The principal investigator will study several basic questions concerning regularity properties of solutions to the Cauchy-Riemann equations in multidimensional complex analysis, and in the process he will clarify the relationship between certain natural operators associated with a domain in n-dimensional complex space and their counterparts on the boundary of that domain. One part of this project will address maximal hypoellipticity for the d-bar Neumann problem and analyze the problem of transferring Lp or Holder estimates from the interior to the boundary for (smooth, bounded) pseudoconvex domains with subelliptic boundary Laplacian. The project will also focus on the more degenerate situation when subellipticity does not hold (i.e., will investigate regularity issues for the d-bar Neumann problem and boundary Laplacian on weakly pseudoconvex domains), particularly the connections among global (ir)regularity, exact regularity, and a priori estimates.
This project will make a significant contribution to the answer of the following broad question: How are the regularity properties of solutions to a system of partial differential equations (with prescribed boundary conditions) on a given domain related to the ones for an associated system on the boundary? Some of the methods introduced by the principal investigator should have applications to systems of partial differential equations that arise in the physical sciences. The study of the interior and tangential d-bar problems in several complex variables has in the past often led to substantial advances in analysis, such as the discovery of the first examples of local nonsolvability of linear partial differential equations and the development of pseudodifferential operators. Moreover, such problems have many connections to harmonic analysis and algebraic geometry. By clarifying some poorly understood aspects of partial differential equations that arise in complex analysis, this research may inspire new ties to other branches of mathematics and science.
