Spectral flexibility of symplectic manifolds <Emphasis Type="Italic">T</Emphasis><Superscript>2</Superscript> × <Emphasis Type="Italic">M</Emphasis>

We consider Riemannian metrics compatible with the natural symplectic structure on T ² × M, where T ² is a symplectic 2-torus and M is a closed symplectic manifold. To each such metric we attach the corresponding Laplacian and consider its first positive eigenvalue λ₁. We show that λ₁ can be made arbitrarily large by deforming the metric structure, keeping the symplectic structure fixed. The conjecture is that the same is true for any symplectic manifold of dimension ≥ 4. We reduce the general conjecture to a purely symplectic question.     

Toric symplectic ball packing

We define and solve the toric version of the symplectic ball packing problem, in the sense of listing all 2n-dimensional symplectic-toric manifolds which admit a perfect packing by balls embedded in a symplectic and torus equivariant fashion.In order to do this we first describe a problem in geometric-combinatorics which is equivalent to the toric symplectic ball packing problem. Then we solve this problem using arguments from Convex Geometry and Delzant theory.Applications to symplectic blowing-up are also presented, and some further questions are raised in the last section.     

The geometry of a bi-Lagrangian manifold

This is a survey on bi-Lagrangian manifolds, which are symplectic manifolds endowed with two transversal Lagrangian foliations. We also study the non-integrable case (i.e., a symplectic manifold endowed with two transversal Lagrangian distributions). We show that many different geometric structures can be attached to these manifolds and we carefully analyze the associated connections. Moreover, we introduce the problem of the intersection of the two leaves, one of each foliation, through a point and show a lot of significative examples.     

Non-zero contact and Sasakian reduction

We complete the reduction of Sasakian manifolds with the non-zero case by showing that Willett's contact reduction is compatible with the Sasakian structure. We then prove the compatibility of the non-zero Sasakian (in particular, contact) reduction with the reduction of the Kähler (in particular, symplectic) cone. We provide examples obtained by toric actions on Sasakian spheres and make some comments concerning the curvature of the quotients.     

On deformations of Hamiltonian actions

In this paper we generalize to coisotropic actions of compact Lie groups a theorem of Guillemin on deformations of Hamiltonian structures on compact symplectic manifolds. We show how one can reconstruct from the moment polytope the symplectic form on the manifold. Received: 21 March 2006     

On twisted contact groupoids and on integration of twisted Jacobi manifolds

We introduce the concept of twisted contact groupoids, as an extension either of contact groupoids or of twisted symplectic ones, and we discuss the integration of twisted Jacobi manifolds by twisted contact groupoids. We also investigate the very close relationships which link homogeneous twisted Poisson manifolds with twisted Jacobi manifolds and homogeneous twisted symplectic groupoids with twisted contact ones. Some examples for each structure are presented.     

On homotopy Poisson actions and reduction of symplectic Q-manifolds

We present a general framework for reduction of symplectic Q-manifolds via graded group actions. In this framework, the homological structure on the acting group is a multiplicative multivector field.     

Poisson deformations of symplectic quotient singularities

We establish a connection between smooth symplectic resolutions and symplectic deformations of a (possibly singular) affine Poisson variety.In particular, let V be a finite-dimensional complex symplectic vector space and G⊂Sp(V) a finite subgroup. Our main result says that the so-called Calogero-Moser deformation of the orbifold V/G is, in an appropriate sense, a versal Poisson deformation. That enables us to determine the algebra structure on the cohomology of any smooth symplectic resolution X?V/G (multiplicative McKay correspondence). We prove further that if is an irreducible Weyl group and , then no smooth symplectic resolution of V/G exists unless G is of types .     

Witten's nonabelian localization for noncompact Hamiltonian spaces

For a finite-dimensional (but possibly noncompact) symplectic manifold with a compact group acting with a proper moment map, we show that the square of the moment map is an equivariantly perfect Morse function in the sense of Kirwan, show that certain integrals of equivariant cohomology classes localize as a sum of contributions from these compact critical sets, and bound the contribution from each critical set. In the case (1) that the contribution from higher critical sets grows slowly enough that the overall integral converges rapidly and (2) that 0 is a regular value of the moment map, we recover Witten's result [E. Witten, Two dimensional gauge theories revisited, J. Geom. Phys. 9 (1992) 303-368; http://xxx.lanl.gov/abs/hep-th/9204083] identifying the polynomial part of these integrals as the ordinary integral of the image of the class under the Kirwan map to the symplectic quotient.     

Hamiltonian Gromov-Witten invariants

In this paper we introduce invariants of semi-free Hamiltonian actions of S¹ on compact symplectic manifolds using the space of solutions to certain gauge theoretical equations. These equations generalise both the vortex equations and the holomorphicity equation used in Gromov-Witten theory. In the definition of the invariants we combine ideas coming from gauge theory and the ideas underlying the construction of Gromov-Witten invariants.     

The propagation of non-Lefschetz type, the Gottlieb group and related questions

This is a brief note which indicates how the property of being non-Lefschetz may be propagated by equivariant symplectic maps. We also discuss some questions related to the Gottlieb group and nilpotency of symplectic manifolds. To Vladimir Arnold, who taught me symplectic geometry without knowing it     

Symplectic Yang–Mills theory,Ricci tensor,and connections

A Yang–Mills theory in a purely symplectic framework is developed. The corresponding Euler–Lagrange equations are derived and first integrals are given. We relate the results to the work of Bourgeois and Cahen on preferred symplectic connections.     

A cotangent bundle slice theorem

This article concerns cotangent-lifted Lie group actions; our goal is to find local and “semi-global” normal forms for these and associated structures. Our main result is a constructive cotangent bundle slice theorem that extends the Hamiltonian slice theorem of Marle [C.-M. Marle, Modèle d'action hamiltonienne d'un groupe de Lie sur une variété symplectique, Rendiconti del Seminario Matematico, Università e Politecnico, Torino 43 (2) (1985) 227-251] and Guillemin and Sternberg [V. Guillemin, S. Sternberg, A normal form for the moment map, in: S. Sternberg (Ed.), Differential Geometric Methods in Mathematical Physics, in: Mathematical Physics Studies, vol. 6, D. Reidel, 1984]. The result applies to all proper cotangent-lifted actions, around points with fully-isotropic momentum values.We also present a “tangent-level” commuting reduction result and use it to characterise the symplectic normal space of any cotangent-lifted action. In two special cases, we arrive at splittings of the symplectic normal space. One of these cases is when the configuration isotropy group is contained in the momentum isotropy group; in this case, our splitting generalises that given for free actions by Montgomery et al. [R. Montgomery, J.E. Marsden, T.S. Ratiu, Gauged Lie-Poisson structures, Cont. Math. AMS 128 (1984) 101-114]. The other case includes all relative equilibria of simple mechanical systems. In both of these special cases, the new splitting leads to a refinement of the so-called reconstruction equations or bundle equations [J.-P. Ortega, Symmetry, reduction, and stability in Hamiltonian systems, PhD thesis, University of California, Santa Cruz, 1998; J.-P. Ortega, T.S. Ratiu, A symplectic slice theorem, Lett. Math. Phys. 59 (1) (2002) 81-93; M. Roberts, C. Wulff, J.S.W. Lamb, Hamiltonian systems near relative equilibria, J. Differential Equations 179 (2) (2002) 562-604]. We also note cotangent-bundle-specific local normal forms for symplectic reduced spaces.     

Symplectic homology and periodic orbits near symplectic submanifolds

We show that a small neighborhood of a closed symplectic submanifold in a geometrically bounded aspherical symplectic manifold has non-vanishing symplectic homology. As a consequence, we establish the existence of contractible closed characteristics on any thickening of the boundary of the neighborhood. When applied to twisted geodesic flows on compact symplectically aspherical manifolds, this implies the existence of contractible periodic orbits for a dense set of low energy values.     

Geodesics of Hofer’s metric on the space of Lagrangian submanifolds

We study geodesics of Hofer’s metric on the space of Lagrangian submanifolds in arbitrary symplectic manifolds from the variational point of view. We give a characterization of length–critical paths with respect to this metric. As a result, we see that if two Lagrangian submanifolds are disjoint then we cannot join them by length-minimizing geodesics.     

Symplectic structures¶on Heisenberg-type nilmanifolds

We use cohomological methods to study the existence of symplectic structures on nilmanifolds associated to two-step nilpotent Lie groups. We construct a new family of symplectic nilmanifolds with building blocks the quaternionic analogue of the Heisenberg group, determining the dimension of the space of all left invariant symplectic structures. Such structures can not be K?hlerian. Also, we prove that the nilmanifolds associated to H type groups are not symplectic unless they correspond to the classical Heisenberg groups. Received: 26 May 1999 / Revised version: 10 April 2000     

On semi-global invariants for focus-focus singularities

This article gives a classification, up to symplectic equivalence, of singular Lagrangian foliations given by a completely integrable system of a four-dimensional symplectic manifold, in a full neighbourhood of a singular leaf of focus-focus type.     

The symplectic normal space of a cotangent-lifted action

For the cotangent bundle T^∗Q of a smooth Riemannian manifold acted upon by the lift of a smooth and proper action by isometries of a Lie group, we characterize the symplectic normal space at any point. We show that this space splits as the direct sum of the cotangent bundle of a linear space and a symplectic linear space coming from reduction of a coadjoint orbit. This characterization of the symplectic normal space can be expressed solely in terms of the group action on the base manifold and the coadjoint representation. Some relevant particular cases are explored.