完备Riemann流形之共轭点

本文证明了具非负曲率完备Ｒｉｅｍａｎｎ测地线为无共轭点测地线的充要条件；并由此证明了若该流形上的截面含有一无共轭点测地线的切向量，则其对应的截曲率为零．     

局部对称流形上的数量曲率

本文讨论了无共轭点测地线上的Ｊａｃｏｂｉ声，证明了具非负数量曲率的局部对称的无共轭点流形及具非负数量曲率的具极点的局部对称的流形之数量曲率只能是零。部分解决了Ｅ．Ｈｏｐｆ猜想。     

具非负曲率完备非紧曲面的几何性质

本文证明了单连通完备非紧具非负曲率之曲面的任一测地线γ：[0,+∞)→M均趋于∞处这一几何性质,指出了一般的高维流形不具有此性质.本文还证明了单连通完备非紧具非负曲率的曲面的割迹与第一共轭轭迹是一致的;并且讨论了一般高维流形的共轭点与测地线的关系.     

Convexity of spheres in a manifold without conjugate points

For a non-compact, complete and simply connected manifoldM without conjugate points, we prove that if the determinant of the second fundamental form of the geodesic spheres inM is a radial function, then the geodesic spheres are convex. We also show that ifM is two or three dimensional and without conjugate points, then, at every point there exists a ray with no focal points on it relative to the initial point of the ray. The proofs use a result from the theory of vector bundles combined with the index lemma.     

Boundaries of non-compact harmonic manifolds

In this paper we consider non-compact non-flat simply connected harmonic manifolds. In particular, we show that the Martin boundary and Busemann boundary coincide for such manifolds. For any finite volume quotient we show that (up to scaling) there is a unique Patterson–Sullivan measure and this measure coincides with the harmonic measure. As an application of these results we prove that the geodesic flow on a non-flat finite volume harmonic manifold without conjugate points is topologically transitive.     

Maximal ergodic theorems and applications to Riemannian geometry

We prove new ergodic theorems in the context of infinite ergodic theory, and give some applications to Riemannian and Kähler manifolds without conjugate points. One of the consequences of these ideas is that a complete manifold without conjugate points has nonpositive integral of the infimum of Ricci curvatures, whenever this integral makes sense. We also show that a complete Kähler manifold with nonnegative holomorphic curvature is flat if it has no conjugate points.     

Conjugate points in length spaces

In this paper we extend the concept of a conjugate point in a Riemannian manifold to geodesic spaces. In particular, we introduce symmetric conjugate points and ultimate conjugate points and relate these notions to prior notions developed for more restricted classes of spaces. We generalize the long homotopy lemma of Klingenberg to this setting as well as the injectivity radius estimate also due to Klingenberg which was used to produce closed geodesics or conjugate points on Riemannian manifolds. We close with applications of these new kinds of conjugate points to CBA(κ) spaces: proving both known and new theorems. In particular we prove a Rauch comparison theorem, a Relative Rauch Comparison Theorem, the fact that there are no ultimate conjugate points less than π apart in a CBA(1) space and a few facts concerning closed geodesics. This paper is written to be accessible to students and includes open problems.     

Line integration of Ricci curvature and conjugate points in Lorentzian and Riemannian manifolds

Generalizing results of Cohn-Vossen and Gromoll, Meyer for Riemannian manifolds and Hawking and Penrose for Lorentzian manifolds, we use Morse index theory techniques to show that if the integral of the Ricci curvature of the tangent vector field of a complete geodesic in a Riemannian manifold or of a complete nonspacelike geodesic in a Lorentzian manifold is positive, then the geodesic contains a pair of conjugate points. Applications are given to geodesic incompleteness theorems for Lorentzian manifolds, the end structure of complete noncompact Riemannian manifolds, and the geodesic flow of compact Riemannian manifolds.Partially supported by NSF grant MCS77-18723(02).     

Hamiltonian Systems with Positive Topological Entropy and Conjugate Points

In this article, we consider the geodesic flows induced by the natural Hamiltonian systems $H(x,p)=\frac{1}{2}g^{ij}(x) p_{i}p_{j} + V(x) $ defined on a smooth Riemannian manifold$(M = \mathbb{S}^{1} \times N, g)$, where $\mathbb {S}^{1}$ is the one dimensional torus, N is a compact manifold, g is the Riemannian metric on M and V is a potential function satisfying $V \leq 0$. We prove that under suitable conditions, if the fundamental group $\pi_{1}(N)$ has sub-exponential growth rate, then the Riemannian manifold M with the Jacobi metric $(h-V)g$, i.e., $(M, (h-V)g)$, is a manifold with conjugate points for all h with $0 < h <\delta$, where $\delta$ is a small number.     

The Bott–Samelson theorem for positive Legendrian isotopies

The classical Bott–Samelson theorem states that if on a Riemannian manifold all geodesics issuing from a certain point return to this point, then the universal cover of the manifold has the cohomology ring of a compact rank one symmetric space. This result on geodesic flows has been generalized to Reeb flows and partially to positive Legendrian isotopies by Frauenfelder–Labrousse–Schlenk. We prove the full theorem for positive Legendrian isotopies.     

Inverting the local geodesic X-ray transform on tensors

We prove the local invertibility, up to potential fields, and stability of the geodesic X-ray transform on tensor fields of order 1 and 2 near a strictly convex boundary point, on manifolds with boundary of dimension n ≥ 3. We also present an inversion formula. Under the condition that the manifold can be foliated with a continuous family of strictly convex surfaces, we prove a global result which also implies a lens rigidity result near such a metric. The class of manifolds satisfying the foliation condition includes manifolds with no focal points, and does not exclude existence of conjugate points.     

A characterization of spaces of constant curvature by minimum covering radius of triangles

In this paper, we prove that if in a Riemannian manifold, the minimum covering radius of a point triple of small diameter depends only on the geodesic distances between the points, then the manifold must be of constant curvature. This implies that if in a complete connected Riemannian manifold, the volume of the intersection of three small geodesic balls of equal radii depends only on the distances between the centers and the radius, then it is one of the simply connected spaces of constant curvature. This generalizes an earlier result of the first author and D. Kunszenti-Kovács (2010).     

Automorphism invariant Cartan subgroups and power maps of disconnected groups

We study the geometry and the periodic geodesics of a compact Lorentzian manifold that has a Killing vector field which is timelike somewhere. Using a compactness argument for subgroups of the isometry group, we prove the existence of one timelike non self-intersecting periodic geodesic. If the Killing vector field is nowhere vanishing, then there are at least two distinct periodic geodesics; as a special case, compact stationary manifolds have at least two periodic timelike geodesics. We also discuss some properties of the topology of such manifolds. In particular, we show that a compact manifold M admits a Lorentzian metric with a nowhere vanishing Killing vector field which is timelike somewhere if and only if M admits a smooth circle action without fixed points.     

On the Pesin set of expansive geodesic flows in manifolds with no conjugate points

In this paper, we show that the Pesin set of an expansive geodesic flow in compact manifold with no conjugate points and bounded asymptote coincides a.e with an open and dense set of the unit tangent bundle. We also show that the set of hyperbolic periodic orbits is dense in the unit tangent bundle.     

On the mixing property for hyperbolic systems

We describe an elementary argument from abstract ergodic theory that can be used to prove mixing of hyperbolic flows. We use this argument to prove the mixing property of product measures for geodesic flows on (not necessarily compact) negatively curved manifolds. We also show the mixing property for the measure of maximal entropy of a compact rank-one manifold.     

Gromov-hyperbolicity and transitivity of geodesic flows in n-dimensional Finsler manifolds

We show that the geodesic flow of a compact Finsler manifold without conjugate points is transitive provided that the universal covering satisfies the uniform Finsler visibility condition. This result is a nontrivial extension of a well known theorem due to Eberlein for Riemannian manifolds. For doing so, we introduce suitable Finsler versions of the concepts of Gromov's δ-hyperbolicity and Eberlein's visibility, and study their consequences.     

On tori without conjugate points

Summary In this paper we consider Riemannian metrics without conjugate points on an n-torus. Recent work of J. Heber established that the gradient vector fields of Busemann functions on the universal cover of such a manifold induce a natural foliation (akin to the weak stable foliation for a Riemannian manifold with negative sectional curvature) on the unit tangent bundle. The main result in the paper is that the metric is flat if this foliation is Lipschitz. We also prove that this foliation is Lipschitz if and only if the metric has bounded asymptotes. This confirms a conjecture of E. Hopf in this case.Oblatum 22-IX-1993 & 25-IV-1994Supported in part by NSF grant #DMS90-01707 and #DMS85-05550 while at MSRISupported by an NSF Postdoctoral Fellowship     

Geodesic equivalence of metrics as a particular case of integrability of geodesic flows

We consider the recently found connection between geodesically equivalent metrics and integrable geodesic flows. If two different metrics on a manifold have the same geodesics, then the geodesic flows of these metrics admit sufficiently many integrals (of a special form) in involution, and vice versa. The quantum version of this result is also true: if two metrics on one manifold have the same geodesics, then the Beltrami Laplace operator Δ for each metric admits sufficiently many linear differential operators communiting with Δ. This implies that the topology of a manifold with two different metrics with the same geodesics must be sufficiently simple. We also have that the nonproportionality of the metrics at a point implies the nonproportionality of the metrics at almost all points. In memory of Mikhail Vladimirovich Saveliev Translated from Teoreticheskaya i Matematicheskaya Fizika, Vol. 123, No. 2, pp. 285–293, May, 2000.     

Finsler manifolds without conjugate points and with integral Ricci curvature

We prove that the integral of the Ricci curvature on the unit tangent bundle SM of a complete Finsler manifold M without conjugate points is nonpositive and vanishes only if M is flat, provided that the Ricci curvature on SM has an integrable positive or negative part.     

On Non-hyperbolic Quasi-convex Spaces

We show that if the universal covering of a compact Riemannian manifold with no conjugate points is a quasi-convex metric space then the following assertion holds: Either the universal covering of the manifold is a hyperbolic geodesic space or it contains a quasi-isometric immersion of .