Resolvents and Martin boundaries of product spaces

Abstract

In this paper we examine the Laplacian on the product of two asymptotically hyperbolic (or conformally compact, as they are often called) spaces from the point of view of geometric scattering theory. In particular, we describe the asymptotic behavior of the resolvent applied to Schwartz functions and that of the resolvent kernel itself. We use these results to find the Martin boundary of the product space. This behaves (nearly) as expected when the factors have no $L^2$ eigenvalues, but it experiences a substantial collapse in the presence of such eigenvalues.

38 pages, 5 postscript figures