PROCEEDINGS OF THE AMERICAN MATHEMATICAL SOCIETY Volume 95, Number 2, October 1985

COMPACTNESS

IN

L 2 AND

THE FOURIER TRANSFORM

ROBERT L. PEGO
ABSTRACT.

The Riesz- Tamarkin compactness theorem in LP (Rn) employs notions of LP-equicontinuity and uniform LP-decay at 00. When 1 ~ p ~ 2, we show that these notions correspond under the Fourier transform, and establish new necessary and sufficient criteria for compactness in L2(Rn).

An oft-quoted classical result characterizing M. Riesz and J. D. Tamarkin (see [1, 2, 4]):
THEOREM.

compact

sets in LP(Rn) is due to

A bounded subset K of LP(Rn),

1< p <

00, is conditionally compact if

and only if (1) JR" If(x

+ y)
If(x)lP

- f(x)IP

dx -7 0 as y -7 0 uniformly for fin K, and

(II)

J1xl>R

dx -7 0 as R -7 00 uniformly for fin K.

Property (1) is a uniform smoothness property. By analogy with the terminology of Arzela-Ascoli, we say the functions in K are LP-equicontinuous if (I) holds. Property (II) is a uniform decay property. The connection between smoothness and decay through the Fourier transform has been well explored [6]. Yet the following nice equivalence seems to be new:
THEOREM

1. Let K be a bounded subset of L 2(Rn) and let K be the Fourier transform

of K, K = {]II E K}. The functions of K are L 2-equicontinuous if and only if the decay uniformly in L 2, and vice versa. That is, K satisfies (I) in L 2 if and functions of only if K satisfies (II) in L2, and vice versa.

Combining this result with the Riesz- Tamarkin theorem, we obtain two alternative characterizations of compact sets in L2(Rn): 2. A bounded subset K of L 2 (Rn) is conditionally compact if and only if J If(x + y) - f(x)12 dx -7 0 as y -7 0, and J Il(g + w) - lcg)12 dg -7 0 as w -7 0, both uniformly for fin K.
THEOREM THEOREM
J1XI>R

3. A bounded subset K of L2(Rn) dx -7 0 and

J11;1>R

is conditionally compact if and only if

If(x)/2

Ilcg)12 dg -7 0 as R -7 00, both uniformly for fin K.

Received by the editors November 7,1984. 1980 Mathematics Subject Classification. Primary 46E30, 42B99. Key words and phrases. Compactness, Fourier transform, LP, L 2, LP-equicontinuity. 1985 American Mathematical Society 0002-9939/85 $1.00 + $.25 per page
252

COMPACTNESS IN L2

253

Theorem 1 is an easy consequence of the theorem below, which offers some results in L P, 1 ~ p ~ 2. THEOREM Let K be a bounded subset of LP, 1 ~ p ~ 2. If K satisfies (I) (resp. 4. (II)) in LP, then K satisfies (II) (resp. (I)) in Lq, where l/p + l/q = 1. (If q = 00, conditions (I) and (II) are to be stated in the obvious way using the sup norm.) Let us set our notation and recall some basic results. For f E L1(Rn),

Recall [3]: (1) The Fourier transform above extends to a bounded linear map f ~ J from LP to Lq, for 1 ~ p ~ 2 and l/p + l/q = 1, so IIJllq ~ Cpllfllp forfin LP. (2) Forfin LP, win Rn, we have [e-iWXf(x)(a) = Ja + w) in Lq. (3) For fin LP, t/; in the Schwartz classY, (f* t/;)Aa) = Ja)~a) in Lq, where
f

* t/;(x) = !R" f(x

- y)t/;(y)

dy.

PROOFOF THEOREM First, we assume K satisfies (II) in LP. Let M be a bound 4. for KinLP. ForfinK,
fU

w) - f(~)

[(e-iWoX - l)f(x)r(~),

whence

Let e > O. Because of (II) we may choose R so large that the second term here is less than !(e/CpF independent of finK. Then since !lxl~R(lxllf(x)IF dx ~ (RMF for f in K, we have IIfa + w) - J(~)lIq < E if w is sufficiently small, IwlP < J.(e/CpRMF, independent offin K. So k satisfies (I) in Lq. Now assume K satisfies (I) in LP. We seek to show that functions in .k decay so that t/;R and uniformly in Lq. Let t/;(x) = (21T)-n/2e-1xI2/2, t/;R(X) = t/;(Rx)Rn, ~Ra) = ~a/R) are in Y, with ~a) = e-I~12/2, ~R(O) = !t/;R(y) dy = 1. Now for 1 A I~I~ 2R, "2 ~ 1 - t/;R(O, so for f E K,
21(

1~1>2R

/J(O/q

d~

) l/q ~ IIJ(O(l - ~R(O)lIq

~ Cpllf(x) - f* t/;R(x)/Ip

~ cp[f If (j(x)

-f(x

- Y))'h(Y)

dylP

dx

By Jensen's inequality and Fubini's theorem, this is

254

R. L. PEGO

Now define a uniform LP modulus of continuity for K,

H(y)

= fEK supf

lJ(x)-j(x--y)(dx. ~ (2M)P

By (I), H(y)

~ 0 asy ~ 0, and H(y)

for ally. From above, we have

H(~).p(y) dy ]l/P ~ 0

[ ~~1>2R

IJ(Olq dg ]l/q ~

2Cp [

as R ~ 00 uniformly for j in K. Hence, K satisfies (II). We conclude with a small application, which illustrates a principle known in information theory (see [5]) that an operator in L2 that is "band limited and time limited" is compact. bounded functions on Rn which satisfy lim1xl->oocpi(X) = 0, denote the multiplication operator on L 2 given by u( x) ~ i = 1,2. Let F denote the Fourier transform operator u ~ Fu = u. cpi(X )u(x), Define an operator Ton L2 by T = cp1Fcp2' Assume cpl(X) is continuous. Fix any
CPl(X), CP2(X)

= 1,2, and let

cpi

PROPOSITION. is a compact operator on L2 T PROOF.Let K be a bounded set in L 2. Clearly, the set cp2K has the uniform decay property (II) in L2. From Theorem 1, the set FCP2K is L2-equicontinuous (has property (I. The set TK = cpl FCP2 is also L 2-equicontinuous, and also has the uniform decay property (II). By Riesz-Tamarkin, it follows that TK is precompact. Q.E.D. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT. author thanks Jonathan Goodman for pointing out this The application. REFERENCES
1. R. Adams, Sobolev spaces, Academic Press, New York, 1975. 2. N. Dunford and J. T. Schwartz, Linear operators, Part I, Wiley-Interscience, New York, 1966. 3. E. M. Stein and G. Weiss, Introduction to Fourier analysis on Euclidean spaces, Princeton Univ. Press, Princeton N. J., 1971. 4. K. Yosida, Functional analysis, 2nd ed., Springer-Verlag, New York, 1968. 5. H. J. Landau and H. O. Pollack, Prolate spherodial wave functions, Fourier analysis, and uncertainty. III, Bell System Tech. J. 41 (1962), 1295-1336. 6. M. Murata, A theorem of Liouville type for partial differential equations with constant coefficients, J. Fac. Sci. Univ. Tokyo IA 21 (1974), 395-404.
DEPARTMENT OF MATHEMATICS, UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN, ANN ARBOR, MICHIGAN 48109