We introduce Riemannian metrics of positive scalar curvature on manifolds with Baas-Sullivan singularities, prove a corresponding homology invariance principle and discuss admissible products. Using this theory we construct positive scalar curvature metrics on closed smooth manifolds of dimension at least five which have odd order abelian fundamental groups, are nonspin and atoral. This solves the Gromov-Lawson-Rosenberg conjecture for a new class of manifolds with finite fundamental groups.
We prove for closed, odd-dimensional GKM$_3$ manifolds of non-negative sectional curvature that both the equivariant and the ordinary rational cohomology split off the cohomology of an odd-dimensional sphere.
We introduce the notion of abelian almost contact structures on an odd dimensional real Lie algebra $\mathfrak g$. This a sufficient condition for the structure to be normal. We investigate correspondences with even dimensional real Lie algebras endowed with an abelian complex structure, and with Kähler Lie algebras when $\mathfrak g$ carries a compatible inner product. The classification of 5-dimensional Sasakian Lie algebras with abelian structure is obtained. Later, we introduce and study abelian almost 3-contact structures on real Lie algebras of dimension $4n+3$. These are given by triple…
A homological invariant of 3-manifolds is defined, using abelian Yang-Mills gauge theory. It is shown that the construction, in an appropriate sense, is functorial with respect to the families of 4-dimensional cobordisms. This construction and its functoriality are used to define several link invariants. The strongest version of these invariants has the form of a filtered chain complex that can recover Khovanov homology of the mirror image as a bi-graded group.
In this paper, we use the flag curvature formula for homogeneous Finsler spaces in our previous work to classify odd dimensional smooth coset spaces admitting positively curved reversible homogeneous Finsler metrics. We will show that the most features of L. Bérard-Bergery's classification results for odd dimensional positively curved Riemannian homogeneous spaces can be generalized to reversible Finsler spaces.
We study the positive Hermitian curvature flow on the space of left-invariant metrics on complex Lie groups. We show that in the nilpotent case, the flow exists for all positive times and subconverges in the Cheeger-Gromov sense to a soliton. We also show convergence to a soliton when the complex Lie group is almost abelian. That is, when its Lie algebra admits a (complex) co-dimension one abelian ideal. Finally, we study solitons in the almost-abelian setting. We prove uniqueness and completely classify all left-invariant, almost-abelian solitons, giving a method to construct examples in arbi…
We prove a new rigidity result for an open manifold M with nonnegative sectional curvature whose soul S is odd-dimensional. Specifically, there exists a geodesic in S and a parallel vertical plane field along it with constant vertical curvature and vanishing normal curvature. Under the added assumption that the Sharafutdinov fibers are rotationally symmetric, this implies that for small r, the distance sphere of radius r about S contains an immersed flat cylinder, and thus could not have positive curvature.
We introduce a notion of measuring scales for quantum abelian gauge systems. At each measuring scale a finite dimensional affine space stores information about the evaluation of the curvature on a discrete family of surfaces. Affine maps from the spaces assigned to finer scales to those assigned to coarser scales play the role of coarse graining maps. This structure induces a continuum limit space which contains information regarding curvature evaluation on all piecewise linear surfaces with boundary. The evaluation of holonomies along loops is also encoded in the spaces introduced here; thus,…
We compute the equivariant bordism of free oriented $(\mathbb{Z}/p)^n$-manifolds as a module over $Ω_*^{SO}$, when $p$ is an odd prime. We show, among others, that this module is canonically isomorphic to a direct sum of suspensions of multiple tensor products of $Ω^{SO}_*(B \mathbb{Z}/p)$, and that it is generated by products of standard lens spaces. This considerably improves previous calculations by various authors. Our approach relies on the investigation of the submodule of the Brown-Peterson homology of $B (\mathbb{Z}/p)^n$ generated by elements coming from proper subgroups of $(\mathbb{…
As was recently observed by M. Xu and J. Wolf, there is a gap in Berard Bergery's classification of odd dimensional positively curved homogeneous spaces. Since this classification has been used in other papers as well, we give a modern, complete and self contained proof (in odd as well as even dimensions), confirming that there are indeed no new examples.
We classify compact simply-connected 5-dimensional manifolds which admit a metric of nonnegative curvature with a connected non-abelian group acting by isometries. We show that they are diffeomorphic to either S^5, S^3 x S^2, the nontrivial S^3-bundle over S^2 or the Wu-manifold, SU(3)/SO(3). This result is a consequence of our equivariant classification of all SO(3) and SU(2)-actions on compact simply-connected 5-manifolds. In the case of positive curvature we obtain a partial classification.
We exhibit a closed aspherical 5-manifold of nonpositive curvature that fibers over a circle whose fundamental group is hyperbolic relative to abelian subgroups such that the fiber is a closed aspherical 4-manifold whose fundamental group is not hyperbolic relative to abelian subgroups.
We construct continuously parametrised families of conformally invariant boundary operators on densities. These may also be viewed as conformally covariant boundary operators on functions and generalise to higher orders the first-order conformal Robin operator and an analogous third-order operator of Chang-Qing. Our families include operators of critical order on odd-dimensional boundaries. Combined with the (conformal Laplacian power) GJMS operators, a suitable selection of the boundary operators yields formally self-adjoint elliptic conformal boundary problems. Working on a conformal manifol…
There is an equivalence relation on the set of smooth maps of a manifold into the stable unitary group, defined using a Chern-Simons type form, whose equivalence classes form an abelian group under ordinary block sum of matrices. This construction is functorial, and defines a differential extension of odd K-theory, fitting into natural commutative diagrams and exact sequences involving K-theory and differential forms. To prove this we obtain along the way several results concerning even and odd Chern and Chern-Simons forms.
We construct Einstein metrics of non-positive scalar curvature on certain solid torus bundles over a Fano Kahler-Einstein manifold. We show, among other things, that the negative Einstein metrics are conformally compact, and the Ricci-flat metrics have slower-than-Euclidean volume growth and quadratic curvature decay. Also we construct positive Einstein metrics on certain 3-sphere bundles over a Fano Kahler-Einstein manifold. We classify the homeomorphism and diffeomorphism types of the total spaces when the base is the complex projective plane.
Let M be an oriented compact positively curved 4-manifold. Let G be a finite subgroup of the isometry group of $M$. Among others, we prove that there is a universal constant C (cf. Corollary 4.3 for the approximate value of C), such that if the order of G is odd and at least C, then G is either abelian of rank at most 2, or non-abelian and isomorphic to a subgroup of PU(3) with a presentation \{A, B| A^m=B^n=1, BAB^{-1}=A^r, (n(r-1), m)=1, r\ne r^3=1(\text{mod}m) \}. Moreover, M is homeomorphic to CP^2 if G is non-abelian, and homeomorphic to S^4 or CP^2 if G is abelian of rank 2.
A consequence of the Cheeger-Gromoll splitting theorem states that for any open manifold $(M,x)$ of nonnegative Ricci curvature, if all the minimal geodesic loops at $x$ that represent elements of $π_1(M,x)$ are contained in a bounded ball, then $π_1(M,x)$ is virtually abelian. We generalize the above result: if these minimal representing geodesic loops of $π_1(M,x)$ escape from any bounded metric balls at a sublinear rate with respect to their lengths, then $π_1(M,x)$ is virtually abelian.
We study closed, simply connected manifolds with positive $2^\mathrm{nd}$-intermediate Ricci curvature and large symmetry rank. In odd dimensions, we show that they are spheres. In even dimensions other than $6$, we show that they must have positive Euler characteristic. Under stronger assumptions on the symmetry rank, we show that such even dimensional manifolds must have trivial odd degree integral cohomology, and if the second Betti number is no more than $1$, they are either spheres or complex projective spaces. In the process, we establish new tools for studying isometric actions on close…
We show that a well-known result on solutions of the Maurer--Cartan equation extends to arbitrary (inhomogeneous) odd forms: any such form with values in a Lie superalgebra satisfying $dø+ø^2=0$ is gauge-equivalent to a constant, $$ø=gCg^{-1}-dg\,g^{-1}\,.$$ This follows from a non-Abelian version of a chain homotopy formula making use of multiplicative integrals. An application to Lie algebroids and their non-linear analogs is given. Constructions presented here generalize to an abstract setting of differential Lie superalgebras where we arrive at the statement that odd elements (not necessar…
Given a closed smooth manifold M which carries a positive scalar curvature metric, one can associate an abelian group P(M) to the space of positive scalar curvature metrics on this manifold. The group of all diffeomorphisms of the manifold naturally acts on P(M). The moduli group of positive scalar curvature metrics is defined to be the quotient abelian group of this action, i.e. the coinvariant of the action. The moduli group measures the size of the moduli space of positive scalar curvature metrics on M. In this paper, we use the higher rho invariant and the finite part of the K-theory of th…
The notion of an odd quasi-connection on a supermanifold, which is loosely an affine connection that carries non-zero Grassmann parity, is examined. Their torsion and curvature are defined, however, in general, they are not tensors. A special class of such generalised connections, referred to as odd connections in this paper, have torsion and curvature tensors. Part of the structure is an odd involution of the tangent bundle of the supermanifold and this puts drastic restrictions on the supermanifolds that admit odd connections. In particular, they must have equal number of even and odd dimens…
