Lattice homomorphisms in harmonic analysis

Let $S$ be a non-empty, closed subspace of a locally compact group $G$ that is a subsemigroup of $G$. Suppose that $X, Y$, and $Z$ are Banach lattices that are vector sublattices of the order dual $\mathrm{C}_{\mathrm{c}}(S,\mathbb R)^\sim$ of the real-valued, continuous functions with compact support on $S$, and where $Z$ is Dedekind complete. Suppose that $\ast: X\times Y\to Z$ is a positive bilinear map such that $\mathrm{supp}\,{(x \ast y)}\subseteq\mathrm{supp}\,{x}\,\cdot\,\mathrm{supp}\,{y}$ for all $x\in X^+$ and $y\in Y^+$ with compact support. We show that, under mild conditions, the canonically associated map from $X$ into the vector lattice of regular operators from $Y$ into $Z$ is then a lattice homomorphism. Applications of this result are given in the context of convolutions, answering questions previously posed in the literature. As a preparation, we show that the order dual of the continuous, compactly supported functions on a closed subspace of a locally compact space can be canonically viewed as an order ideal of the order dual of the continuous, compactly supported functions on the larger space. As another preparation, we show that $\mathrm{L}^p$-spaces and Banach lattices of measures on a locally compact space can be embedded as vector sublattices of the order dual of the continuous, compactly supported functions on that space.