Asymptotic Formulas for Negative Sobolev Norms and Applications

Source abstract

This paper establishes an asymptotic formula for negative Sobolev norms as the fractional order tends to zero. In the Euclidean setting, under a mild boundedness condition, the product of the order and the norm raised to the power $p$ converges to a dimension-independent constant multiple of the corresponding $L^p$ norm. The proof relies on heat-kernel regularization, weak compactness, and an Abelian--Tauberian argument. The result is further extended to a general measure space equipped with a family of bounded and continuous operators that covering nonlinear and non-semigroup settings. We also present several applications in analysis and probability, including an absolute-continuity criterion for measures, a random-distribution regularity result, a construction of square-integrable local times for fractional Brownian motion, and limiting formulas for truncated maximal operators and martingales.