A sharper tits alternative for 3-manifold groups

The following theorem is proven. LetM be a closed, orientable, irreducible 3-manifold such that rankH ₁(M, ℤ/pℤ)≥3 for some primep. Then either π₁(M) is virtually solvable or it contains a free group of rank 2.     

Non-Zero Degree Maps Between <Emphasis Type="Italic">2n</Emphasis>-Manifolds

Abstract Thom–Pontrjagin constructions are used to give a computable necessary and sufficient condition for a homomorphism ϕ : H ⁿ (L;Z) → H ⁿ (M;Z) to be realized by a map f : M → L of degree k for closed (n − 1)-connected 2n-manifolds M and L, n > 1. A corollary is that each (n − 1)-connected 2n-manifold admits selfmaps of degree larger than 1, n > 1. In the most interesting case of dimension 4, with the additional surgery arguments we give a necessary and sufficient condition for the existence of a degree k map from a closed orientable 4-manifold M to a closed simply connected 4-manifold L in terms of their intersection forms; in particular, there is a map f : M → L of degree 1 if and only if the intersection form of L is isomorphic to a direct summand of that of M. Both authors are supported by MSTC, NSFC. The comments of F. Ding, J. Z. Pan, Y. Su and the referee enhance the quality of the paper     

Correlation structure of intermittency in the parabolic Anderson model

Consider the Cauchy problem ∂u(x, t)/∂t = ℋu(x, t) (x∈ℤ^d, t≥ 0) with initial condition u(x, 0) ≡ 1 and with ℋ the Anderson Hamiltonian ℋ = κΔ + ξ. Here Δ is the discrete Laplacian, κ∈ (0, ∞) is a diffusion constant, and ξ = {ξ(x): x∈ℤ ^d } is an i.i.d.random field taking values in ℝ. G?rtner and Molchanov (1990) have shown that if the law of ξ(0) is nondegenerate, then the solution u is asymptotically intermittent. In the present paper we study the structure of the intermittent peaks for the special case where the law of ξ(0) is (in the vicinity of) the double exponential Prob(ξ(0) > s) = exp[−e ^{s /θ}] (s∈ℝ). Here θ∈ (0, ∞) is a parameter that can be thought of as measuring the degree of disorder in the ξ-field. Our main result is that, for fixed x, y∈ℤ ^d and t→∈, the correlation coefficient of u(x, t) and u(y, t) converges to ∥w _ρ∥⁻² _ℓ2Σ_{z ∈ℤd} w _ρ(x+z)w _ρ(y+z). In this expression, ρ = θ/κ while w _ρ:ℤ^d→ℝ⁺ is given by w _ρ = (v _ρ)^{⊗ d} with v _ρ: ℤ→ℝ⁺ the unique centered ground state (i.e., the solution in ℓ²(ℤ) with minimal l ²-norm) of the 1-dimensional nonlinear equation Δv + 2ρv log v = 0. The uniqueness of the ground state is actually proved only for large ρ, but is conjectured to hold for any ρ∈ (0, ∞). empty It turns out that if the right tail of the law of ξ(0) is thicker (or thinner) than the double exponential, then the correlation coefficient of u(x, t) and u(y, t) converges to δ _{x, y} (resp.the constant function 1). Thus, the double exponential family is the critical class exhibiting a nondegenerate correlation structure. Received: 5 March 1997 / Revised version: 21 September 1998     

Comparison theorems for the volume of a complex submanifold of a Kaehler manifold

LetM be a Kaehler manifold of real dimension 2n with holomorphic sectional curvatureK _H≥4λ and antiholomorphic Ricci curvatureρ _A≥(2n−2)λ, andP is a complex hypersurface. We give a bound for the quotient (volume ofP)/(volume ofM) and prove that this bound is attained if and only ifP=C P ⁿ⁻¹(λ) andM=C P ⁿ(λ). Moreover, we give some results on the volume of of tubes aboutP inM. Work partially supported by a DGICYT Grant No. PS87-0115-CO3-01.     

Classification of framed links in 3-manifolds

We present a short and complete proof of the following Pontryagin theorem, whose original proof was complicated and has never been published in detail. Let M be a connected oriented closed smooth 3-manifold, L ₁(M) be the set of framed links in M up to a framed cobordism, and deg: L ₁(M) → H ₁(M; ℤ) be the map taking a framed link to its homology class. Then for each α ∈ H ₁(M; ℤ) there is a one-to-one correspondence between the set deg⁻¹ α and the group ℤ_2d(α), where d(α) is the divisibility of the projection of α to the free part of H ₁(M; ℤ).     

The relative trace formula for groups with involution

A theorem of Bourgain states that the harmonic measure for a domain in ℝ ^d is supported on a set of Hausdorff dimension strictly less thand [2]. We apply Bourgain’s method to the discrete case, i.e., to the distribution of the first entrance point of a random walk into a subset of ℤ ^d ,d≥2. By refining the argument, we prove that for allβ>0 there existsρ(d,β)<d andN(d,β), such that for anyn>N(d,β), anyx ∈ ℤ ^d , and anyA ⊂ {1,…,n} ^d •{y∈ℤ whereν _A,x (y) denotes the probability thaty is the first entrance point of the simple random walk starting atx intoA. Furthermore,ρ must converge tod asβ → ∞. Supported by Swiss NF grant 20-55648.98.     

Minimum ideal triangulations of hyperbolic 3-manifolds

Let σ(n) be the minimum number of ideal hyperbolic tetrahedra necessary to construct a finite volumen-cusped hyperbolic 3-manifold, orientable or not. Let σ_or(n) be the corresponding number when we restrict ourselves to orientable manifolds. The correct values of σ(n) and σ_or(n) and the corresponding manifolds are given forn=1,2,3,4 and 5. We then show that 2n−1≤σ(n)≤σ_or(n)≤4n−4 forn≥5 and that σ_or(n)≥2n for alln. Both authors were supported by NSF Grants DMS-8711495, DMS-8802266 and Williams College Research Funds.     

Counterexamples to the Kneser conjecture in dimension four

We construct a connected closed orientable smooth four-manifold whose fundamental group is the free product of two non-trivial groups such that it is not homotopy equivalent toM ₀#M ₁ unlessM ₀ orM ₁ is homeomorphic toS ⁴. LetN be the nucleus of the minimal elliptic Enrique surfaceV ₁(2, 2) and putM=N∪ _∂NN. The fundamental group ofM splits as ℤ/2 * ℤ/2. We prove thatM#k(S ²×S²) is diffeomorphic toM ₀#M ₁ for non-simply connected closed smooth four-manifoldsM ₀ andM ₁ if and only ifk≥8. On the other hand we show thatM is homeomorphic toM ₀#M ₁ for closed topological four-manifoldsM ₀ andM ₁ withπ ₁(M_i)=ℤ/2.     

Decrease rate of the probabilities ofε-deviations for the means of stationary processes

The asymptotic behavior asn → ∞ of the normed sumsσn =n ⁻¹ Σ _k ⁼⁰ⁿ⁻¹ Xk for a stationary processX = (X _n ,n ∈ ℤ) is studied. For a fixedε > 0, upper estimates for P(sup _k≥n |σ _k | ≥ε) asn → ∞ are obtained. Translated fromMatematicheskie Zametki, Vol. 64, No. 3, pp. 366–372, September, 1998.     

Recurrence in unipotent groups and ergodic nonabelian group extensions

LetT be a measure-preserving and ergodic transformation of a standard probability space (X,S, μ) and letf:X → SUT _d (ℝ) be a Borel map into the group of unipotent upper triangulard ×d matrices. We modify an argument in [12] to obtain a sufficient condition for the recurrence of the random walk defined byf, in terms of the asymptotic behaviour of the distributions of the suitably scaled mapsf(n,x)=(fT ⁿ⁻¹·fT ⁿ⁻²…fT·f). We give examples of recurrent cocycles with values in the continuous Heisenberg group H₁(ℝ)=SUT₃(ℝ), and we use a recurrent cocycle to construct an ergodic skew-product extension of an irrational rotation by the discrete Heisenberg group H₁(ℤ)=SUT₃(ℤ). The author was partially supported by the FWF research project P16004-MAT.     

Margulis numbers for Haken manifolds

For every closed orientable hyperbolic Haken 3-manifold and, more generally, for any orientable hyperbolic 3-manifold M which is homeomorphic to the interior of a Haken manifold, the number 0.286 is a Margulis number. If H ₁(M;ℚ) ≠ 0, or if M is closed and contains a semi-fiber, then 0.292 is a Margulis number for M.     

The minimizing of the Nielsen root classes

Given a map f: X→Y and a Nielsen root class, there is a number associated to this root class, which is the minimal number of points among all root classes which are H-related to the given one for all homotopies H of the map f. We show that for maps between closed surfaces it is possible to deform f such that all the Nielsen root classes have cardinality equal to the minimal number if and only if either N R[f]≤1, or N R[f]>1 and f satisfies the Wecken property. Here N R[f] denotes the Nielsen root number. The condition “f satisfies the Wecken property is known to be equivalent to |deg(f)|≤N R[f]/(1−χ(M ₂)−χ(M ₁0/(1−χ(M ₂)) for maps between closed orientable surfaces. In the case of nonorientable surfaces the condition is A(f)≤N R[f]/(1−χ(M ₂)−χ(M ₂)/(1−χ(M ₂)). Also we construct, for each integer n≥3, an example of a map f: K _n →N from an n-dimensionally connected complex of dimension n to an n-dimensional manifold such that we cannot deform f in a way that all the Nielsen root classes reach the minimal number of points at the same time.     

The density of rational points on non-singular hypersurfaces

LetF(x) =F[x₁,…,x_n]∈ℤ[x₁,…,x_n] be a non-singular form of degree d≥2, and letN(F, X)=#{xεℤ ⁿ ;F(x)=0, |x|⩽X}, where . It was shown by Fujiwara [4] [Upper bounds for the number of lattice points on hypersurfaces,Number theory and combinatorics, Japan, 1984, (World Scientific Publishing Co., Singapore, 1985)] thatN(F, X)≪X ^n−2+2/n for any fixed formF. It is shown here that the exponent may be reduced ton - 2 + 2/(n + 1), forn ≥ 4, and ton - 3 + 15/(n + 5) forn ≥ 8 andd ≥ 3. It is conjectured that the exponentn - 2 + ε is admissable as soon asn ≥ 3. Thus the conjecture is established forn ≥ 10. The proof uses Deligne’s bounds for exponential sums and for the number of points on hypersurfaces over finite fields. However a composite modulus is used so that one can apply the ‘q-analogue’ of van der Corput’s AB process. Dedicated to the memory of Professor K G Ramanathan     

Multidimensional version of M. A. Krasnoseľskii’s generalized contraction principle

Let M be a complete K-metric space with n-dimensional metric ρ(x, y): M × M → R ⁿ , where K is the cone of nonnegative vectors in R ⁿ . A mapping F: M → M is called a Q-contraction if ρ (Fx,Fy) ⩽ Qρ (x,y), where Q: K → K is a semi-additive absolutely stable mapping. A Q-contraction always has a unique fixed point x* in M, and ρ(x*,a) ⩽ (I - Q)^-1 ρ(Fa, a) for every point a in M. The point x* can be obtained by the successive approximation method x _k = Fx _k-1, k = 1, 2,..., starting from an arbitrary point x ₀ in M, and the following error estimates hold: ρ (x*, x _k ) ⩽ Q ^k (I - Q)^-1ρ(x ₁, _x ⁰) ⩽ (I - Q)^-1 Q ^k ρ(x ₁, x ₀), k = 1, 2,.... Generally the mappings (I - Q)^-1 and Q ^k do not commute. For n = 1, the result is close to M. A. Krasnosel’skii’s generalized contraction principle.     

Possible limit laws for entrance times of an ergodic aperiodic dynamical system

LetG denote the set of decreasingG: ℝ→ℝ withGэ1 on ]−∞,0], and ƒ ₀ ^∞ G(t)dt⩽1. LetX be a compact metric space, andT: X→X a continuous map. Let μ denone aT-invariant ergodic probability measure onX, and assume (X, T, μ) to be aperiodic. LetU⊂X be such that μ(U)>0. Let τ _U (x)=inf{k⩾1:T ^k xεU}, and defineG _U (t)=1/u(U)u({xεU:u(U)τU(x)>t),tεℝ We prove that for μ-a.e.x∈X, there exists a sequence (U _n ) _n≥1 of neighbourhoods ofx such that {x}=∩ _n U _n , and for anyG ∈G, there exists a subsequence (n _k ) _k≥1 withG _{U n k} ↑U weakly. We also construct a uniquely ergodic Toeplitz flowO(x ^∞,S, μ), the orbit closure of a Toeplitz sequencex ^∞, such that the above conclusion still holds, with moreover the requirement that eachU _n be a cylinder set. In memory of Anzelm Iwanik     

The multiplication map for global sections of line bundles and rank 1 torsion free sheaves on curves

LetX be an integral projective curve andL ∃ Pic^a(X),M ∃ Pic^b (X) with h¹(X, L)= h¹(X, M) = 0 andL, M general. Here we study the rank of the multiplication map μ _L,M :H ⁰(X,L)⊗H ⁰(X,M)→H ⁰(X,L⊗M). We also study the same problem whenL andM are rank 1 torsion free sheaves onX. Most of our results are forX with only nodes as singularities.     

The bieri-strebel invariant and homological finiteness conditions for metabelian groups

A group Γ has type F P_n if a trivial ℤΓ-module ℤ has a projective resolution P:…P_n → … → P₁ → P₀ → ℤ in which ℤΓ-module P_n,…P₁, P₀ are finitely generated. Let the finitely generated group Γ be a split extension of the Abelian group M by an Abelian group Q, suppose M is torsion free, and assume Γ∈F P_m, m≥2. Then the invariant ∑ _c ^M is m-tame. Translated fromAlgebra i Logika, Vol. 36, No. 2, pp. 194–218, March–April, 1997.     

Periodic number for Anosov maps

LetX be a compact metric space and letf: X→X be an Anosov map,i.e., an expansive selfmap with the pseudoorbit tracing property (abbr. POTP) (see Lemma 1). IfNn(f) denotes the number of fixed points off ⁿ which we name here then-periodic number then we prove in the case asn tends to infinity thatn ^M ≤N_n(f)≤Hⁿ, whereM andH are two positive integers.     

Applications of operator semigroups to Fourier analysis

Of concern are semigroups of linear norm one operators on Hilbert space of the form (discrete case)T={T ⁿ /n=0,1,2,...} or (continuous case)T={T(t)/t=≥0}. Using ergodic theory and Hilbert-Schmidt operators, the Cesàro limits (asn→∞) of |〈T ⁿ f,f〉|², |〈T (n)f,f〉|² are computed (withn∈ℤ⁺ orn∈ℤ⁺). Specializing the Hilbert space to beL ²(T,μ) (discrete case) orL ²(ℝ,μ) (continuous case) where μ is a Borel probability measure on the circle group or the line, the Cesàro limit of (asn→±∞, with,n∈ℤ orn∈ℝ) is obtained and interpreted. Extensions toT ^M , and ℝ ^M are given. Finally, we discuss recent operator theoretic extensions from a Hilbert to a Banach space context. Partially supported by an NSF grant