Finite dimensionality of Besov spaces and potential-theoretic decomposition of metric spaces

Abstract: In the context of a metric measure space $(X,d,\mu)$, we explore the potential-theoretic implications of having a finite-dimensional Besov space. We prove that if the dimension of the Besov space $B^\theta_{p,p}(X)$ is $k>1$, then $X$ can be decomposed into $k$ number of irreducible components (Theorem 1.1). Note that $\theta$ may be bigger than $1$, as our framework includes fractals. We also provide sufficient conditions under which the dimension of the Besov space is $1$. We introduce critical exponents $\theta_p(X)$ and $\theta_p^{\ast}(X)$ for the Besov spaces. As examples illustrating Theorem 1.1, we compute these critical exponents for spaces $X$ formed by glueing copies of $n$-dimensional cubes, the Sierpi\'{n}ski gaskets, and of the Sierpi\'{n}ski carpet.