Superharmonic functions associated with hypoelliptic non-Hörmander operators

In this paper, we consider a class of degenerate-elliptic linear operators [Formula: see text] in quasi-divergence form and we study the associated cone of superharmonic functions. In particular, following an abstract Potential-Theoretic approach, we prove the local integrability of any [Formula: see text]-superharmonic function and we characterize the [Formula: see text]-superharmonicity of a function [Formula: see text] in terms of the sign of the distribution [Formula: see text]; we also establish some Riesz-type decomposition theorems and we prove a Poisson–Jensen formula. The operators involved are [Formula: see text]-hypoelliptic but they do not satisfy the Hörmander Rank Condition nor subelliptic estimates or Muckenhoupt-type degeneracy conditions.