On the domains of elliptic operators in $L^1$

Abstract

We prove optimal embedding estimates for the domains of second-order elliptic operators in $L^1$ spaces. Our procedure relies on general semigroup theory and interpolation arguments, and on estimates for $\nabla T(t)f$ in $L^1$, in $L^\infty$, and possibly in fractional Sobolev spaces, for $f\in L^1$. It is applied to a number of examples, including some degenerate hypoelliptic operators, and operators with unbounded coefficients.