Sharp extension problem characterizations for higher fractional power operators in Banach spaces

Abstract: We prove sharp characterizations of higher order fractional powers $(-L)^s$, where $s>0$ is noninteger, ofgenerators $L$ of uniformly bounded $C_0$-semigroups on Banach spaces via extension problems, which in particular include results of Caffarelli-Silvestre, Stinga-Torrea and Gal\'e-Miana-Stinga when $0<s\<1$. More precisely, we prove existence and uniqueness of solutions $U(y)$, $y\geq0$, to initial value problems for both higher order and second order extension problems and characterizations of $(-L)^su$, $s\>0$, in terms of boundary derivatives of $U$ at $y=0$, under the sharp hypothesis that $u$ is in the domain of $(-L)^s$. Our results resolve the question of setting up the correct initial conditions that guarantee well-posedness of both extension problems. Furthermore, we discover new explicit subordination formulas for the solution $U$ in terms of the semigroup ${e^{tL}}_{t\geq0}$ generated by $L$.