Let $T_m$
be a noncommutative Fourier multiplier. In recent work, Mei and Ricard introduced a noncommutative analogue of Cotlar's identity to prove that certain multipliers are bounded on the noncommutative $L_p$
-spaces of a free group. Here, we study Cotlar-type identities in full generality, giving a closed characterization for them in terms of m:$$\begin{align*}\big( m(g h) - m(g) \big) \, \big( m(g^{-1}) - m(h) \big) = 0, \; \forall g \in \mathrm{G}\setminus \{e\}, h \in \mathrm{G}. \end{align*}$$
Using a geometric argument, we prove that if X is a tree —or more generally an $\mathbb{R}$
-tree— on which $\mathrm{G}$
acts and m lifts to a function $\widetilde{m}: X \to \mathbb{C}$
that is constant on the connected subsets of $X \setminus \{x_0\}$
, then m satisfies Cotlar’s identity and thus $T_m$
is bounded in $L_p$
for $1 < p < \infty$
.
This result establishes a new connection between group actions on $\mathbb{R}$
-trees and Fourier multipliers. This machinery allows us to simultaneously generalize the free group transforms of Mei and Ricard and the theory of Hilbert transforms in left-orderable groups, which follows from Arveson’s subdiagonal algebras. Using Bass-Serre theory, we construct new examples of Fourier multipliers on groups. These include new families such as Baumslag-Solitar groups. We also show that a natural Hilbert transform in $\mathrm {PSL}_2(\mathbb{C})$
satisfies Cotlar’s identity when restricted to the Bianchi group $\mathrm {PSL}_2(\mathbb{Z}[\sqrt{-1}])$
.