We determine the Lagrangian monodromy group L(T) and the smooth monodromy group S(T) of a Clifford torus T in the symplectic 4-space. We show that L(T) is isomorphic to the infinite dihedral group, and S(T) is generated by three reflections. We give explicit formulas for both groups. We also show that if a Lagrangian torus is smoothly isotopic to a Clifford torus then the smooth isotopy can be chosen to be Lagrangian outside of a disc.
We define new Hamiltonian isotopy invariants for a monotone Lagrangian torus embedded in a symplectic 4-manifold. We show that, in the standard symplectic 4-space, these invariants distinguish a monotone Clifford torus from a Chekanov torus.
This text is a set of lecture notes for a series of four talks given at I.P.A.M., Los Angeles, on March 18-20, 2003. The first lecture provides a quick overview of symplectic topology and its main tools: symplectic manifolds, almost-complex structures, pseudo-holomorphic curves, Gromov-Witten invariants and Floer homology. The second and third lectures focus on symplectic Lefschetz pencils: existence (following Donaldson), monodromy, and applications to symplectic topology, in particular the connection to Gromov-Witten invariants of symplectic 4-manifolds (following Smith) and to Fukaya catego…
We study the question of how many embedded symplectic or Lagrangian tori can represent the same homology class in a simply connected symplectic 4-manifold.
Let E(1)_p denote the rational elliptic surface with a single multiple fiber f_p of multiplicity p. We construct an infinite family of homologous non-isotopic symplectic tori representing the primitive class [f_p] in E(1)_p when p>1. As a consequence, we get infinitely many non-isotopic symplectic tori in the fiber class of the rational elliptic surface E(1) (complex projective plane blown-up at nine branch points of a generic pencil of cubic curves). We also show how these tori can be non-isotopically and symplectically embedded in many other symplectic 4-manifolds.
This short note presents a simple construction of nonisotopic symplectic tori representing the same primitive homology class in the symplectic 4-manifold E(1)_K, obtained by knot surgery on the rational elliptic surface E(1) with the left-handed trefoil knot K. E(1)_K has the simplest homotopy type among simply-connected symplectic 4-manifolds known to exhibit such property.
For any pair of integers $n\geq 1$ and $q\geq 2$, we construct an infinite family of mutually non-isotopic symplectic tori representing the homology class $q[F]$ of an elliptic surface E(n), where $[F]$ is the homology class of the fiber. We also show how such families can be non-isotopically and symplectically embedded into a more general class of symplectic 4-manifolds.
For each member of an infinite family of homology classes in the K3-surface E(2), we construct infinitely many non-isotopic symplectic tori representing this homology class. This family has an infinite subset of primitive classes. We also explain how these tori can be non-isotopically embedded as homologous symplectic submanifolds in many other symplectic 4-manifolds including the elliptic surfaces E(n) for n>2.
Let E(1)_K denote the closed 4-manifold that is homotopy equivalent (hence homeomorphic) to the rational elliptic surface E(1) and is obtained by performing Fintushel-Stern knot surgery on E(1) using a knot K in S^3. We construct an infinite family of homologous non-isotopic symplectic tori representing a primitive homology class in E(1)_K when K is any nontrivial fibred knot in S^3. We also show how these tori can be non-isotopically embedded as homologous symplectic submanifolds in other symplectic 4-manifolds.
In \cite{btoric}, Guillemin et al. proved a Delzant-type theorem which classifies $b$-symplectic toric manifolds. More generally, in \cite{torus} they proved a similar convexity result for general Hamiltonian torus action on $b$-symplectic manifolds. In this paper, we provide a new way to construct $b$-symplectic toric manifolds from usual toric manifolds. Conversely, through this way, we can also decompose a $b$-symplectic toric manifolds to usual toric manifolds. Finally, we will try to prove that this kind of decomposition is useful, although the symplectic structure for our decomposition o…
We discuss the properties of a certain type of Dehn surgery along a Lagrangian torus in a symplectic 4-manifold, known as Luttinger's surgery, and use this construction to provide a purely topological interpretation of a non-isotopy result for symplectic plane curves with cusp and node singularities due to Moishezon.
A near-symplectic structure on a 4-manifold is a closed 2-form that is symplectic away from the 1-dimensional submanifold along which it vanishes and that satisfies a certain transversality condition along this vanishing locus. We investigate near-symplectic 4-manifolds equipped with singular Lagrangian torus fibrations which are locally induced by effective Hamiltonian torus actions. We show how such a structure is completely characterized by a singular integral affine structure on the base of the fibration whenever the vanishing locus is nonempty. The base equipped with this geometric struct…
The purpose of this note is to present a construction of an infinite family of symplectic tori T_{p} representing an arbitrary multiple of the homology class of the fiber of an elliptic surface E(n), for n > 2, such that, for i \neq j, there is no orientation-preserving diffeomorphism between (E(n),T_{i}) and (E(n),T_{j}). In particular, these tori are mutually nonisotopic. This complements previous results of Fintushel and Stern, showing in particular the existence of such phenomenon for a primitive class.
Product Lagrangian tori in standard symplectic space $R^{2n}$ were classified up to symplectomorphism in [Che96]. We extend this classification to tame symplectically aspherical symplectic manifolds. We show by examples that the asphericity assumption cannot be omitted.
We formulate certain sufficient conditions for the symplectic monodromy of an isolated quasihomogeneous singularity to be of infinite order in the relative symplectic mapping class group of the Milnor fibre and give a proof using Maslov classes, stability theory for Lagrangian folds resp. stable Morse theory for generating families as well as algebraic results about relative cohomology of smoothings of isolated singularities. Our conditions being slightly more restrictive than Seidel's, in contrary to Seidel's proof, we do not use Floer theory to derive this result. An alternative approach usi…
We derive a new Hamiltonian formulation of Schlesinger equations in terms of the dynamical $r$-matrix structure. The corresponding symplectic form is shown to be the pullback, under the monodromy map, of a natural symplectic form on the extended monodromy manifold. We show that Fock-Goncharov coordinates are log-canonical for the symplectic form on the extended monodromy manifold. Using these coordinates we define the symplectic potential on the monodromy manifold and interpret the isomonodromic tau-function as the generating function of the monodromy map. This, in particular, solves a recent …
A natural way of generalising Hamiltonian toric manifolds is to permit the presence of generic isolated singularities for the moment map. For a class of such ``almost-toric 4-manifolds'' which admits a Hamiltonian $S^1$-action we show that one can associate a group of convex polygons that generalise the celebrated moment polytopes of Atiyah, Guillemin-Sternberg. As an application, we derive a Duistermaat-Heckman formula demonstrating a strong effect of the possible monodromy of the underlying integrable system.
The goal of this paper is to classify symplectic toric stratified spaces with isolated singularities. This extends a result of Burns, Guillemin, and Lerman which carries out this classification in the compact connected case. In making this classification, it is necessary to classify symplectic toric cones. Via a well-known equivalence between symplectic toric cones and contact toric manifolds, this allows for the classification of contact toric manifolds as well, extending Lerman's classification of compact connected contact toric manifolds.
Given a fibration of a symplectic manifold by lagrangian tori, we show that each symplectic vector field splits into two parts : the first is Hamiltonian and the second is symplectic and preserves the fibration. We then show an application of this result in the study of the regular deformations of completely integrable systems.
Like (co)homology group theory of formal Hamiltonian vector fields on symplectic vector spaces, we try studying homology group theory on symplecit tori introducing the notion of weight.
An effective class in a closed symplectic four-manifold $(X, ω)$ is a two-dimensional homology class which is realized by a $J$-holomorphic cycle for every tamed almost complex structure $J$. We prove that effective classes are orthogonal to Lagrangian tori in $H_2 (X ; \Bbb{Z})$.
We encode the variation structure of a quasihomogeneous polynomial with an isolated singularity as introduced by Nemethi in a set of spectral flows of the signature operator on the Milnor bundle by varying global elliptic boundary conditions in a specific way using the quasihomogeneous circle action on the Brieskorn lattice. For this, we use adiabatic techniques and well-known results on spectral flow and Maslov index. Furthermore we interpret the inequality of a certain member of this family of spectral flows with a spectral flow induced by a Reeb flow on the boundary of the Milnor fibre as g…
We calculate the Riemann-Roch number of some of the pentagon spaces defined in [Klyachko,Kapovich-Millson,HK1]. Using this, we show that while the regular pentagon space is diffeomorphic to a toric variety, even symplectomorphic to one under arbitrarily small perturbations of its symplectic structure, it does not admit a symplectic circle action. In particular, within the cohomology classes of symplectic structures, the subset admitting a circle action is not closed.
We compute the semiclassical formulas for the partition functions obtained using two different Lagrangians: the Chern-Simons functional and the symplectic action functional.
Given two $2n$--dimensional symplectic ellipsoids whose symplectic sizes satisfy certain inequalities, we show that a certain map from the $n$--torus to the space of symplectic embeddings from one ellipsoid to the other induces an injective map on singular homology with mod $2$ coefficients. The proof uses parametrized moduli spaces of $J$--holomorphic cylinders in completed symplectic cobordisms.
We prove a version of Sandon's conjecture on the number of translated points of contactomorphisms for the case of prequantization bundles over certain closed monotone symplectic toric manifolds. Namely we show that any contactomorphism of such a prequantization bundle lying in the identity component of the contactomorphism group possesses at least $N$ translated points, where $N$ is the minimal Chern number of the symplectic toric manifold. The proof relies on the theory of generating functions coupled with equivariant cohomology, whereby we adapt Givental's approach to the Arnold conjecture f…
We develop differential and symplectic geometry of differentiable Deligne-Mumford stacks (orbifolds) including Hamiltonian group actions and symplectic reduction. As an application we construct new examples of symplectic toric DM stacks as symplectic quotients of C^NxBG, where G is a finite non-abelian group.
We generalize a theorem of Delzant classifying compact connected symplectic manifolds with completely integrable torus actions to certain singular symplectic spaces. The assumption on singularities is that if they are not finite quotient then they are isolated.
Given a symplectic manifold, we ask in how many different ways can a torus act on it. Classification theorems in equivariant symplectic geometry can sometimes tell that two Hamiltonian torus actions are inequivalent, but often they do not tell whether the underlying symplectic manifolds are (non-equivariantly) symplectomorphic. For two dimensional torus actions on closed symplectic four-manifolds, we reduce the counting question to combinatorics, by expressing the manifold as a symplectic blowup in a way that is compatible with all the torus actions simultaneously. For this we use the theory o…
Recently, extending work by Karshon, Kessler and Pinsonnault, Borisov and McDuff showed that a given symplectic manifold $(M,ω)$ has a finite number of distinct toric structures. Moreover, McDuff also showed a product of two projective spaces $\bC P^r\times \bC P^s$ with any given symplectic form has a unique toric structure provided that $r,s\geq 2$. In contrast, the product $\bC P^r \times \bC P^1$ can be given infinitely many distinct toric structures, though only a finite number of these are compatible with each given symplectic form $ω$. In this paper we extend these results by considerin…
Toric varieties play an important role both in symplectic and complex geometry. In symplectic geometry, the construction of a symplectic toric manifold from a smooth polytope is due to Delzant. In algebraic geometry, there is a more general construction using fans rather than polytopes. However, in case the fan is induced by a smooth polytope Audin showed both constructions to give isomorphic projective varieties. For rational but not necessarily smooth polytopes the Delzant construction was refined by Lerman and Tolman, leading to symplectic toric orbifolds or more generally, symplectic toric…
We prove that every symplectic toric orbifold is a centered reduction of a Cartesian product of weighted projective spaces. A theorem of Abreu and Macarini shows that if the level set of the reduction passes through a non-displaceable set then the image of this set in the reduced space is also non-displaceable. Using this result we show that every symplectic toric orbifold contains a non-displaceable fiber and we identify this fiber.
We set up a topological framework for degenerations of symplectic manifolds into singular spaces paying a special attention to the behavior of Lagrangian manifolds and their (holomorphic) membranes. We show that degenerations into singular toric varieties provide a source of exotic Lagrangian tori.
We derive constraints on Lagrangian embeddings in completions of certain stable symplectic fillings with semisimple symplectic cohomologies. Manifolds with these properties can be constructed by generalizing the boundary connected sum operation to our setting, and are related to certain birational surgeries like blow-downs and flips. As a consequence, there are many non-toric (non-compact) monotone symplectic manifolds whose wrapped Fukaya categories are proper.
We discuss the construction of toric Kaehler metrics on symplectic 2n-manifolds with a hamiltonian n-torus action and present a simple derivation of the Guillemin formula for a distinguished Kaehler metric on any such manifold. The results also apply to orbifolds.
We classify symplectic actions of 2-tori on compact, connected symplectic 4-manifolds, up to equivariant symplectomorphisms. This extends results of Atiyah, Guillemin-Sternberg, Delzant and Benoist. The classification is in terms of a collection of invariants, which are invariants of the topology of the manifold, of the torus action and of the symplectic form. We construct explicit models of such symplectic manifolds with torus actions, defined in terms of these invariants. We also classify, up to equivariant symplectomorphisms, symplectic actions of (2n-2)-dimensional tori on 2n-dimensional s…
We introduce the notion of regular symplectomorphism and graded regular symplectomorphism between singular phase spaces. Our main concern is to exhibit examples of unitary torus representations whose symplectic quotients cannot be graded regularly symplectomorphic to the quotient of a symplectic representation of a finite group, while the corresponding GIT quotients are smooth. Additionally, we relate the question of simplicialness of a torus representation to Gaussian elimination.
We construct a Legendrian 2-torus in the 1-jet space of $S^1\times\R$ (or of $\R^2$) from a loop of Legendrian knots in the 1-jet space of $\R$. The differential graded algebra (DGA) for the Legendrian contact homology of the torus is explicitly computed in terms of the DGA of the knot and the monodromy operator of the loop. The contact homology of the torus is shown to depend only on the chain homotopy type of the monodromy operator. The construction leads to many new examples of Legendrian knotted tori. In particular, it allows us to construct a Legendrian torus with DGA which does not admit…
We revisit symplectic properties of the monodromy map for Fuchsian systems on the Riemann sphere. We extend previous results of Hitchin, Alekseev-Malkin and Korotkin-Samtleben where it was shown that the monodromy map is a Poisson morphism between the Kirillov-Kostant Poisson structure on the space of coefficients, on one side, and the Goldman bracket on the monodromy character variety on the other. The extension is provided by defining larger spaces on both sides which are equipped with symplectic structures naturally projecting to the canonical ones. On the coefficient side our symplectic st…
A theorem of Delzant states that any symplectic manifold $(M,\om)$ of dimension $2n$, equipped with an effective Hamiltonian action of the standard $n$-torus $\T^n = \R^{n}/2π\Z^n$, is a smooth projective toric variety completely determined (as a Hamiltonian $\T^n$-space) by the image of the moment map $ϕ:M\to\R^n$, a convex polytope $P=ϕ(M)\subset\R^n$. In this paper we show, using symplectic (action-angle) coordinates on $P\times \T^n$, how all $\om$-compatible toric complex structures on $M$ can be effectively parametrized by smooth functions on $P$. We also discuss some topics suited for a…
We develop a new algebraic theory of positive braids and conjugacy classes in the braid group $B_3$. We use our theory to establish a complete classification of isotopy classes of degree three symplectic curves in $\mathbb{CP}^2$ with only $A_n$-singularities for $n\geq 1$ (an $A_n$-singularity is locally modelled by the equation $z^2 = w^n$) independent of Gromov's theory of pseudoholomorphic curves. We show that if $C$ and $C'$ are degree three symplectic curves in $\mathbb{CP}^2$ with the same numbers of $A_n$-singularities for each $n\geq 1$, then $C$ is isotopic to $C'$. Furthermore, our …
In the same way that a contact manifold determines and is determined by a symplectic cone, a Sasaki manifold determines and is determined by a suitable Kahler cone. Kahler-Sasaki geometry is the geometry of these cones. This paper presents a symplectic action-angle coordinates approach to toric Kahler geometry and how it was recently generalized, by Burns-Guillemin-Lerman and Martelli-Sparks-Yau, to toric Kahler-Sasaki geometry. It also describes, as an application, how this approach can be used to relate a recent new family of Sasaki-Einstein metrics constructed by Gauntlett-Martelli-Sparks-W…
Can a given Lagrangian submanifold be realized as the fixed point set of an anti-symplectic involution? If so, it is called \emph{real}. We give an obstruction for a closed Lagrangian submanifold to be real in terms of the displacement energy of nearby Lagrangians. Applying this obstruction to toric fibres, we obtain that the central fibre of many (and probably all) toric monotone symplectic manifolds is real only if the corresponding moment polytope is centrally symmetric. Furthermore, we embed the Chekanov torus in all toric monotone symplectic manifolds and show that it is exotic and not re…
We compute the Lagrangian Floer cohomology groups of certain tori in closed simply connected symplectic 4-manifolds arising from Fintushel-Stern knot surgery. These manifolds are usually not symplectically aspherical. As a result of the computation we observe examples where $HF(L_0)\cong HF(L_1)$ and $L_0$ and $L_1$ are smoothly isotopic but $L_0,L_1$ are not symplectically isotopic and are distinguished by $HF(L_0,L_1)$.
We classify weakly exact, rational Lagrangian tori in $T^* \mathbb{T}^2- 0_{\mathbb{T}^2}$ up to Hamiltonian isotopy. This result is related to the classification theory of closed $1$-forms on $\mathbb{T}^n$ and also has applications to symplectic topology. As a first corollary, we strengthen a result due independently to Eliashberg-Polterovich and to Giroux describing Lagrangian tori in $T^* \mathbb{T}^2-0_{\mathbb{T}^2}$ which are homologous to the zero section. As a second corollary, we exhibit pairs of disjoint totally real tori $K_1, K_2 \subset T^*\mathbb{T}^2$, each of which is isotopic…
We prove that the group of Hamiltonian automorphisms of a symplectic 4-manifold contains only finitely many conjugacy classes of maximal compact tori with respect to the action of the full symplectomorphism group. We also extend to rational and ruled manifolds a result of Kedra which asserts that, if $M$ is a simply connected symplectic 4-manifold with $b_{2}\geq 3$, and if $\widetilde{M}_δ$ denotes a blow-up of $M$ of small enough capacity $δ$, then the rational cohomology algebra of the Hamiltonian group of $\widetilde{M}_δ)$ is not finitely generated. Both results are based on the fact that…
A toric origami manifold is a generalization of a symplectic toric manifold (or a toric symplectic manifold). The origami symplectic form is allowed to degenerate in a good controllable way in contrast to the usual symplectic form. It is widely known that symplectic toric manifolds are encoded by Delzant polytopes, and the cohomology and equivariant cohomology rings of a symplectic toric manifold can be described in terms of the corresponding polytope. Recently, Holm and Pires described the cohomology of a toric origami manifold $M$ in terms of the orbit space $M/T$ when $M$ is orientable and …
Symplectic four-manifolds give rise to Lefschetz fibrations, which are determined by monodromy representations of free groups in mapping class groups. We study the topology of Lefschetz fibrations by analysing the action of the monodromy on the universal cover of a smooth fibre. We give new and simple proofs that Lefschetz fibrations arising from pencils (i.e. with exceptional sections) never split as non-trivial fibre sums, and that no simple closed curve can be invariant to isotopy under the monodromy representation.
