Published online by Cambridge University Press: 20 November 2018
If $G$ is a closed subgroup of a commutative hypergroup $K$, then the coset space $K/G$ carries a quotient hypergroup structure. In this paper, we study related convolution structures on $K/G$ coming fromdeformations of the quotient hypergroup structure by certain functions on $K$ which we call partial characters with respect to $G$. They are usually not probability-preserving, but lead to so-called signed hypergroups on $K/G$. A first example is provided by the Laguerre convolution on $[0,\infty [$, which is interpreted as a signed quotient hypergroup convolution derived from the Heisenberg group. Moreover, signed hypergroups associated with the Gelfand pair $\left( U\left( n,1 \right),\,U\left( n \right) \right)$ are discussed.