Poisson transforms, the BGG complex, and discrete series representations of SU(n+1,1)

Abstract

The aim of this article is to construct a specific Poisson transform mapping differential forms on the sphere $S^{2n+1}$ endowed with its natural CR structure to forms on complex hyperbolic space. The transforms we construct have values that are harmonic and co-closed and they descend to the BGG (Rumin) complex and intertwine the differential operators in that complex with the exterior derivative. Passing to the Poincar\'e ball model, we analyze the boundary asymptotics of the values of our transforms proving that they admit a continuous extension to the boundary in degrees $\leq n$. Finally, we show that composing the exterior derivative with the transform in degree $n$, one obtains an isomorphism between the kernel of the Rumin operator in degree $n$ and a dense subspace of the $L^2$-harmonic forms on complex hyperbolic space. These are well known to realize the direct sum of all discrete series representations of $SU(n+1,1)$, which we therefore realize on spaces of differential forms on the compact manifold $S^{2n+1}$. The developments in this article are motivated by a program of the third author to prove some instances of the Baum-Connes conjecture. The first part of the article is valid in a much more general setting, and is also relevant for cases in which the conjecture is still open.