First-order operators and boundary triples

Abstract

The aim of the present paper is to introduce a first-order approach to the abstract concept of boundary triples for Laplace operators. Our main application is the Laplace operator on a manifold with boundary; a case in which the ordinary concept of boundary triples does not apply directly. In our first-order approach, we show that we can use the usual boundary operators in abstract Green’s formula as well. Another motivation for the first-order approach is to give an intrinsic definition of the Dirichlet-to-Neumann map and intrinsic norms on the corresponding boundary spaces. We also show how the first-order boundary triples can be used to define a usual boundary triple leading to a Dirac operator.