A $C^m$ Whitney extension theorem for horizontal curves in the Heisenberg group

Abstract

We characterize those mappings from a compact subset of $\mathbb{R}$ into the Heisenberg group $\mathbb{H}^{n}$ which can be extended to a $C^{m}$ horizontal curve in $\mathbb{H}^{n}$. The characterization combines the classical Whitney conditions with an estimate comparing changes in the vertical coordinate with those predicted by the Taylor series of the horizontal coordinates.