A characterization of submanifolds by a homogeneity condition

A very short proof of the following smooth homogeneity theorem of D. Repovs, E.V. Shchepin and the author is presented. Let N be a locally compact subset of a smooth manifold M. Assume that for each two points x,y∈N there exists a diffeomorphism such that h(x)=y and h(N)=N. Then N is a smooth submanifold of M.     

Harmonicity of unit vector fields with respect to Riemannian g-natural metrics

Let (M,g) be a compact Riemannian manifold and T₁M its unit tangent sphere bundle. Unit vector fields defining harmonic maps from (M,g) to , being the Sasaki metric on T₁M, have been extensively studied. The Sasaki metric, and other well known Riemannian metrics on T₁M, are particular examples of g-natural metrics. We equip T₁M with an arbitrary Riemannian g-natural metric , and investigate the harmonicity of a unit vector field V of M, thought as a map from (M,g) to . We then apply this study to characterize unit Killing vector fields and to investigate harmonicity properties of the Reeb vector field of a contact metric manifold.     

Inverse problems and index formulae for Dirac operators

We consider a Dirac-type operator DP on a vector bundle V over a compact Riemannian manifold (M,g) with a non-empty boundary. The operator DP is specified by a boundary condition P(u_|∂M)=0 where P is a projector which may be a non-local, i.e., a pseudodifferential operator. We assume the existence of a chirality operator which decomposes L²(M,V) into two orthogonal subspaces X₊⊕X₋. Under certain conditions, the operator DP restricted to X₊ and X₋ defines a pair of Fredholm operators which maps X₊→X₋ and X₋→X₊ correspondingly, giving rise to a superstructure on V. In this paper we consider the questions of determining the index of DP and the reconstruction of and DP from the boundary data on ∂M. The data used is either the Cauchy data, i.e., the restrictions to ∂M×R₊ of the solutions to the hyperbolic Dirac equation, or the boundary spectral data, i.e., the set of the eigenvalues and the boundary values of the eigenfunctions of DP. We obtain formulae for the index and prove uniqueness results for the inverse boundary value problems. We apply the obtained results to the classical Dirac-type operator in M×C⁴, M⊂R³.     

Liouville type theorems for p-harmonic maps

Let M be a complete Riemannian manifold and let N be a Riemannian manifold of non-positive sectional curvature. Assume that at all x∈M and at some point x₀∈M, where μ₀>0 is the least eigenvalue of the Laplacian acting on L²-functions on M. Let 2?q?p. Then any q-harmonic map of finite q-energy is constant. Moreover, if N is a Riemannian manifold of non-positive scalar curvature, then any q-harmonic morphism of finite q-energy is constant.     

Characteristic classes and transversality

Let ξ be a smooth vector bundle over a differentiable manifold M. Let be a generic bundle morphism from the trivial bundle of rank n−i+1 to ξ. We give a geometric construction of the Stiefel-Whitney classes when ξ is a real vector bundle, and of the Chern classes when ξ is a complex vector bundle. Using h we define a differentiable closed manifold and a map whose image is the singular set of h. The ith characteristic class of ξ is the Poincaré dual of the image, under the homomorphism induced in homology by ?, of the fundamental class of the manifold . We extend this definition for vector bundles over a paracompact space, using that the universal bundle is filtered by smooth vector bundles.     

A quadratic Bolza-type problem in a Riemannian manifold

A classical nonlinear equation on a complete Riemannian manifold is considered. The existence of solutions connecting any two points is studied, i.e., for T>0 the critical points of the functional with x(0)=x₀,x(T)=x₁. When the potential V has a subquadratic growth with respect to x, J_T admits a minimum critical point for any T>0 (infinitely many critical points if the topology of is not trivial). When V has an at most quadratic growth, i.e., , this property does not hold, but an optimal arrival time T(λ)>0 exists such that, if 0<T<T(λ), any pair of points in can be joined by a critical point of the corresponding functional. For the existence and multiplicity results, variational methods and Ljusternik-Schnirelman theory are used. The optimal value is fulfilled by the harmonic oscillator. These ideas work for other related problems.     

Large time behavior of the heat kernel

In this paper we study the large time behavior of the (minimal) heat kernel k_P^M(x,y,t) of a general time-independent parabolic operator Lu=u_t+P(x,∂_x)u which is defined on a noncompact manifold M. More precisely, we prove that

     

“Localized” self-adjointness of Schrödinger type operators on Riemannian manifolds

We prove self-adjointness of the Schrödinger type operator , where ∇ is a Hermitian connection on a Hermitian vector bundle E over a complete Riemannian manifold M with positive smooth measure dμ which is fixed independently of the metric, and V∈L_loc¹(EndE) is a Hermitian bundle endomorphism. Self-adjointness of H_V is deduced from the self-adjointness of the corresponding “localized” operator. This is an extension of a result by Cycon. The proof uses the scheme of Cycon, but requires a refined integration by parts technique as well as the use of a family of cut-off functions which are constructed by a non-trivial smoothing procedure due to Karcher.     

Linearized inverse problem for the Dirichlet-to-Neumann map on differential forms

For a compact n-dimensional Riemannian manifold (M,g) with boundary i:∂M⊂M, the Dirichlet-to-Neumann (DN) map Λg:Ωk(∂M)→Ωn−k−1(∂M) is defined on exterior differential forms by Λgφ=i^∗(?dω), where ω solves the boundary value problem Δω=0, i^∗ω=φ, i^∗δω=0. For a symmetric second rank tensor field h on M, let be the Gateaux derivative of the DN map in the direction h. We study the question: for a given (M,g), how large is the subspace of tensor fields h satisfying ? Potential tensor fields belong to the subspace since the DN map is invariant under isomeries fixing the boundary. For a manifold of an even dimension n, the DN map on (n/2−1)-forms is conformally invariant, therefore spherical tensor fields belong to the subspace in the case of k=n/2−1. The manifold is said to be Ωk-rigid if there is no other h satisfying . We prove that the Ωk-rigidity is equivalent to the density of the range of some bilinear form on the space of exact harmonic fields.     

Collapse of warped foliations

The aim of this note is to generalize the concept of warped product to a foliated manifold (M,F,g) as follows: If is a smooth function constant along the leaves of the foliation F then new metric structure gf on the manifold M is constructed as follows: gf(v,w)=f²g(v,w) if v,w are tangent to F and gf(v,w)=g(v,w) if v or w is perpendicular to F. A foliated manifold (M,F,gf) is called warped foliation while f is called warping function.Next, if is a sequence of warping functions on M, the question of the existence of the limit in Gromov-Hausdorff of a sequence ((M,F,gfn))_n∈N warped foliation is asked. A number of examples is considered such foliations with dense leaf or foliations consisting of finite number of Reeb components. Next, sufficient and necessary condition of converging in Gromov-Hausdorff sense of a Riemannian foliation with all leaves compact to the space of leaves with a metric defined by Hausdorff distance of leaves is developed. Finally some results on Hausdorff foliations with all leaves compact are shown.     

A constructive generalised Goursat normal form

We provide necessary and sufficient conditions on the derived type of a vector field distribution V in order that it be locally equivalent to a partial prolongation of the contact distribution , on the 1st order jet bundle of maps from R to Rq, q?1. This result fully generalises the Goursat normal form from the theory of exterior differential systems. Our proof is constructive: it is proven that if V is locally equivalent to a partial prolongation of then the explicit construction of contact coordinates algorithmically depends upon the integration of a sequence of geometrically defined and algorithmically determined integrable Pfaffian systems on M. Though the tools required are rather different, our main theorem may be regarded as a generalisation of the work of R.B. Gardner and W.F. Shadwick on the feedback linearisation of autonomous nonlinear control systems.     

Maximal degree variational principles and Liouville dynamics

Let M be smooth n-dimensional manifold, fibered over a k-dimensional submanifold B as π:M→B, and ?∈Λ^k(M); one can consider the functional on sections φ of the bundle π defined by , with D a domain in B. We show that for k=n−2 the variational principle based on this functional identifies a unique (up to multiplication by a smooth function) nontrivial vector field in M, i.e., a system of ODEs. Conversely, any vector field X on M satisfying for some ?∈Λⁿ⁻²(M) admits such a variational characterization. We consider the general case, and also the particular case M=P×R where one of the variables (the time) has a distinguished role; in this case our results imply that any Liouville (volume-preserving) vector field on the phase space P admits a variational principle of the kind considered here.     

Nonpositive curvature: A geometrical approach to Hilbert-Schmidt operators

We give a Riemannian structure to the set Σ of positive invertible unitized Hilbert-Schmidt operators, by means of the trace inner product. This metric makes of Σ a nonpositively curved, simply connected and metrically complete Hilbert manifold. The manifold Σ is a universal model for symmetric spaces of the noncompact type: any such space can be isometrically embedded into Σ. We give an intrinsic algebraic characterization of convex closed submanifolds M. We study the group of isometries of such submanifolds: we prove that GM, the Banach-Lie group generated by M, acts isometrically and transitively on M. Moreover, GM admits a polar decomposition relative to M, namely GM?M×K as Hilbert manifolds (here K is the isotropy of p=1 for the action ), and also GM/K?M so M is an homogeneous space. We obtain several decomposition theorems by means of geodesically convex submanifolds M. These decompositions are obtained via a nonlinear but analytic orthogonal projection , a map which is a contraction for the geodesic distance. As a byproduct, we prove the isomorphism NM?Σ (here NM stands for the normal bundle of a convex closed submanifold M). Writing down the factorizations for fixed ea, we obtain ea=exevex with ex∈M and v orthogonal to M at p=1. As a corollary we obtain decompositions for the full group of invertible elements G?M×exp(T₁M^⊥)×K.     

Locally strongly convex hypersurfaces with constant affine mean curvature

Let be a locally strongly convex hypersurface, given by a strictly convex function xn+1=f(x₁,…,xn) defined in a convex domain Ω⊂An. We consider the Riemannian metric G# on M, defined by . In this paper we prove that if M is a locally strongly convex surface with constant affine mean curvature and if M is complete with respect to the metric G#, then M must be an elliptic paraboloid.     

Harmonic measures for a point may form a square

Let X be a Green domain in Rd, d?2, x∈X, and let Mx(P(X)) denote the compact convex set of all representing measures for x. Recently it has been proven that the set of harmonic measures , U open in X, x∈U, which is contained in the set of extreme points of Mx(P(X)), is dense in Mx(P(X)). In this paper, it is shown that Mx(P(X)) is not a simplex (and hence not a Poulsen simplex). This is achieved by constructing open neighborhoods U₀, U₁, U₂, U₃ of x such that the harmonic measures are pairwise different and . In fact, these measures form a square with respect to a natural L²-structure. Since the construction is mainly based on having certain symmetries, it can be carried out just as well for Riesz potentials, the Heisenberg group (or any stratified Lie algebra), and the heat equation (or more general parabolic situations).     

Asymptotics of the porous media equation via Sobolev inequalities

Let M be a compact Riemannian manifold without boundary. Consider the porous media equation , u(0)=u₀∈L^q, ? being the Laplace-Beltrami operator. Then, if q?2∨(m-1), the associated evolution is L^q-L^∞ regularizing at any time t>0 and the bound ‖u(t)‖_∞?C(u₀)/t^β holds for t<1 for suitable explicit C(u₀),γ. For large t it is shown that, for general initial data, u(t) approaches its time-independent mean with quantitative bounds on the rate of convergence. Similar bounds are valid when the manifold is not compact, but u(t) approaches u≡0 with different asymptotics. The case of manifolds with boundary and homogeneous Dirichlet, or Neumann, boundary conditions, is treated as well. The proof stems from a new connection between logarithmic Sobolev inequalities and the contractivity properties of the nonlinear evolutions considered, and is therefore applicable to a more abstract setting.     

Spike solutions of a nonlinear Schrödinger equation with degenerate potential

We study the existence of positive solutions to the elliptic equation ε²Δu(x,y)−V(y)u(x,y)+f(u(x,y))=0 for (x,y) in an unbounded domain subject to the boundary condition u=0 whenever is nonempty. Our potential V depends only on the y variable and is a bounded or unbounded domain which may coincide with . The positive parameter ε is tending to zero and our solutions u_ε concentrate along minimum points of the unbounded manifold of critical points of V.     

Le problème de Yamabe avec singularités

Let (Mn,g) be a compact riemannian manifold of dimension n?3. Under some assumptions, we prove that there exists a positive function φ solution of the Yamabe equation

     

Heteroclinic solutions for a class of the second order Hamiltonian systems

We shall be concerned with the existence of heteroclinic orbits for the second order Hamiltonian system , where q∈Rn and V∈C¹(R×Rn,R), V?0. We will assume that V and a certain subset M⊂Rn satisfy the following conditions. M is a set of isolated points and #M?2. For every sufficiently small ε>0 there exists δ>0 such that for all (t,z)∈R×Rn, if d(z,M)?ε then −V(t,z)?δ. The integrals , z∈M, are equi-bounded and −V(t,z)→∞, as |t|→∞, uniformly on compact subsets of Rn?M. Our result states that each point in M is joined to another point in M by a solution of our system.