The purpose of this paper is to characterize the entire solutions of the homogeneous Helmholtz equation (solutions in ℝd) arising from the Fourier extension operator of distributions in Sobolev spaces of the sphere $H^\alpha (\mathbb {S}^{d-1}),$ with α ∈ ℝ. We present two characterizations. The first one is written in terms of certain L2-weighted norms involving real powers of the spherical Laplacian. The second one is in the spirit of the classical description of the Herglotz wave functions given by P. Hartman and C. Wilcox. For α > 0 this characterization involves a multivariable square function evaluated in a vector of entire solutions of the Helmholtz equation, while for α < 0 it is written in terms of an spherical integral operator acting as a fractional integration operator. Finally, we also characterize all the solutions that are the Fourier extension operator of distributions in the sphere.

Weconsider the Fourier restriction operators associated to certaindegenerate curves in ℝd for which the highest torsion vanishes. We prove estimates with respect to affine arclength and with respect to the Euclidean arclength measure on the curve. The estimates have certain uniform features, and the affine arclength results cover families of flat curves.