The number of critical elements of discrete Morse functions on non-compact surfaces

This paper is focused on looking for links between the topology of a connected and non-compact surface with finitely many ends and any proper discrete Morse function which can be defined on it. More precisely, we study the non-compact surfaces which admit a proper discrete Morse function with a given number of critical elements. In particular, given any of these surfaces, we obtain an optimal discrete Morse function on it, that is, with the minimum possible number of critical elements.     

Morse functions statistics

We answer a question of Arnold concerning the growth rate of the number of Morse functions on the two-sphere. This work was supported in part by the NSF (Grant No. DMS-0303601).     

Optimal discrete Morse functions for 2-manifolds

Morse theory is a powerful tool in its applications to computational topology, computer graphics and geometric modeling. It was originally formulated for smooth manifolds. Recently, Robin Forman formulated a version of this theory for discrete structures such as cell complexes. It opens up several categories of interesting objects (particularly meshes) to applications of Morse theory. Once a Morse function has been defined on a manifold, then information about its topology can be deduced from its critical elements. The main objective of this paper is to introduce a linear algorithm to define optimal discrete Morse functions on discrete 2-manifolds, where optimality entails having the least number of critical elements. The algorithm presented is also extended to general finite cell complexes of dimension at most 2, with no guarantee of optimality.     

The number of excellent discrete Morse functions on graphs

In Nicolaescu (2008) [7] the number of non-homologically equivalent excellent Morse functions defined on S² was obtained in the differentiable setting. We carried out an analogous study in the discrete setting for some kinds of graphs, including S¹, in Ayala et al. (2009) [1]. This paper completes this study, counting excellent discrete Morse functions defined on any infinite locally finite graph.     

Computation of Morse decompositions for semilinear elliptic PDEs

A numerical method for computing all solutions of an elliptic boundary value problem Au + g[u, λ] = 0 and their Morse indices as steady‐states of the parabolic problem u_t + Au + g[u, λ] = 0 is presented. Morse decompositions are also determined. The method uses a finite element approach that is based on the method of alternative problems. Error estimates for the finite element approximations are verified and examples are given. © John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Numer Methods Partial Differential Eq 17: 290–312, 2001     

Morse theory for some lower-C 2 functions in finite dimension

Using inf-regularization methods, we prove that Morse inequalities hold for some lower-C ² functions. For this purpose, we first recall some properties of the class of lower-C ² functions and of their Moreau-Yosida approximations. Then, we establish, under some qualification conditions on the critical points, that it is possible to define a Morse index for a lower-C ² functionf. This index is preserved by the Moreau-Yosida approximation process. We prove in particular that the Moreau-Yosida approximations are twice continuolusly differentiable around such a critical point which is shown to be a strict local minimum of the restriction off and of its approximations to some affine space. In a last step, Morse inequalities are written for Moreau-Yosida approximations and with the aid of deformation retractions we prove that these inequalities also hold for some lower-C ² functions.     

A perfect Morse function for the moduli space of flat connections

We show that the cohomology of the moduli space of flatSU(2) connections on a two-manifold may be computed using a perfectMorse function.     

Simplicial collapsibility,discrete Morse theory,and the geometry of nonpositively curved simplicial complexes

Understanding the conditions under which a simplicial complex collapses is a central issue in many problems in topology and combinatorics. Let K be a finite simplicial complex of dimension three or less endowed with the piecewise Euclidean geometry given by declaring edges to have unit length, and satisfying the property that every 2-simplex is a face of at most two 3-simplices in K. Our main result is that if |K| is nonpositively curved [in the sense of CAT(0)] then K simplicially collapses to a point. The main tool used in the proof is Forman’s discrete Morse theory, a combinatorial analog of the classical smooth theory developed in the 1920s. A key ingredient in our proof is a combinatorial analog of the fact that a minimal surface in has nonpositive Gauss curvature.      

A proof of the Morse-Bott Lemma

It is often said that the Morse-Bott Lemma can be viewed as a “parameterized” Morse Lemma, and its proof should follow from the differentiability of the methods used to prove the Morse Lemma. The goal of this expository paper is to fill in the details. We present Palais' proof of the Morse Lemma using Moser's path method, which yields the necessary differentiability.     

Critical Points and the Angle Defect

In a 1967 paper, Banchoff described a theory of critical points and curvature for polyhedra embedded in Euclidean space. For each convex cell complex K in , and for each linear map satisfying a simple generality criterion, he defined an index for each vertex of K with respect to the map h, and showed that these indices satisfy two properties: (1) for each map h, the sum of the indices at all the vertices of K equalsχK and (2) for each vertex of K, the integral of the indices of the vertex with respect to all such linear maps equals the standard polyhedral notion of curvature of K at the vertex. In a previous paper, the author defined a different approach to curvature for arbitrary simplicial complexes, based upon a more direct generalization of the angle defect. In the present paper we present an analog of Banchoff ’s theory that works with our generalized angle defect.     

Homotopy Types of Stabilizers and Orbits of Morse Functions on Surfaces

Let M be a smooth compact surface, orientable or not, with boundary or without it, P either the real line ℝ ¹ or the circle S ¹, and D(M) the group of diffeomorphisms of M acting on C^∞(M, P) by the rule h⋅ f = f ∘ h ⁻¹ for h ∊ D(M) and f ∊ C^∞ (M,P). Let f: M → P be an arbitrary Morse mapping, Σ _f the set of critical points of f, D(M,Σ _f ) the subgroup of D(M) preserving Σ _f , and S(f), S (f,Σ _f ), O(f), and O(f,Σ _f ) the stabilizers and the orbits of f with respect to D(M) and D(M,Σ _f ). In fact S(f) = S(f,Σ _f ).In this paper we calculate the homotopy types of S(f), O(f) and O(f,Σ _f ). It is proved that except for few cases the connected components of S(f) and O(f,Σ _f ) are contractible, π _k O(f) = π _k M for k ≥ 3, π₂ O(f) = 0, and π₁ O(f) is an extension of π₁ D(M) ⊕ Z ^k (for some k ≥ 0) with a (finite) subgroup of the group of automorphisms of the Kronrod-Reeb graph of f.We also generalize the methods of F. Sergeraert to give conditions for a finite codimension orbit of a tame smooth action of a tame Lie group on a tame Fréchet manifold to be a tame Fréchet manifold itself. In particular, we obtain that O(f) and O(f, Σ _f ) are tame Fréchet manifolds. Communicated by Peter Michor Vienna Mathematics Subject Classifications (2000): 37C05, 57S05, 57R45.     

On smooth foliations with Morse singularities

Let M be a smooth manifold and let F be a codimension one, C^∞ foliation on M, with isolated singularities of Morse type. The study and classification of pairs (M,F) is a challenging (and difficult) problem. In this setting, a classical result due to Reeb (1946) [11] states that a manifold admitting a foliation with exactly two center-type singularities is a sphere. In particular this is true if the foliation is given by a function. Along these lines a result due to Eells and Kuiper (1962) [4] classifies manifolds having a real-valued function admitting exactly three non-degenerate singular points. In the present paper, we prove a generalization of the above mentioned results. To do this, we first describe the possible arrangements of pairs of singularities and the corresponding codimension one invariant sets, and then we give an elimination procedure for suitable center-saddle and some saddle-saddle configurations (of consecutive indices).In the second part, we investigate if other classical results, such as Haefliger and Novikov (Compact Leaf) theorems, proved for regular foliations, still hold true in presence of singularities. At this purpose, in the singular set, Sing(F) of the foliation F, we consider weakly stable components, that we define as those components admitting a neighborhood where all leaves are compact. If Sing(F) admits only weakly stable components, given by smoothly embedded curves diffeomorphic to S¹, we are able to extend Haefliger?s theorem. Finally, the existence of a closed curve, transverse to the foliation, leads us to state a Novikov-type result.     

Improved bounds for interatomic distance in Morse clusters

We improve the best known lower bounds on the distance between two points of an optimal Morse cluster, with ρ[4.967,15]. We develop a generalization of a method previously applied to the Lennard-Jones potential, that also leads to improvements of lower bounds for the Morse potential.     

Isolating blocks for Morse flows

We present a constructive general procedure to build Morse flows on n-dimensional isolating blocks respecting given dynamical and homological boundary data recorded in abstract Lyapunov semi-graphs. Moreover, we prove a decomposition theorem for handles which, together with a special class of gluings, insures that this construction not only preserves the given ranks of the homology Conley indices, but it is also optimal in the sense that no other Morse flow can preserve this index with fewer singularities.      

An A ∞ structure on simplicial complexes

We consider a discrete (finite-difference) analogue of differential forms defined on simplicial complexes, in particular, on triangulations of smooth manifolds. Various operations are explicitly defined on these forms including the exterior differential d and the exterior product ∧. The exterior product is nonassociative but satisfies a more general relation, the so-called A _∞ structure. This structure includes an infinite set of operations constrained by the nilpotency relation (d + ∧ + m + …)ⁿ = 0 of the second degree, n = 2. __________ Translated from Teoreticheskaya i Matematicheskaya Fizika, Vol. 156, No. 1, pp. 3–37, July, 2008.     

Proximity theorems of discrete convex functions

A proximity theorem is a statement that, given an optimization problem and its relaxation, an optimal solution to the original problem exists in a certain neighborhood of a solution to the relaxation. Proximity theorems have been used successfully, for example, in designing efficient algorithms for discrete resource allocation problems. After reviewing the recent results for L-convex and M-convex functions, this paper establishes proximity theorems for larger classes of discrete convex functions, L₂-convex functions and M₂-convex functions, that are relevant to the polymatroid intersection problem and the submodular flow problem.Mathematics Subject Classification (2000): 90C27, 05B35     

Comparison of discrete mixed means containing symmetric functions

We prove inequalities for mixed generalized means; from these inequalities we obtain analogs or generalizations of inequalities due to Ness, to Carlson, Meany, and Nelson, to Godunova, and to Marcus and Minc, etc.     

New bounds for Morse clusters

This paper presents new, simple arguments improving the lower bounds for the total energy and the minimal inter-particle distance in minimal energy atom cluster problems with interactions given by a Morse potential, where the atom separation problem is difficult due to the finite energy at zero atom separation. Apart from being sharper than previously known bounds, they also apply for a wider range ρ ≥ 4.967 of the parameter in the Morse potential. Most results also hold for more general pair potentials.