Schouten curvature functions on locally conformally flat Riemannian manifolds

Consider a compact Riemannian manifold (M, g) with metric g and dimension n ≥ 3. The Schouten tensor A _g associated with g is a symmetric (0, 2)-tensor field describing the non-conformally-invariant part of the curvature tensor of g. In this paper, we consider the elementary symmetric functions {σ _k (A _g ), 1 ≤ k ≤ n} of the eigenvalues of A _g with respect to g; we call σ _k (A _g ) the k-th Schouten curvature function. We give an isometric classification for compact locally conformally flat manifolds which satisfy the conditions: A _g is semi-positive definite and σ _k (A _g ) is a nonzero constant for some k ∈ {2, ... , n}. If k = 2, we obtain a classification result under the weaker conditions that σ₂(A _g ) is a non-negative constant and (M ⁿ , g) has nonnegative Ricci curvature. The corresponding result for the case k = 1 is well known. We also give an isometric classification for complete locally conformally flat manifolds with constant scalar curvature and non-negative Ricci curvature. Udo Simon: Partially supported by Chinese-German cooperation projects, DFG PI 158/4-4 and PI 158/4-5, and NSFC.     

Homological stability for configuration spaces of manifolds

Let C _n (M) be the configuration space of n distinct ordered points in M. We prove that if M is any connected orientable manifold (closed or open), the homology groups H _i (C _n (M);ℚ) are representation stable in the sense of Church and Farb (). Applying this to the trivial representation, we obtain as a corollary that the unordered configuration space B _n (M) satisfies classical homological stability: for each i, H _i (B _n (M);ℚ)≈H _i (B _n+1(M);ℚ) for n>i. This improves on results of McDuff, Segal, and others for open manifolds. Applied to closed manifolds, this provides natural examples where rational homological stability holds even though integral homological stability fails.     

The Yamabe problem on quaternionic contact manifolds

By constructing normal coordinates on a quaternionic contact manifold M, we can osculate the quaternionic contact structure at each point by the standard quaternionic contact structure on the quaternionic Heisenberg group. By using this property, we can do harmonic analysis on general quaternionic contact manifolds, and solve the quaternionic contact Yamabe problem on M if its Yamabe invariant satisfies λ(M) < λ(ℍ ⁿ ). Mathematics Subject Classification (2000) 53C17, 53D10, 35J70     

Splittings and Cr-structures for manifolds with nonpositive sectional curvature

Let denote the universal covering space of a compact Riemannian manifold, M ⁿ , with sectional curvature, −1≤K _Mn ≤0. We show that a collection of deck transformations of , satisfying certain (metric dependent) conditions, determines an open dense subset of M ⁿ , at every point of which, there exists a local isometric splitting with nontrivial flat factor. Such a collection, which we call an abelian structure, also gives rise to an essentially canonical Cr-structure in the sense of Buyalo, i.e an atlas for an injective F-structure, for which additional conditions hold. It follows in particular that the minimal volume of M ⁿ vanishes. We show that an abelian structure exists if the injectivity radius at all points of M ⁿ is less than ε(n)>0. This yields a conjecture of Buyalo as well as a strengthened version of the conclusion of Gromov’s “gap conjecture” in our special situation. In addition, we observe that abelian structures on nonpositively curved manifolds have certain stability properties under suitably controlled changes of metric. Oblatum 26-III-1999 & 14-IX-2000?Published online: 8 December 2000     

Singular homologically area minimizing surfaces of codimension one in Riemannian manifolds

For n≥7, it is shown how to construct examples of smooth, compact Riemannian manifolds (N ^{n +1},g), with non-trivial n dimensional integer homology, such that for some Γ∈H _n (N,Z), the hypersurface (n-current) M, which minimizes area among all hypersurfaces representing Γ, has singularities. The singular set of M consists of two isolated points, and the tangent cone at these points can be prescribed as any strictly stable, strictly minimizing, regular cone. To my knowledge these are the first examples of codimension one homological minimizers with singularities. Oblatum: 3-I-1997 & 13-II-1998 / Published online: 18 September 1998     

Affinely equivalent complete flat manifolds

Let E _Aff(Γ,G, m) be the set of affine equivalence classes of m-dimensional complete flat manifolds with a fixed fundamental group Γ and a fixed holonomy group G. Let n be the dimension of a closed flat manifold whose fundamental group is isomorphic to Γ. We describe E _Aff(Γ,G, m) in terms of equivalence classes of pairs (ε, ρ), consisting of epimorphisms of Γ onto G and representations of G in ℝ ^m-n . As an application we give some estimates of card E _Aff(Γ,G, m).     

Differentiable and analytic families of continuous martingales in manifolds with connection

Summary.  We prove that the derivative of a differentiable family X _t (a) of continuous martingales in a manifold M is a martingale in the tangent space for the complete lift of the connection in M, provided that the derivative is bicontinuous in t and a. We consider a filtered probability space (Ω,(ℱ _t )_{0≤ t ≤1}, ℙ) such that all the real martingales have a continuous version, and a manifold M endowed with an analytic connection and such that the complexification of M has strong convex geometry. We prove that, given an analytic family a↦L(a) of random variable with values in M and such that L(0)≡x ₀∈M, there exists an analytic family a↦X(a) of continuous martingales such that X ₁(a)=L(a). For this, we investigate the convexity of the tangent spaces T ^{( n )} M, and we prove that any continuous martingale in any manifold can be uniformly approximated by a discrete martingale up to a stopping time T such that ℙ(T<1) is arbitrarily small. We use this construction of families of martingales in complex analytic manifolds to prove that every ℱ₁-measurable random variable with values in a compact convex set V with convex geometry in a manifold with a C ¹ connection is reachable by a V-valued martingale. Received: 14 March 1996/In revised form: 12 November 1996     

Pseudo-Riemannian manifolds modelled on symmetric spaces

We construct irreducible pseudo-Riemannian manifolds (M, g) of arbitrary signature (p, q) with the same curvature tensor as a pseudo-Riemannian symmetric space which is a direct product of a two-dimensional Riemannian space form M ₂(c) and a pseudo-Euclidean space with the signature (p, q − 2), or (p − 2, q), respectively.     

Maximality of analytic operator algebras

LetM be a σ-finite von Neumann algebra andα be an action ofR onM. LetH ^∞(α) be the associated analytic subalgebra; i.e.H ^∞(α)={X ∈M: sp_∞(X) [0, ∞]}. We prove that every σ-weakly closed subalgebra ofM that containsH ^∞(α) isH ^∞(γ) for some actionγ ofR onM. Also we show that (assumingZ(M)∩M ^α = Ci)H ^∞(α) is a maximal σ-weakly closed subalgebra ofM if and only if eitherH ^∞(α)={A ∈M: (I−F)xF=0} for some projectionF ∈M, or sp(α)=Γ(α).     

Isoperimetric regions in spherical cones and Yamabe constants of M ×?S1

We study isoperimetric regions on Riemannian manifolds of the form (M ⁿ × (0, π), sin²(t)g + dt ²) where g is a metric of positive Ricci curvature ≥ n − 1. When g is an Einstein metric we use this to compute the Yamabe constant of (M ×\mathbbR, g+ dt² ){(M \times \mathbb{R}, g+ dt^2 )} and so to obtain lower bounds for the Yamabe invariant of M × S ¹.     

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.     

Discretization of Compact Riemannian Manifolds Applied to the Spectrum of Laplacian

For κ ⩾ 0 and r₀ > 0 let ℳ(n, κ, r₀) be the set of all connected, compact n-dimensional Riemannian manifolds (Mⁿ, g) with Ricci (M, g) ⩾ −(n−1) κ g and Inj (M) ⩾ r₀. We study the relation between the kth eigenvalue λ_k(M) of the Laplacian associated to (Mⁿ,g), Δ = −div(grad), and the kth eigenvalue λ_k(X) of a combinatorial Laplacian associated to a discretization X of M. We show that there exist constants c, C > 0 (depending only on n, κ and r₀) such that for all M ∈ ℳ(n, κ, r₀) and X a discretization of for all k < |X|. Then, we obtain the same kind of result for two compact manifolds M and N ∈ ℳ(n, κ, r₀) such that the Gromov–Hausdorff distance between M and N is smaller than some η > 0. We show that there exist constants c, C > 0 depending on η, n, κ and r₀ such that for all . Mathematics Subject Classification (2000): 58J50, 53C20 Supported by Swiss National Science Foundation, grant No. 20-101 469     

Extension of symmetries on Einstein manifolds with boundary

We investigate the validity of the isometry extension property for (Riemannian) Einstein metrics on compact manifolds M with boundary ∂M. Given a metric γ on ∂M, this is the issue of whether any Killing field X of (∂M, γ) extends to a Killing field of any Einstein metric (M, g) bounding (∂M, γ). Under a mild condition on the fundamental group, this is proved to be the case at least when X preserves the mean curvature of ∂M in (M, g).     

Almost Everywhere Convergence of Fejér Means of <Emphasis Type="Italic">L</Emphasis><Superscript>1</Superscript> Functions on Rarely Unbounded Vilenkin Groups

A highly celebrated problem in dyadic harmonic analysis is the pointwise convergence of the Fejér (or (C, 1)) means of functions on unbounded Vilenkin groups. There are several papers of the author of this paper concerning this. That is, we know the a.e. convergence σ _n f → f (n → ∞) for functions f ∈ L ^p , where p > 1 (Journal of Approximation Theory, 101(1), 1–36, (1999)) and also the a.e. convergence σM _n f → f (n → ∞) for functions f ∈ L ¹ (Journal of Approximation Theory, 124(1), 25–43, (2003)). The aim of this paper is to prove the a.e. relation lim _n → σ _n f = f for each integrable function f on any rarely unbounded Vilenkin group. The concept of the rarely unbounded Vilenkin group is discussed in the paper. Basically, it means that the generating sequence m may be an unbounded one, but its "big elements" are not "too dense". Research supported by the Hungarian National Foundation for Scientific Research (OTKA), Grant No. M 36511/2001 and T 048780     

Contact metric manifolds with <Emphasis Type="Italic">η</Emphasis>-parallel torsion tensor

We show that a non-Sasakian contact metric manifold with η-parallel torsion tensor and sectional curvatures of plane sections containing the Reeb vector field different from 1 at some point, is a (k, μ)-contact manifold. In particular for the standard contact metric structure of the tangent sphere bundle the torsion tensor is η-parallel if and only if M is of constant curvature, in which case its associated pseudo-Hermitian structure is CR- integrable. Next we show that if the metric of a non-Sasakian (k, μ)-contact manifold (M, g) is a gradient Ricci soliton, then (M, g) is locally flat in dimension 3, and locally isometric to E ⁿ⁺¹ × S ⁿ (4) in higher dimensions.      

Equivelar polyhedral manifolds inE 3

An equivelar polyhedral 2-manifold in the classM _p,q is one embedded inE ³ in which every face is a convexp-gon and every vertex isq-valent. Various constructions for equivelar manifolds are described, and it is shown that, in certain classesM _p,q, there is a manifold of given genusg≧2 for all but finitely manyg.     

Semi-cosymplectic manifolds

SoitM(Ω, η, ξ,g) une variété à (2m+1)-dimensions presque cosymplectique (i. e. Ω∈Λ² M est de rang 2m et Ω ^m Λη≠0). On définitM comme étant une variété semi-cosymplectique si en termes ded ^ω-cohomologie la paire (Ω, η) satisfait àdη=0,d ^−cη Ω=Ψ∈Λ³ M,c=constant. Dans ce cas le champ vectoriel de structure ξ=b ⁻¹(η) est un champ conforme horizontal et siM est une forme-espace elle est nécessairement du type hyperbolique. Différentes propriétés de cette structure sont étudiés et le cas oùM est une variété para Sasakienne dans le sens large est discuté.     

Sharp Sobolev trace inequalities on Riemannian manifolds with boundaries

In this paper, we establish some sharp Sobolev trace inequalities on n-dimensional, compact Riemannian manifolds with smooth boundaries. More specifically, let q = 2(n - 1)/(n - 2), 1/S = inf {∫ |∇u|² : ∇u ∈ L²(R₊ⁿ), ∫ |u|^q = 1}. We establish for any Riemannian manifold with a smooth boundary, denoted as (M, g), that there exists some constant A = A(M, g) > 0, (∫_dM|u|^q ds_g)^2/q < or = to S ∫_M |∇_gu|² dv_g + A ∫_dMu² ds_g, for all u ∈ H¹ (M). The inequality is sharp in the sense that the inequality is false when S is replaced by any smaller number. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Upper bound theorems for homology manifolds

In this paper we prove the Upper Bound Conjecture (UBC) for some classes of (simplicial) homology manifolds: we show that the UBC holds for all odd-dimensional homology manifolds and for all 2k-dimensional homology manifolds Δ such that β _k (Δ)⩽Σ{β _i (Δ):i ≠k-2,k,k+2 and 1 ⩽i⩽2k-1}, where β _i (Δ) are reduced Betti numbers of Δ. (This condition is satisfied by 2k-dimensional homology manifolds with Euler characteristic χ≤2 whenk is even or χ≥2 whenk is odd, and for those having vanishing middle homology.) We prove an analog of the UBC for all other even-dimensional homology manifolds. Kuhnel conjectured that for every 2k-dimensional combinatorial manifold withn vertices, . We prove this conjecture for all 2k-dimensional homology manifolds withn vertices, wheren≥4k+3 orn≤3k+3. We also obtain upper bounds on the (weighted) sum of the Betti numbers of odd-dimensional homology manifolds.