Characterizing maximal compact subgroups

We prove that for a compact subgroup H of a locally compact almost connected group G, the following properties are mutually equivalent: (1) H is a maximal compact subgroup of G, (2) the coset space G/H is \mathbbQ{\mathbb{Q}} -acyclic and \mathbbZ/2\mathbbZ{\mathbb{Z}/2\mathbb{Z}} -acyclic in Čech cohomology, (3) G/H is contractible, (4) G/H is homeomorphic to a Euclidean space, (5) G/H is an absolute extensor for paracompact spaces, (6) G/H is a G-equivariant absolute extensor for paracompact proper G-spaces having a paracompact orbit space.     

Deformation of proper actions on reductive homogeneous spaces

Let G be a real reductive Lie group and H a closed reductive subgroup of G. We investigate the deformation of standard compact quotients of G/H, that is, of quotients of G/H by discrete groups Γ that are uniform lattices in some closed reductive subgroup L of G acting properly and cocompactly on G/H. For L of real rank 1, we prove that after a small deformation in G, such a group Γ keeps acting properly discontinuously and cocompactly on G/H. More generally, we prove that the properness of the action of any convex cocompact subgroup of L on G/H is preserved under small deformations, and we extend this result to reductive homogeneous spaces G/H over any local field. As an application, we obtain compact quotients of SO(2n, 2)/U(n, 1) by Zariski-dense discrete subgroups of SO(2n, 2) acting properly discontinuously.     

Géométries Lorentziennes de dimension 3 : classification et complétude

We classify three-dimensional Lorentz homogeneous spaces G/I having a compact manifold locally modeled on them. We prove a completeness result: any compact locally homogeneous Lorentz threefold M is isometric to a quotient of a Lorentz homogeneous space G/I by a discrete subgroup Γ of G acting properly and freely on G/I. Moreover, if I is noncompact, G/I is isometric to a Lie group L endowed with a left invariant Lorentz metric, where L is isomorphic to one of the following Lie groups:

Compact Surfaces with Constant Gaussian Curvature in Product Spaces

We prove that the only compact surfaces of positive constant Gaussian curvature in \mathbbH²×\mathbbR{\mathbb{H}^{2}\times\mathbb{R}} (resp. positive constant Gaussian curvature greater than 1 in \mathbbS²×\mathbbR{\mathbb{S}^{2}\times\mathbb{R}}) whose boundary Γ is contained in a slice of the ambient space and such that the surface intersects this slice at a constant angle along Γ, are the pieces of a rotational complete surface. We also obtain some area estimates for surfaces of positive constant Gaussian curvature in \mathbbH²×\mathbbR{\mathbb{H}^{2}\times\mathbb{R}} and positive constant Gaussian curvature greater than 1 in \mathbbS²×\mathbbR{\mathbb{S}^{2}\times\mathbb{R}} whose boundary is contained in a slice of the ambient space. These estimates are optimal in the sense that if the bounds are attained, the surface is again a piece of a rotational complete surface.     

A Higgs bundle on a Hermitian symmetric space,II

Let M : = Γ\G/K be the quotient of an irreducible Hermitian symmetric space G/K by a torsionfree cocompact lattice G ì G{\Gamma \subset G}. Let V be a complex irreducible representation of G. We give a Hodge decomposition of the cohomology of the Γ-module V in terms of the cohomologies of automorphic vector bundles on M associated to the Lie algebra cohomologies H*(\mathfrak p⁺ ,V){H*({\mathfrak p}^{+} ,V)}.     

On the Second Cohomology of K?hler Groups

Carlson and Toledo conjectured that if an infinite group Γ is the fundamental group of a compact K?hler manifold, then virtually H²(G, \mathbb R) 1 0{H^{2}(\Gamma, {\mathbb R}) \ne 0} . We assume that Γ admits an unbounded reductive rigid linear representation. This representation necessarily comes from a complex variation of Hodge structure ( \mathbbC{\mathbb{C}} -VHS) on the K?hler manifold. We prove the conjecture under some assumption on the \mathbbC{\mathbb{C}} -VHS. We also study some related geometric/topological properties of period domains associated to such a \mathbbC{\mathbb{C}} -VHS.     

Homogeneous Riemannian manifolds of positive Ricci curvature

We prove that a homogeneous effective spaceM=G/H, whereG is a connected Lie group andH⊂G is a compact subgroup, admits aG-invariant Riemannian metric of positive Ricci curvature if and only if the spaceM is compact and its fundamental group π₁(M) is finite (in this case any normal metric onG/H is suitable). This is equivalent to the following conditions: the groupG is compact and the largest semisimple subgroupLG⊂G is transitive onG/H. Furthermore, ifG is nonsemisimple, then there exists aG-invariant fibration ofM over an effective homogeneous space of a compact semisimple Lie group with the torus as the fiber. Translated fromMatematicheskie Zametki, Vol. 58, No. 3, pp. 334–340, September, 1995.