We address the problem of existence and uniqueness of a Levi-flat hypersurface $M$ in $C^n$ with prescribed compact boundary $S$ for $n\ge3$. The situation for $n\ge3$ differs sharply from the well studied case $n=2$. We first establish necessary conditions on $S$ at both complex and CR points, needed for the existence of $M$. All CR points have to be nonminimal and all complex points have to be "flat". Then, adding a positivity condition at complex points, which is similar to the ellipticity for $n=2$ and excluding the possibility of $S$ to contain complex $(n-2)$-dimensional submanifolds, we obtain a solution $M$ to the above problem as a projection of a possibly singular Levi-flat hypersurface in $R\times C^n$. It turns out that $S$ has to be a topological sphere with two complex points and with compact CR orbits, also topological spheres, serving as boundaries of the (possibly singular) complex leaves of $M$. There are no more global assumptions on $S$ like being contained in the boundary of a strongly pseudoconvex domain, as it was in case $n=2$. Furthermore, we show in our situation that any other Levi-flat hypersurface with boundary $S$ must coincide with the constructed solution.
We construct a complete convergent normal form for a real hypersurface in $\CC{N},\,N\geq 2$ at generic Levi degeneracy. This seems to be the first convergent normal form for a Levi-degenerate hypersurface. In particular, we obtain, in the spirit of the work of Chern and Moser \cite{chern}, distinguished curves in the Levi degeneracy set, that we call \it degenerate chains.
A Lipschitz hypersurface is a hypersurface which locally is the graph of a Lipschitz function. A Lipschitz (or C^1) hypersurface is said to be Levi-flat if it is locally foliated by complex manifolds of complex dimension (n-1). We shall prove that there exist no Lipschitz Levi-flat hypersurfaces in CP^n with n >= 3. Our new estimates on the d-bar-Cauchy problems are different from the earlier Siu's integral kernal method.
Local conditions on boundaries of $C^\infty$ Levi-flat hypersurfaces, in case the boundary is a generic submanifold, are studied. For nontrivial real analytic boundaries we get an extension and uniqueness result, which forces the hypersurface to be real analytic. This allows us to classify all real analytic generic boundaries of Levi-flat hypersurfaces in terms of their normal coordinates. For the remaining case of generic real analytic boundary we get a weaker extension theorem. We find examples to show that these two extension results are optimal. Further, a class of nowhere minimal real ana…
We obtain an explicit parametrization of stationary discs glued to some Levi non-degenerate hypersurfaces. These discs form a family which is invariant under the action of biholomorphisms. We use this parametrization to construct a local circular representation of these hypersurfaces. As a corollary, we get the uniqueness of biholomorphisms with given 1-jet at some convenient point.
In our earlier articles we studied tube hypersurfaces in ${\mathbb C}^3$ that are 2-nondegenerate and uniformly Levi degenerate of rank 1. In particular, we showed that the vanishing of the CR-curvature of such a hypersurface is equivalent to the Monge equation with respect to one of the variables. In the present paper we provide an alternative shorter derivation of this equation by utilizing two invariants discovered by S. Pocchiola. We also investigate Pocchiola's invariants in the rigid case and give a partial classification of rigid 2-nondegenerate uniformly Levi degenerate of rank 1 hyper…
Holomorphically homogeneous CR real hypersurfaces $M^3 \subset \mathbb{C}^2$ were classified by Élie Cartan in 1932. In the next dimension, we complete the classification of simply-transitive Levi non-degenerate hypersurfaces $M^5 \subset \mathbb{C}^3$ using a novel Lie algebraic approach independent of any earlier classifications of abstract Lie algebras. Central to our approach is a new coordinate-free formula for the fundamental (complexified) quartic tensor. Our final result has a unique (Levi-indefinite) non-tubular model, for which we demonstrate geometric relations to planar equi-affine…
To be prudent, the paper has been withdrawn by the authors, due an error (missing complex conjugate sign) in Equation (2.5). We are very grateful to Marco Brunella for pointed out the error.
In this paper we prove the following theorem. Main Theorem. Let n >= 3 and m >= 3n/2 +7. Then there exists no C^m Levi-flat real hypersurface M in P_n. The condition that M is Levi-flat means that when M is locally defined by the vanishing of a C^m real-valued function f, at every point of M the restriction of d d-bar f to the complex tangent space of M is identically zero. The case of the nonexistence of C^\infty Levi-flat real hypersurface in P_2 is motivated by problems in dynamical systems in P_2.
A local uniqueness property of holomorphic functions on real-analytic nowhere minimal CR submanifolds of higher codimension is investigated. A sufficient condition called almost minimality is given and studied. A weaker necessary condition, being contained a possibly singular real-analytic Levi-flat hypersurface is studied and characterized. This question is completely resolved for algebraic submanifolds of codimension 2 and a sufficient condition for noncontainment is given for non algebraic submanifolds. As a consequence, an example of a submanifold of codimension 2, not biholomorphically eq…
We continue our study, initiated in an earlier article, of a class of rigid hypersurfaces in ${\mathbb C}^3$ that are 2-nondegenerate and uniformly Levi degenerate of rank 1, having zero CR-curvature. We drop the restrictive assumptions of the earlier paper and give a complete description of the class. Surprisingly, the answer is expressed in terms of solutions of several well-known differential equations, in particular, the equation characterizing conformal metrics with constant negative curvature and a nonlinear $\bar\partial$-equation.
We prove that for every $n\geq 3$ the sharp upper bound for the dimension of the symmetry groups of homogeneous, 2-nondegenerate, $(2n+1)$-dimensional CR manifolds of hypersurface type with a $1$-dimensional Levi kernel is equal to $n^2+7$, and simultaneously establish the same result for a more general class of structures characterized by weakening the homogeneity condition. This supports Beloshapka's conjecture stating that hypersurface models with a maximal finite dimensional group of symmetries for a given dimension of the underlying manifold are Levi nondegenerate.
We study Levi-flat real analytic hypersurfaces with singularities. We prove that the Levi foliation on the regular part of the hypersurface can be holomorphically extended, in a suitable sense, to neighbourhoods of singular points.
We study curvature restrictions of Levi-flat real hypersurfaces in complex projective planes, whose existence is in question. We focus on its totally real Ricci curvature, the Ricci curvature of the real hypersurface in the direction of the Reeb vector field, and show that it cannot be greater than -4 along a Levi-flat real hypersurface. We rely on a finiteness theorem for the space of square integrable holomorphic 2-forms on the complement of the Levi-flat real hypersurface, where the curvature plays the role of the size of the infinitesimal holonomy of its Levi foliation.
Let $X$ be a connected complex manifold of dimension $\geq 3$ and $M$ a smooth compact Levi-flat real hypersurface in $X$. We show that the normal bundle to the Levi foliation does not admit a Hermitian metric with positive curvature along the leaves. This generalizes a result obtained by Brunella.
We prove the non-existence of real analytic Levi flat hypersurface whose complement is 1-convex and Levi foliation is transversely affine in compact Kahler surfaces.
It is shown that the Levi foliation of a real analytic Levi-flat hypersurface extends to a $d$-web near a nondicritical singular point and admits a multiple-valued meromorphic first integral.
Inspired by an article of R. Bryant on holomorphic immersions of unit disks into Lorentzian CR manifolds, we discuss the application of Cartan's method to the question of the existence of bi-disk $\mathbb{D}^{2}$ in a smooth $9$-dimensional real analytic real hypersurface $M^{9}\subset\mathbb{C}^{5}$ with Levi signature $(2,2)$ passing through a fixed point. The result is that the lift to $M^{9}\times U(2)$ of the image of the bi-disk in $M^{9}$ must lie in the zero set of two complex-valued functions in $M^{9}\times U(2)$. We then provide an example where one of the functions does not identic…
Let $Ω$ be a pseudoconvex domain with $C^2$-smooth boundary in $\mathbb CP^n$. We prove that the $\bar\partial-Neumann operator $N$ exists for $(p,q)$-forms on $Ω$. Furthermore, there exists a $t_0>0$ such that the operators $N$, $\bar\partial^*N$, $\bar\partial N$ and the Bergman projection are regular in the Sobolev space $W^t (\barΩ) $ for $t<t_0$. The boundary estimates above have applications in complex geometry. We use the estimates to prove the nonexistence of $C^{2, α}$ real Levi-flat hypersurfaces in $\mathbb CP^n$. We also show that there exist no non-zero $L^2$-holomorphic $(p, 0)$-…
We prove the existence of normal forms for some local real-analytic Levi-flat hypersurfaces with an isolated line singularity. We also give sufficient conditions for that a Levi-flat hypersurface with a complex line as singularity to be a pullback of a real-analytic curve in C via a holomorphic function.
We investigate germs of real analytic Levi-flat hypersurfaces tangent to germs of codimension one holomorphic webs. We introduce the notion of first integrals for local webs. In particular, we prove that a $k$-web with finitely many invariant analytic subvarieties through the origin tangent to a Levi-flat hypersurface has a holomorphic first integral.
Non-existence theorems for Levi flat hypersurfaces have found great interest in the literature. The question next to this that has to be asked is, when existing Levi flat hypersurfaces are at least rigid under deformations. Here, the case of boundaries of disc bundles over certain compact Riemann surfaces is considered.
We first give a deformation theory of integrable distributions of codimension 1. We define a parametrization of families of smooth hypersurfaces near a Levi flat hypersurface L such that the Levi flat deformations are given by the solutions of the Maurer-Cartan equation in a DGLA associated to the Levi foliation. We say that L is infinitesimally rigid if the tangent cone at the origin to the moduli space of Levi flat deformations of L is trivial. We prove the infinitesimal rigidity of compact transversally parallelisable Levi flat hypersurfaces in compact complex manifolds and give sufficient …
We study the singular set of a singular Levi-flat real-analytic hypersurface. We prove that the singular set of such a hypersurface is Levi-flat in the appropriate sense. We also show that if the singular set is small enough, then the Levi-foliation extends to a singular codimension one holomorphic foliation of a neighborhood of the hypersurface.
In this paper we construct a large class of new normal forms for Levi-nondegenerate real hypersurfaces in complex spaces. We adopt a general approach illustrating why these normal forms are natural and which role is played by the celebrated Chern-Moser normal form. The latter appears in our class as the one with the "maximum normalization" in the lowest degree. However, there are other natural normal forms, even with normalization conditions for the terms of the same degree. Some of these forms do not involve the cube of the trace operator and, in that sense, are simplier than the one by Chern…
In this paper, we consider real hypersurfaces $M$ in $\Bbb C^3$ (or more generally, 5-dimensional CR manifolds of hypersurface type) at uniformly Levi degenerate points, i.e. Levi degenerate points such that the rank of the Levi form is constant in a neighborhood. We also require the hypersurface to satisfy a certain second order nondegeneracy condition (called 2-nondegeneracy) at the point. Our first result is the construction of a principal bundle $P\to M$ with an absolute parallelism, uniquely determined by the CR structure on $M$, which reduces the question of whether two such CR manifolds…
The purpose of this article is to classify the real hypersurfaces in complex space forms of dimension 2 that are both Levi-flat and minimal. The main results are as follows: When the curvature of the complex space form is nonzero, there is a 1-parameter family of such hypersurfaces. Specifically, for each one-parameter subgroup of the isometry group of the complex space form, there is an essentially unique example that is invariant under this one-parameter subgroup. On the other hand, when the curvature of the space form is zero, i.e., when the space form is complex 2-space with its standard f…
We classify locally defined non-spherical real-analytic hypersurfaces in complex space whose Levi form has no more than one negative eigenvalue and for which the dimension of the group of local CR-automorphisms has the second largest value.
We study holomorphic foliations tangent to singular real-analytic Levi-flat hypersurfaces in compact complex manifolds of complex dimension two. We give some hypotheses to guarantee the existence of dicritical singularities of these objects. As consequence, we give some applications to holomorphic foliations tangent to real-analytic Levi-flat hypersurfaces with singularities in $\mathbb{P}^2$.
We study normal forms of germs of singular real-analytic Levi-flat hypersurfaces. We prove the existence of rigid normal forms for singular Levi-flat hypersurfaces which are defined by the vanishing of the real part of complex quasi-homogeneous polynomials with isolated singularity. This result generalizes previous results of Burns-Gong and Fernández-Pérez. Furthermore, we prove the existence of two new rigid normal forms for singular real-analytic Levi-flat hypersurfaces which are preserved by a change of isochore coordinates, that is, a change of coordinates that preserves volume.
We study singular real analytic Levi-flat subsets invariant by singular holomorphic foliations in complex projective spaces. We give sufficient conditions for a real analytic Levi-flat subset to be the pull-back of a semianalytic Levi-flat hypersurface in a complex projective surface under a rational map or to be the pull-back of a real algebraic curve under a meromorphic function. In particular, we give an application to the case of a singular real analytic Levi-flat hypersurface. Our results improve previous ones due to Lebl and Bretas -- Fernández-Pérez -- Mol.
Let $\mathcal{F}$ be a codimension one holomorphic foliation in $\mathbb{P}^n$, $n\geq 2$, leaving invariant a real-analytic Levi-flat hypersurface $M$ with regular part $M^{*}$. Then every leaf of $\mathcal{F}$ outside $\overline{M^{*}}$ accumulates in $\overline{M^{*}}$.
We prove that the normal bundle to the Levi foliation of a smooth Levi flat hypersurface does not admit a Hermitian metric with positive curvature along the leaves in compact Kähler manifolds of dimension at least 3. This represents an answer to a conjecture of Marco Brunella.
We provide regularity results for CR-maps between real hypersurfaces in complex spaces of different dimension with a Levi-degenerate target. We address both the real-analytic and the smooth case. Our results allow immediate applications to the study of proper holomorphic maps between Bounded Symmetric Domains.
We explore connections between geometric properties of the Levi foliation of a Levi-flat hypersurface M and holomorphic convexity of compact sets in M, or bounded in part by M. Applications include extendability of Cauchy-Riemann functions, solvability of the dibar_b-equation, approximability of holomorphic and CR functions, and global regularity of the dibar-Neumann operator.
We introduce new invariant tensors in CR structures which can be viewed as higher order Levi forms. Using the second and third order tensors, we give a complete formal normal form (in the sense of Chern-Moser) for a real hypersurface at a generic Levi degeneracy. (We say that M has a generic Levi degeneracy at p if the Levi determinant vanishes at p but its differential does not, and the set of Levi degenerate points of M is transverse to the Levi null space at p.) By applying a convergence theorem for formal mappings due to the author, Baouendi, and Rothschild, we conclude that the above ment…
The first part of this paper considers higher order CR invariants of three dimensional hypersurfaces of finite type. Using a full normal form we give a complete characterization of hypersurfaces with trivial local automorphism group, and analogous results for finite groups. The second part considers hypersurfaces of finite Catlin multitype and the Kohn-Nirenberg phenomenon in higher dimensions. We give a necessary condition for local convexifiability of a class of pseudoconvex hypersurfaces in $\mathbb C^{n+1}$.
We define a complex connection on a real hypersurface of $\C^{n+1}$ which is naturally inherited from the ambient space. Using a system of Codazzi-type equations, we classify connected real hypersurfaces in $\C^{n+1}$, $n\ge 2$, which are Levi umbilical and have non zero constant Levi curvature. It turns out that such surfaces are contained either in a sphere or in the boundary of a complex tube domain with spherical section.
In this paper we consider germs of smooth Levi flat hypersurfaces, under the following notion of local equivalence: S_1 ~ S_2 if their one-sided neighborhoods admit a biholomorphism smooth up to the boundary. We introduce a simple invariant for this relation, which allows to prove some characterizations of triviality (i.e. equivalence to the hyperplane). Then, we employ the same invariant to construct infinitely many non-trivial classes, including an infinite family of not equivalent hypersurfaces which are almost everywhere analytic.
Let C(2,1) be the class of connected 5-dimensional CR-hypersurfaces that are 2-nondegenerate and uniformly Levi degenerate of rank 1. In a recent article, we proved that the CR-structures in C(2,1) are reducible to so(3,2)-valued absolute parallelisms. In the present paper, we apply this result to study tube hypersurfaces in C^3 that belong to C(2,1) and whose CR-curvature identically vanishes. Every such hypersurface is shown to be affinely equivalent to an open subset of the tube over the future light cone.
Let $S\subset \C^n$, $n\geq 3$ be a compact connected 2-codimensional submanifold having the following property: there exists a Levi-flat hypersurface whose boundary is $S$, possibly as a current. Our goal is to get examples of such $S$ containing at least one special 1-hyperbolic point: sphere with two horns; elementary models and their gluing. The particular cases of graphs are also described.
We establish an effective criterion for a dicritical singularity of a real analytic Levi-flat hypersurface. The criterion is stated in terms of the Segre varieties. As an application, we obtain a structure theorem for some class of currents in the nondicritical case.
We construct a real analytic Levi-flat hypersurface M in a neighborhood of an ellipsoid B in C^2 such that the each leaf of the Levi foliation of M is a complex disc, M intersects the boundary of B transversely, and the intersection A of M with B has the following properties: (i) the closure of A is diffeomorphic to the ball in R^3 and has a basis of Stein neighborhoods in C^2, (ii) any real analytic function on A which is constant on each Levi leaf is constant, (iii) any pluriharmonic function in a connected open neighborhood of A and vanishing on A is identically zero.
In this work we study analytic Levi-flat hypersurfaces in complex algebraic surfaces. First, we show that if this foliation admits chaotic dynamics (i.e. if it does not admit a transverse invariant measure), then the connected components of the complement of the hypersurface are modifications of Stein domains. This allows us to extend the CR foliation to a singular algebraic foliation on the ambient complex surface. We apply this result to prove, by contradiction, that analytic Levi-flat hypersurfaces admitting a transverse affine structure in a complex algebraic surface have a transverse inva…
We study singular real-analytic Levi-flat hypersurfaces in complex projective space. We define the rank of an algebraic Levi-flat hypersurface and study the connections between rank, degree, and the type and size of the singularity. In particular, we study degenerate singularities of algebraic Levi-flat hypersurfaces. We then give necessary and sufficient conditions for a Levi-flat hypersurface to be a pullback of a real-analytic curve in $\mathbb{C}$ via a meromorphic function. Among other examples, we construct a nonalgebraic semianalytic Levi-flat hypersurface with compact leaves that is a …
In this article we provide a version of Chow's theorem for real analytic Levi-flat hypersurfaces in the complex projective space $\mathbb{P}^{n}$, $n \geq 2$. More specifically, we prove that a real analytic Levi-flat hypersurface $M \subset \mathbb{P}^{n}$, with singular set of real dimension at most $2n-4$ and whose Levi leaves are contained in algebraic hypersurfaces, is tangent to the levels of a rational function in $\mathbb{P}^{n}$. As a consequence, $M$ is a semialgebraic set. We also prove that a Levi foliation on $\mathbb{P}^{n}$ - a singular real analytic foliation whose leaves are i…
We give a complete classification of polynomial models for smooth real hypersurfaces of finite Catlin multitype in $\mathbb C^3$, which admit nonlinear infinitesimal CR automorphisms. As a consequence, we obtain a sharp 1-jet determination result for any smooth hypersurface with such model. The results also prove a conjecture of the first author about the origin of such nonlinear automorphisms (AIM list of problems, 2010). As another consequence, we describe all possible dimensions of the Lie algebra of infinitesimal CR automorphisms, which leads to a new "secondary" gap phenomenon.
In this expository paper, we review a recent progress of the study of the Diederich--Fornaess index of complex domains with emphasis on the case of domains with Levi-flat boundary. It is exhibited that for any compact Levi-flat real hypersurface, the norm of its infinitesimal holonomy must exceed the curvature of its normal bundle at a point.
We study the local equivalence problem for five dimensional real hypersurfaces $M^5$ of $\mathbb{C}^3$ which are $2$-nondegenerate and of constant Levi rank $1$ under biholomorphisms. We find two invariants, $J$ and $W$, which are expressed explicitly in terms of the graphing function $F$ of $M$, the annulation of which give a necessary and sufficient condition for $M$ to be locally biholomorphic to a model hypersurface, the tube over the light cone. If one of the two invariants $J$ or $W$ does not vanish on $M$, we show that the equivalence problem under biholomophisms reduces to an equivalen…
We show the existence of a complex K3 surface $X$ which is not a Kummer surface and has a one-parameter family of Levi-flat hypersurfaces in which all the leaves are dense. We construct such $X$ by patching two open complex surfaces obtained as the complements of tubular neighborhoods of elliptic curves embedded in blow-ups of the projective planes at general nine points.
We investigate the construction of real analytic Levi-flat hypersurfaces in K3 surfaces. By taking images of real hyperplanes, one can construct such hypersurfaces in two-dimensional complex tori. We show that "almost every" K3 surfaces contains infinitely many Levi-flat hypersurfaces of this type. The proof relies mainly on a recent construction of Koike and Uehara, ideas of Verbitsky on ergodic complex structures, as well as an argument due to Ghys in the context of the study of the topology of generic leaves. -- On s'intéresse à la construction d'hypersurfaces Levi-plates analytiques rélles…
Let $F(z)=\mathcal{R}e(P(z)) + h.o.t$ be such that $M=(F=0)$ defines a germ of real analytic Levi-flat at $0\in\mathbb{C}^{n}$, $n\geq{2}$, where $P(z)$ is a homogeneous polynomial of degree $k$ with an isolated singularity at $0\in\mathbb{C}^{n}$ and Milnor number $μ$. We prove that there exists a holomorphic change of coordinate $ϕ$ such that $ϕ(M)=(\mathcal{R}e(h)=0)$ where $h(z)$ is a polynomial of degree $μ+1$ and $j^{k}_{0}(h)=P$.
We construct canonical absolute parallelisms over real-analytic manifolds equipped with $2$-nondegenerate, hypersurface-type CR structures of arbitrary odd dimension not less than $7$ whose Levi kernel has constant rank belonging to a broad subclass of CR structures that we label as recoverable. For this we develop a new approach based on a reduction to a special flag structure, called the dynamical Legendrian contact structure, on the leaf space of the CR structure's associated Levi foliation. This extends the results of Porter-Zelenko [20] from the case of regular CR symbols constituting a d…
