UC Berkeley

In earlier papers we studied direct limits $${(G,\,K) = \varinjlim\, (G_n,K_n)}$$ of two types of Gelfand pairs. The first type was that in which the G n /K n are compact Riemannian symmetric spaces. The second type was that in which $${G_n = N_n\rtimes K_n}$$ with N n nilpotent, in other words pairs (G n , K n ) for which G n /K n is a commutative nilmanifold. In each we worked out a method inspired by the Frobenius–Schur Orthogonality Relations to define isometric injections $${\zeta_{m,n}: L^2(G_n/K_n) \hookrightarrow L^2(G_m/K_m)}$$ for m ≧ n and prove that the left regular representation of G on the Hilbert space direct limit $${L^2(G/K) := \varinjlim L^2(G_n/K_n)}$$ is multiplicity-free. This left open questions concerning the nature of the elements of L 2(G/K). Here we define spaces $${\mathcal{A}(G_n/K_n)}$$ of regular functions on G n /K n and injections $${\nu_{m,n} : \mathcal{A}(G_n/K_n) \to \mathcal{A}(G_m/K_m)}$$ for m ≧ n related to restriction by $${\nu_{m,n}(f)|_{G_n/K_n} = f}$$ . Thus the direct limit $${\mathcal{A}(G/K) := \varinjlim \{\mathcal{A}(G_n/K_n), \nu_{m,n}\}}$$ sits as a particular G-submodule of the much larger inverse limit $${\varprojlim \{\mathcal{A}(G_n/K_n), {\rm restriction}\}}$$ . Further, we define a pre Hilbert space structure on $${\mathcal{A}(G/K)}$$ derived from that of L 2(G/K). This allows an interpretation of L 2(G/K) as the Hilbert space completion of the concretely defined function space $${\mathcal{A}(G/K)}$$ , and also defines a G-invariant inner product on $${\mathcal{A}(G/K)}$$ for which the left regular representation of G is multiplicity-free.