Non-solvability for a class of left-invariant second-order differential operators on the Heisenberg group

We study the question of local solvability for second-order, left-invariant differential operators on the Heisenberg group , of the form where is a complex matrix. Such operators never satisfy a cone condition in the sense of Sjöstrand and Hörmander. We may assume that cannot be viewed as a differential operator on a lower-dimensional Heisenberg group. Under the mild condition that and their commutator are linearly independent, we show that is not locally solvable, even in the presence of lower-order terms, provided that . In the case we show that there are some operators of the form described above that are locally solvable. This result extends to the Heisenberg group a phenomenon first observed by Karadzhov and Müller in the case of It is interesting to notice that the analysis of the exceptional operators for the case turns out to be more elementary than in the case When the analysis of these operators seems to become quite complex, from a technical point of view, and it remains open at this time.