Characterizations of sets of finite perimeter using heat kernels in metric spaces

The overarching goal of this paper is to link the notion of sets of finite perimeter (a concept associated with $N^{1,1}$-spaces) and the theory of heat semigroups (a concept related to $N^{1,2}$-spaces) in the setting of metric measure spaces whose measure is doubling and supports a $1$-Poincare inequality. We prove a characterization of sets of finite perimeter in terms of a short time behavior of the heat semigroup in such metric spaces. We also give a new characterization of ${rm BV}$ functions in terms of a near-diagonal energy in this general setting.

Boundary measures, generalized Gauss-Green formulas, and mean value property in metric measure spaces

We study mean value properties of harmonic functions in metric measure spaces. The metric measure spaces we consider have a doubling measure and support a (1,1)- Poincare inequality. The notion of harmonicity is based on the Dirichlet form defined in terms of a Cheeger differentiable structure. By studying fine properties of the Green function on balls, we characterize harmonic functions in terms of a mean value property. As a consequence, we obtain a detailed description of Poisson kernels. We shall also obtain a Gauss-Green type formula for sets of finite perimeter which posses a Minkowski content characterization of the perimeter. For the Gauss-Green formula we introduce a suitable notion of the interior normal trace of a regular ball.