ∈ X̂ along the one-parameter subgroup ϕ ∈
Hom(R, X̂) if the function R ∋ t 7→ m(ξ + ϕ(t)) ∈ C is differentiable at t = 0. In such a case we write
(dϕm) (ξ) for
m(ξ + ϕ(t))
. Higher order derivatives, when existing, are denoted by dkϕm, k ∈ N.
This definition triggers a formalism which has some of the properties of the differential calculus on Rd.
However a differentiable function might not be continuous. Moreover, if X̂ is totally disconnected, then the
theory is trivial: Every complex function defined on X̂ is differentiable with respect to the single trivial element
of Hom(R, X̂), and the derivative is always zero. If µ ∈ M(X) is such that Φµ ∈ M(X), then [28, p. 68]
m = F (µ) is differentiable at any point ξ along the one-parameter subgroup ϕ and −iF (Φµ) = dϕm.
Let us fix a bounded continuous function m : X̂ → R such that F−1(m) ∈ M(X). We say that the
one-parameter subgroup ϕ : R → X̂ is in Hom1m(R, X̂) if m is twice differentiable w.r.t. ϕ and dϕm, d
F (M(X)). If, in addition, m is thrice differentiable w.r.t. ϕ and d3ϕm ∈ F (M(X)) too, we say that ϕ belongs
to Hom2m(R, X̂). Then next result follows directly from Corollary 4.1.
Corollary 4.7. Let X be a LCAG and let m0,m1 be real functions with F−1(m0),F−1(m1) ∈ M(X) and
supp(F−1(m1)) ⊂ B(X). Then
Hp(Mm0+m1) ⊂
ϕ∈Hom1m0
(R, bX)
ker(Mdϕm0)
Hs(Mm0+m1) ⊂
ϕ∈Hom2m0
(R, bX)
ker(Mdϕm0).
It is worth noting that for X abelian, the following assertions are equivalent [16, Thm. 24.34 & Cor. 24.35]:
(i) B(X) = {e}, (ii) the real characters separate points, (iii) the dual group X̂ is connected, (iv)X is isomorphic
to Rd ×D, where D is a discrete torsion-free abelian group.
Up to our knowledge, Corollary 4.7 is not known in the present generality. It is a by-product of a theory
working in a non-commutative framework and it is obviously far from being optimal. We hope to treat the spec-
tral analysis of (unbounded) multiplication operators on LCAG in greater detail in a forthcoming publication.
One may interpret our use of Hom(X,R) in Theorem 2.2 as an attempt to involve “smoothness” and
“derivatives” in spectral theory for groups which might not be abelian or might not have a given Lie structure.
4.4 Semidirect products
Let N,G be two discrete groups with G abelian (for which we use additive notations), and let τ : G → Aut(N)
be a group morphism. Let X := N ×τ G be the τ -semidirect produt of N by G. The multiplication in X is
defined by
(n, g)(m,h) := (nτg(m), g + h),
so that
(n, g)−1 = (τ−g(n
−1),−g).
In the sequel we only consider real characters Φ ∈ Hom(X,R) of the form Φ = φ ◦ π, where φ ∈ Hom(G,R)
and π : X → G is the canonical morphism given by π(n, g) := g.
Proposition 4.8. Let a0 = a∗0 : X → C have a finite support and satisfy
n1,n2∈N
m=n1τg1 (n2)
a0(n1, g1)a0(n2, g2) =
n1,n2∈N
m=n1τg2(n2)
a0(n1, g2)a0(n2, g1), ∀g1, g2 ∈ G, ∀m ∈ N. (4.1)
Let a1 = a
1 : X → C have a finite support contained in B(X) and be such that a1 ∗ a0 = a0 ∗ a1. Then
Hs(Ha0+a1) ⊂
φ∈Hom(G,R)
H(φ◦π)a0
Proof. Since a := a0 + a1 has a finite support, we only have to check that
Φa ∗ a− a ∗ Φa = Φa ∗ Φ2a− Φ2a ∗ Φa = 0 for any Φ = φ ◦ π, φ ∈ Hom(G,R). (4.2)
Since a1 ∗ a0 = a0 ∗ a1 and Φa1 = 0 for each Φ ∈ Hom(X,R), we are easily reduced to check (4.2) only for
a0. Let (m,h) ∈ X ; then a direct calculation gives
(Φa0 ∗ a0 − a0 ∗ Φa0)(m,h) =
φ(2g − h)
n1,n2∈N
m=n1τg(n2)
a0(n1, g)a0(n2, h− g).
This leads to the identity
(Φa0 ∗ a0 − a0 ∗ Φa0)(m,h) = −(Φa0 ∗ a0 − a0 ∗ Φa0)(m,h)
by using Condition (4.1) and the change of variable g′ := h− g. Thus Φa0 ∗ a0 − a0 ∗ Φa0 = 0.
By a similar argument one obtains that Φa0 ∗ Φ
2a0 − Φ
2a0 ∗ Φa0 = 0 (the extra factor involved in this
computation is symmetric with respect to the change of variables).
The proposition tells us that Ha has a non-trivial absolutely continuous component if there exists a real
character φ ∈ Hom(G,R) such that (φ ◦ π)a 6= 0. Consequently, as soon as supp(a) is not included in
N × B(G), we are done. For instance if G = Zd, we simply have to ask for the existence of an element
(n, g) ∈ supp(a) with g 6= 0. In the remaining part we indicate several situations to which Proposition 4.8
applies; the perturbation a1 is left apart for simplicity.
Procedure 4.9. Let G0 be a finite subset of G such that G0 = −G0. For each g ∈ G0 let Ng be a finite subset
of N such that τg
= N−1g for each g ∈ G0. Set
Ng × {g}.
This is a convenient description of the most general finite subset of X satisfying S−1 = S (which is equivalent
to χS = χ
S). Condition (4.1) amounts to
#{(n1, n2) ∈ Ng1 ×Ng2 | m = n1τg1(n2)} = #{(n1, n2) ∈ Ng2 ×Ng1 | m = n1τg2(n2))} (4.3)
for each g1, g2 ∈ G0 and m ∈ N . Under these assumptions Proposition 4.8 applies and HχS has a non-trivial
absolutely continuous component if G0 ∩ [G \ B(G)] 6= ∅.
One can ensure in various situations that S is a system of generators (which is needed to assign a connected
Cayley graph to (X,S)). This happens, for instance, if G0 generates G, ∪g∈G0Ng generates N and the unit e
of N belongs to Ng for each g ∈ G0.
Example 4.10. Let N := S3 =
a, b | a2, b2, (ab)3
, G := Z, G0 := {−1, 1},N−1 := {a, aba},N1 := {a, b},
and τg(n) := a
gna−g for each g ∈ Z and n ∈ S3. Then direct calculations show that all the assumptions in Pro-
cedure 4.9 are verified. Hence Hac(HχS ) 6= {0} for X := S3 ×τ Z if S = {(a,−1), (aba,−1), (a, 1), (b, 1)}.
Actually, by applying Corollary 2.3 with Φ(n, g) := g, one finds that the single possible component of the sin-
gular spectrum of HχS is an eigenvalue located at the origin. However a careful inspection shows us that HχS
is injective, and thus that Hac(HχS ) = H.
A rather simple (but not trivial) possibility consists in takingNg ≡ N0 independent on g ∈ G0 in Procedure
4.9. In such a case S = N0 ×G0 and χS = χN0 ⊗ χG0 (which does not implies in general that HχS is a tensor
product of operators). If we also assume that N0 is invariant under the set {τg | g ∈ G0}, then all the necessary
assumptions are satisfied. For instance, the invariance of N0 permits to define a bijection between the two sets
in Formula (4.3). A particular case would be to choose G := Zd, with G0 := {(±1, . . . , 0), . . . , (0, . . . ,±1)}.
By using the real morphism φ : Zd → R defined by φ(±1, . . . , 0) =: ±1, . . . , φ(0, . . . ,±1) =: ±1, one can
apply Corollary 2.3 to conclude that, except the possible eigenvalue 0, HχS is purely absolutely continuous.
The following two examples are applications of the preceding construction.
Example 4.11. We consider a simple type of wreath product. Take G a discrete abelian group and put N :=
RJ , where R is an arbitrary discrete group and J is a finite set on which G acts by (g, j) 7→ g(j). Then
{rj}j∈J
:= {rg(j)}j∈J defines an action of G on R
J , thus we can construct the semidirect product RJ ×τ
G. If G0 = −G0 ⊂ G and R0 = R
0 ⊂ R are finite subsets with G0 ∩ [G \ B(G)] 6= ∅, then N0 := R
satisfies all the required conditions. Thus Hac(HχS ) 6= {0} if S := N0 ×G0.
Example 4.12. Let G be a discrete abelian group, let N be the free group generated by the family {a1, . . . , an},
and set N0 :=
a±11 , . . . , a
. Choose a finite set G0 = −G0 ⊂ G with G0 ∩ [G \B(G)] 6= ∅ and an action
τ on N such that the conditions on S := N0×G0 are satisfied (for instance τg , g ∈ G0, may act by permutation
on the generators). Then HχS has a non-trivial absolutely continuous part.
Virtually the methods of this article could also be applied to non-split group extensions.
Acknowledgements
M.M. acknowledges support from the contract 2-CEx 06-11-34. R.T.d.A. thanks the Swiss National Science
Foundation for financial support. Part of this work was done while M.M. was visiting the University of Paris XI.
He would like to thank Professor B. Helffer for his kind hospitality. Both authors are grateful to V. Georgescu
and S. Richard for useful discussions.
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