Let $ℒ$ be a sub-laplacian on a stratified Lie group $G$. In this paper we study the Dirichlet problem for $ℒ$ with $L^p$-boundary data, on domains $\Omega$ which are contractible with respect to the natural dilations of $G$. One of the main difficulties we face is the presence of non-regular boundary points for the usual Dirichlet problem for $ℒ$. A potential theory approach is followed. The main results are applied to study a suitable notion of Hardy spaces.

After introducing the notion of capacity in a general Hilbert space setting we look at the spectral bound of an arbitrary self-adjoint and semi-bounded operator $H$. If $H$ is subjected to a domain perturbation the spectrum is shifted to the right. We show that the magnitude of this shift can be estimated in terms of the capacity. We improve the upper bound on the shift which was given in Capacity in abstract Hilbert spaces and applications to higher order differential operators (Comm. P. D. E., 24:759–775,...