Decomposition of closed orientable geometric surfaces into acute geodesic triangles

We prove that for every \(g\ge 2\), a differentiable closed orientable geometric surface of genus g may be decomposed into \(16g-16\) acute geodesic triangles. We also determine the number of acute geodesic triangles needed for the sphere and the torus.     

Isotopy-invariant topological measures on closed orientable surfaces of higher genus

Given a closed orientable surface Σ of genus at least two, we establish an affine isomorphism between the convex compact set of isotopy-invariant topological measures on Σ and the convex compact set of additive functions on the set of isotopy classes of certain subsurfaces of Σ. We then construct such additive functions, and thus isotopy-invariant topological measures, from probability measures on Σ together with some additional data. The map associating topological measures to probability measures is affine and continuous. Certain Dirac measures map to simple topological measures, while the topological measures due to Py and Rosenberg arise from the normalized Euler characteristic.     

Automorphisms of free groups and the mapping class groups of closed compact orientable surfaces

Let N be the stabilizer of the word w = s ₁ t ₁ s ₁ ^?1 t ₁ ^?1 … s _g t _g s _g ^?1 t _g ^?1 in the group of automorphisms Aut(F _2g ) of the free group with generators ?ub;s _i, t _i?ub; _i=1,…,g . The fundamental group π₁(Σ_g) of a two-dimensional compact orientable closed surface of genus g in generators ?ub;s _i, t _i?ub; is determined by the relation w = 1. In the present paper, we find elements S _i, T _i ∈ N determining the conjugation by the generators s _i, t _i in Aut(π₁(Σ_g)). Along with an element β ∈ N, realizing the conjugation by w, they generate the kernel of the natural epimorphism of the group N on the mapping class group M _g,0 = Aut(π₁(Σ_g))/Inn(π₁(Σ_g)). We find the system of defining relations for this kernel in the generators S ₁, …, S _g, T ₁, …, T _g, α. In addition, we have found a subgroup in N isomorphic to the braid group B _g on g strings, which, under the abelianizing of the free group F _2g , is mapped onto the subgroup of the Weyl group for Sp(2g, ?) consisting of matrices that contain only 0 and 1.     

The stability of foliations of orientable 3-manifolds covered by a product

We examine the relationship between codimension one foliations that are covered by a trivial product of hyperplanes and the branched surfaces that can be constructed from them. We present a sufficient condition on a branched surface constructed from a foliation to guarantee that all perturbations of the foliation are covered by a trivial product of hyperplanes. We also show that a branched surface admits a strictly positive weight system if and only if it can be constructed from a fibration over .

     

Nonzero degree maps between closed orientable three-manifolds

This paper adresses the following problem: Given a closed orientable three-manifold , are there at most finitely many closed orientable three-manifolds 1-dominated by ? We solve this question for the class of closed orientable graph manifolds. More precisely the main result of this paper asserts that any closed orientable graph manifold 1-dominates at most finitely many orientable closed three-manifolds satisfying the Poincaré-Thurston Geometrization Conjecture. To prove this result we state a more general theorem for Haken manifolds which says that any closed orientable three-manifold 1-dominates at most finitely many Haken manifolds whose Gromov simplicial volume is sufficiently close to that of .

     

Pseudo-Anosov foliations on periodic surfaces

We study lifts of the stable foliation of a pseudo-Anosov diffeomorphism to abelian covers. Under certain conditions, we show that it is ergodic but not uniquely ergodic and describe the ergodic measures.     

Construction of covering maps between orientable surfaces

Consider the following problem. Can a set of numbers be realized as boundary covering indices of a covering map between surfaces? How to realize them? A set of equivalent criteria for this problem are found, which can be checked by a finite algorithm. Furthermore, the algorithm will also construct a solution if such one exists. As an application, a well_known group of necessary conditions are shown to be not sufficient in infinitely many cases, while in most cases, numbers satisfying them are realizable.     

Phase transitions in graphs on orientable surfaces

Let be the orientable surface of genus and denote by the class of all graphs on vertex set with edges embeddable on . We prove that the component structure of a graph chosen uniformly at random from features two phase transitions. The first phase transition mirrors the classical phase transition in the Erd?s‐Rényi random graph chosen uniformly at random from all graphs with vertex set and edges. It takes place at , when the giant component emerges. The second phase transition occurs at , when the giant component covers almost all vertices of the graph. This kind of phenomenon is strikingly different from and has only been observed for graphs on surfaces.     

Nielsen periodic point theory for periodic maps on orientable surfaces

Let denote a periodic self map of minimal period m on the orientable surface of genus g with g>1. We study the calculation of the Nielsen periodic numbers NPn(f) and NΦn(f). Unlike the general situation of arbitrary maps on such surfaces, strong geometric results of Jiang and Guo allow for straightforward calculations when n≠m. However, determining NPm(f) involves some surprises. Because fm=idFg, fm has one Nielsen class Em. This class is essential because L(idFg)=χ(Fg)=2−2g≠0. If there exists k<m with L(fk)≠0 then Em reduces to the essential fixed points of fk. There are maps g (we call them minLef maps) for which L(gk)=0 for all k<m. We show that the period of any minLef map must always divide 2g−2. We prove that for such maps Em reduces algebraically iff it reduces geometrically. This result eliminates one of the most difficult problems in calculating the Nielsen periodic point numbers and gives a complete trichotomy (non-minLef, reducible minLef, and irreducible minLef) for periodic maps on Fg.We prove that reducible minLef maps must have even period. For each of the three types of periodic maps we exhibit an example f and calculate both NPn(f) and NΦn(f) for all n. The example of an irreducible minLef map is on F₄ and is of maximal period 6. The example of a non-minLef map is on F₂ and has maximal period 12 on F₂. It is defined geometrically by Wang, and we provide the induced homomorphism and analyze it. The example of an irreducible minLef map is a map of period 6 on F₄ defined by Yang. No algebraic analysis is necessary to prove that this last example is an irreducible minLef map. We explore the algebra involved because it is intriguing in its own right. The examples of reducible minLef maps are simple inversions, which can be applied to any Fg. Using these examples we disprove the conjecture from the conclusion of our previous paper.     

Crystals and total positivity on orientable surfaces

We develop a combinatorial model of networks on orientable surfaces, and study weight and homology generating functions of paths and cycles in these networks. Network transformations preserving these generating functions are investigated. We describe in terms of our model the crystal structure and R-matrix of the affine geometric crystal of products of symmetric and dual symmetric powers of type A. Local realizations of the R-matrix and crystal actions are used to construct a double affine geometric crystal on a torus, generalizing the commutation result of Kajiwara et al. (Lett Math Phys, 60(3):211–219, 2002) and an observation of Berenstein and Kazhdan (MSJ Mem, 17:1–9, 2007). We show that our model on a cylinder gives a decomposition and parametrization of the totally non-negative part of the rational unipotent loop group of GL _n .     

Differential invariants of surfaces

The algebra of differential invariants of a suitably generic surface S⊂R³, under either the usual Euclidean or equi-affine group actions, is shown to be generated, through invariant differentiation, by a single differential invariant. For Euclidean surfaces, the generating invariant is the mean curvature, and, as a consequence, the Gauss curvature can be expressed as an explicit rational function of the invariant derivatives, with respect to the Frenet frame, of the mean curvature. For equi-affine surfaces, the generating invariant is the third order Pick invariant. The proofs are based on the new, equivariant approach to the method of moving frames.