Partial difference equations over compact Abelian groups, I: modules of solutions

Consider a compact Abelian group $Z$ and closed subgroups $U_1$, \ldots, $U_k \leq Z$. Let $\mathbb{T} := \mathbb{R}/\mathbb{Z}$. This paper examines two kinds of functional equation for measurable functions $Z\to \mathbb{T}$. First, given $f:Z\to \mathbb{T}$ and $w \in Z$, the resulting differenced function is $$d_wf(z) := f(z-w) - f(z).$$ In this notation, we study solutions to the system of difference equations $$d_{u_1}\cdots d_{u_k}f \equiv 0 \quad \forall u_1 \in U_1,\ u_2 \in U_2,\ \ldots\ u_k \in U_k.$$ Second, we study tuples of measurable functions $f_i:Z\to \mathbb{T}$ such that $f_i$ is invariant under translation by $U_i$ and also $$f_1 + \cdots + f_k = 0.$$ For these equations, the solutions form a subgroup of $\mathcal{F}(Z)$ or $\mathcal{F}(Z)^k$, where $\mathcal{F}(Z)$ is the group of measurable functions $Z\to \mathbb{T}$ modulo Haar-a.e. equality. The subgroup of solutions is closed under convergence in probability and is globally invariant under rotations of $Z$, so it is a complete metrizable $Z$-module. We will give a recursive description of the structure of this $Z$-module relative to the solution-modules of lower-order equations of the same kind. These results are obtained as applications of an abstract theory of a special class of $Z$-modules. Most of our work will go into showing that this class of modules is closed under various natural operations. Knowing that, the above descriptions follow as easy consequences. Partial difference equations of the above kind can be seen as an extremal version of the inverse problem for the higher-dimensional, directional analogs of Gowers' uniformity norms. Our methods also give some information about the `stability' version of this inverse problem, which concerns functions whose Gowers norm is sufficiently close to being maximal.