The global geometry of Riemannian manifolds with commuting curvature operators

We give manifolds whose Riemann curvature operators commute, i.e. which satisfy for all tangent vectors x_i in both the Riemannian and the higher signature settings. These manifolds have global geometric phenomena which are quite different for higher signature manifolds than they are for Riemannian manifolds. Our focus is on global properties; questions of geodesic completeness and the behaviour of the exponential map are investigated. Dedicated to the memory of Jean Leray     

Weak geodesic flow on a semidirect product and global solutions to the periodic Hunter-Saxton system

We give explicit solutions for the two-component Hunter-Saxton system on the unit circle. Moreover, we show how global weak solutions can be naturally constructed using the geometric interpretation of this system as a re-expression of the geodesic flow on the semidirect product of a suitable subgroup of the diffeomorphism group of the circle with the space of smooth functions on the circle. These spatially and temporally periodic solutions turn out to be conservative.     

Transformations of linear connections

Combining several results on related (or conjugate) connections, defined on banachable fibre bundles, we set up a machinery, which permits to study various transformations of linear connections. Global and local methods are applied throughout. As an application, we get an extension of the classical affine transformations to the context of infinite-dimensional vector bundles. Another application shows that, realising the ordinary linear differential equations (in Banach spaces) as connections, we get the usual transformations of (equivalent) equations. Thus, some classical results on differential equations, such as the Theorem of Floquet, can have a geometric interpretation.     

Transformations of linear connections,II

We elucidate [9] with two applications. In the first we view connections as differential systems. Specializing this to trivial bundles overS ¹ and applying the theory of Floquet, we obtain equivalent connections with constant Christoffel symbols. In the second application we prove that the canonical connections of parallelizable manifolds (in particular Lie groups) can be obtained from the canonical flat connection of appropriate trivial bundles. Thus, the formalisms of [1], [4], [5] and [6] fit in the general setting of [9].     

Congruence classes of Frenet curves in complex quadrics

Congruent classes of Frenet curves of order 2 in the complex quadric are studied, obtaining that each congruence class is a level set of a family of certain smooth functions, that are generalizations of isoparametric functions on the unit sphere in the tangent space of the complex quadric.     

A topological obstruction to the geodesibility of a foliation of odd dimension

Let M be a compact Riemannian manifold of dimension n, and let be a smooth foliation on M. A topological obstruction is obtained, similar to results of R. Bott and J. Pasternack, to the existence of a metric on M for which is totally geodesic. In this case, necessarily that portion of the Pontryagin algebra of the subbundle must vanish in degree n if is odd-dimensional. Using the same methods simple proofs of the theorems of Bott and Pasternack are given.     

Schur’s lemma for Kähler manifolds

We give a necessary and sufficient condition for a K?hler manifold of complex dimension n ≧ 2 to be a complex space form in terms of its sectional curvatures, which is an extension of Schur’s lemma. Our study is related to a congruence theorem for circles in a complex space form Received: 6 October 2006     

On the Structure of Harmonic Multi-Vector Functions

Let F_r (0 < r < m + 1) be a smooth r-vector valued function in a suitable open domain of satisfying in Ω, where ∂ is the Dirac operator in . Then it is proved that there exists H _r , an r-vector valued harmonic function in Ω, such that F _r = . Two proofs of this structure theorem are given, one based on properties of harmonic differential forms and one relying upon primitivation of monogenic functions.     

One cannot hear orbifold isotropy type

We show that the isotropy types of the singularities of Riemannian orbifolds are not determined by the Laplace spectrum. Indeed, we construct arbitrarily large families of mutually isospectral orbifolds with different isotropy types. Finally, we show that the corresponding singular strata of two isospectral orbifolds may not be homeomorphic. Received: 6 October 2005     

On a quasilinear elliptic equation and a Riemannian metric invariant under Möbius transformations

Summary The main result of this paper is the determination of maximal solutions of the equation u =u ^{(n + 2)/(n – 2)} arising from the conformal change of a flat metric in a domain (in euclidean space) to a metric of negative scalar curvature. These solutions are obtained on the upper half ball (and therefore on anything conformally equivalent to it). There are a couple of applications using basic comparison principle arguments. Namely, the associated metric on a domain induced by a maximal solution is shown to be comparable to the quasihyperbolic metric for nice domains. Also an analogue of the isoperimetric inequality is found for the harmonic radius.Dedicated to the memory of Alexander M. Ostrowski on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of his birth     

A characterization for isometries and conformal mappings of pseudo-Riemannian manifolds

Generalizing theorems of Myers-Steenrod and of Hawking, we obtain characterizations for isometries and conformal mappings of pseudo-Riemannian spaces (M, g): Define a local distance function on convex normal neighbourhoods by (p, q) =g(exp _p ^–1 q, exp _p ^–1 q). Then every homeomorphismf locally preserving these functions is an isometry. If (M, g) has indefinite signature andf locally preserves distance zero, it is a conformal diffeomorphism.     

Correct Rules for Clifford Calculus on Superspace

In this paper an extension of Clifford analysis to superspace is given, inspired by the abstract framework of radial algebra. This framework leads to the introduction of the so-called super-dimension, an important parameter appearing in several formulae. Also the relevant differential operators are introduced and their basic properties are proven. The first author is a Research Assistant of the Research Foundation – Flanders (FWO – Vlaanderen).     

Estimations inférieures du noyau de la chaleur sur les variétés coniques et transformée de Riesz

Résumé Nous complétons les estimations supérieures du noyau de la chaleur sur les variétés coniques obtenues dans [13] par des estimations inférieures, et nous en déduisons quune variété à croissance polynomiale du volume peut vérifier des estimations supérieures et inférieures gaussiennes du noyau de la chaleur sans que la transformée de Riesz y soit bornée sur L^p pour tout p > 2.     

Dégénérescence de séries d’Eisenstein hyperboliques

In this work, we deal with hyperbolic Eisenstein series and more particularly, given a degenerating family S _l (l ≥ 0) of Riemann Surfaces with their canonical hyperbolic metrics, we work out the degeneration of hyperbolic Eisenstein series associated to the pinching geodesics in S _l . Our principal results are theorems 2.2, 4.1 et 4.2.     

Flat translation invariant surfaces in the 3-dimensional Heisenberg group

Flat translation invariant surfaces in 3-dimensional Heisenberg group are classified.     

On the geometry of the space of oriented lines of Euclidean space

We prove that the space of all oriented lines of the n-dimensional Euclidean space admits a pseudo-Riemannian metric which is invariant by the induced transitive action of a connected closed subgroup of the group of Euclidean motions, exactly when n=3 or n=7 (as usual, we consider Riemannian metrics as a particular case of pseudo-Riemannian ones). Up to equivalence, there are two such metrics for each dimension, and they are of split type and complete. Besides, we prove that the given metrics are Kähler or nearly Kähler if n=3 or n=7, respectively.