In this paper, we study deformations of coisotropic submanifolds in a symplectic manifold. First we derive the equation that governs $C^\infty$ deformations of coisotropic submanifolds and define the corresponding $C^\infty$-moduli space of coisotropic submanifolds modulo the Hamiltonian isotopies. This is a non-commutative and non-linear generalization of the well-known description of the local deformation space of Lagrangian submanifolds as the set of graphs of {\it closed} one forms in the Darboux-Weinstein chart of a given Lagrangian submanifold. We then introduce the notion of {\it strong homotopy Lie algebroid} (or {\it $L_\infty$-algebroid}) and associate a canonical isomorphism class of strong homotopy Lie algebroids to each pre-symplectic manifold $(Y,ω)$ and identify the formal deformation space of coisotropic embeddings into a symplectic manifold in terms of this strong homotopy Lie algebroid. The formal moduli space then is provided by the gauge equivalence classes of solutions of a version of the {\it Maurer-Cartan equation} (or the {\it master equation}) of the strong homotopy Lie algebroid, and plays the role of the classical part of the moduli space of quantum deformation space of coisotropic $A$-branes. We provide a criterion for the unobstructedness of the deformation problem and analyze a family of examples that illustrates that this deformation problem is obstructed in general and heavily depends on the geometry and dynamics of the null foliation.
In this paper, we attach an $L_\infty$-algebra to any coisotropic submanifold in a Jacobi manifold. Our construction generalizes and unifies analogous constructions by Oh-Park (symplectic case), Cattaneo-Felder (Poisson case), Lê-Oh (locally conformal symplectic case). As a new special case, we attach an $L_\infty$-algebra to any coisotropic submanifold in a contact manifold. The $L_\infty$-algebra of a coisotropic submanifold $S$ governs the (formal) deformation problem of $S$.
We study coisotropic submanifolds of $b$-symplectic manifolds. We prove that $b$-coisotropic submanifolds (those transverse to the degeneracy locus) determine the $b$-symplectic structure in a neighborhood, and provide a normal form theorem. This extends Gotay's theorem in symplectic geometry. Further, we introduce strong $b$-coisotropic submanifolds and show that their coisotropic quotient, which locally is always smooth, inherits a reduced $b$-symplectic structure.
In recent years methods for the integration of Poisson manifolds and of Lie algebroids have been proposed, the latter being usually presented as a generalization of the former. In this note it is shown that the latter method is actually related to (and may be derived from) a particular case of the former if one regards dual of Lie algebroids as special Poisson manifolds. The core of the proof is the fact, discussed in the second part of this note, that coisotropic submanifolds of a (twisted) Poisson manifold are in one-to-one correspondence with possibly singular Lagrangian subgroupoids of sou…
In this paper we prove the unobstructedness of the deformation of integral coisotropic submanifolds in symplectic manifolds, which can be viewed as a natural generalization of results of Weinstein for Lagrangian submanifolds.
We describe the differential graded Lie algebras governing Poisson deformations of a holomorphic Poisson manifold and coisotropic embedded deformations of a coisotropic holomorphic submanifold. In both cases, under some mild additional assumption, we show that the infinitesimal first order deformations induced by the anchor map are unobstructed. Applications include the analog of Kodaira stability theorem for coisotropic deformation and a generalization of McLean-Voisin's theorem about the local moduli space of lagrangian submanifold. Finally it is shown that our construction is homotopy equiv…
This paper deals with the ${\mathcal C}^0$-rigidity of the reduction of coiostropic submanifolds under the action of symplectic homeomorphism. More precisely, we exhibit several situations where a symplectic homeomorphism that takes a coisotropic submanifold to a smooth submanifold (which are then known to be coisotropic by a result of Humilière-Leclercq-Seyfaddini) abides to the non-squeezing property in the reduction.
The first purpose of this paper is to generalize the well-known Maslov indices of maps of open Riemann surfaces with boundary lying on Lagrangian submanifolds to maps with boundary lying on coisotropic submanifolds in symplectic manifolds. For this purpose, we first define the notion of {\it Maslov loops} of coisotropic Grassmanians and their indices. Then we introduce the notions of {\it transverse Maslov bundle} of coisotropic submanifolds, and {\it gradable coisotropic submanifolds}. We then define {\it graded coisotropic submanifolds} and the {\it coisotropic Maslov index} of the maps with…
In this paper, we study deformations of coisotropic submanifolds in a locally conformal symplectic manifold. Firstly, we derive the equation that governs $C^\infty$ deformations of coisotropic submanifolds and define the corresponding $C^\infty$-moduli space of coisotropic submanifolds modulo the Hamiltonian isotopies. Secondly, we prove that the formal deformation problem is governed by an $L_\infty$-structure which is a $\frak b$-deformation of strong homotopy Lie algebroids introduced in Oh and Park (2005) in the symplectic context. Then we study deformations of locally conformal symplectic…
Unlike Legendrian submanifolds, the deformation problem of coisotropic submanifolds can be obstructed. Starting from this observation, we single out in the contact setting the special class of integral coisotropic submanifolds as the direct generalization of Legendrian submanifolds for what concerns deformation and moduli theory. Indeed, being integral coisotropic is proved to be a rigid condition, and moreover the integral coisotropic deformation problem is unobstructed with discrete moduli space.
In this paper we make the first steps towards developing a theory of intersections of coisotropic submanifolds, similar to that for Lagrangian submanifolds. For coisotropic submanifolds satisfying a certain stability requirement we establish persistence of coisotropic intersections under Hamiltonian diffeomorphisms, akin to the Lagrangian intersection property. To be more specific, we prove that the displacement energy of a stable coisotropic submanifold is positive, provided that the ambient symplectic manifold meets some natural conditions. We also show that a displaceable, stable, coisotrop…
We prove that the displacement energy of a stable coisotropic submanifold is bounded away from zero if the ambient symplectic manifold is closed, rational and satisfies a mild topological condition.
In this thesis, we study the deformation problem of coisotropic submanifolds in Jacobi manifolds. In particular we attach two algebraic invariants to any coisotropic submanifold $S$ in a Jacobi manifold, namely the $L_\infty[1]$-algebra and the BFV-complex of $S$. Our construction generalizes and unifies analogous constructions in symplectic, Poisson, and locally conformal symplectic geometry. As a new special case we also attach an $L_\infty[1]$-algebra and a BFV-complex to any coisotropic submanifold in a contact manifold. The $L_\infty[1]$-algebra of $S$ controls the formal coisotropic defo…
We present a connection between the BFV-complex (abbreviation for Batalin-Fradkin-Vilkovisky complex) and the so-called strong homotopy Lie algebroid associated to a coisotropic submanifold of a Poisson manifold. We prove that the latter structure can be derived from the BFV-complex by means of homotopy transfer along contractions. Consequently the BFV-complex and the strong homotopy Lie algebroid structure are $L_{\infty}$ quasi-isomorphic and control the same formal deformation problem. However there is a gap between the non-formal information encoded in the BFV-complex and in the strong hom…
We assign to each nondegenerate Hamiltonian on a closed symplectic manifold a Floer-theoretic quantity called its "boundary depth," and establish basic results about how the boundary depths of different Hamiltonians are related. As applications, we prove that certain Hamiltonian symplectomorphisms supported in displaceable subsets have infinitely many nontrivial geometrically distinct periodic points, and we also significantly expand the class of coisotropic submanifolds which are known to have positive displacement energy. For instance, any coisotropic submanifold of contact type (in the sens…
We introduce the notion of a point on a locally closed subset of a symplectic manifold being "locally rigid" with respect to that subset, prove that this notion is invariant under symplectic homeomorphisms, and show that coisotropic submanifolds are distinguished among all smooth submanifolds by the property that all of their points are locally rigid. This yields a simplified proof of the Humilière-Leclercq-Seyfaddini theorem on the $C^0$-rigidity of coisotropic submanifolds. Connections are also made to the "rigid locus" that has previously been used in the study of Chekanov-Hofer pseudometri…
We define the Maslov index of a loop tangent to the characteristic foliation of a coisotropic submanifold as the mean Conley--Zehnder index of a path in the group of linear symplectic transformations, incorporating the "rotation" of the tangent space of the leaf -- this is the standard Lagrangian counterpart -- and the holonomy of the characteristic foliation. Furthermore, we show that, with this definition, the Maslov class rigidity extends to the class of the so-called stable coisotropic submanifolds including Lagrangian tori and stable hypersurfaces.
General boundary conditions ("branes") for the Poisson sigma model are studied. They turn out to be labeled by coisotropic submanifolds of the given Poisson manifold. The role played by these boundary conditions both at the classical and at the perturbative quantum level is discussed. It turns out to be related at the classical level to the category of Poisson manifolds with dual pairs as morphisms and at the perturbative quantum level to the category of associative algebras (deforming algebras of functions on Poisson manifolds) with bimodules as morphisms. Possibly singular Poisson manifolds …
We show that deformations of a coisotropic submanifold inside a fibrewise entire Poisson manifold are controlled by the $L_\infty$-algebra introduced by Oh-Park (for symplectic manifolds) and Cattaneo-Felder. In the symplectic case, we recover results previously obtained by Oh-Park. Moreover we consider the extended deformation problem and prove its obstructedness.
Let $α$ be a contact form on a manifold $M$, and $L\subseteq M$ a closed Legendrian submanifold. I prove that $L$ intersects some characteristic for $α$ at least twice if all characteristics are closed and of the same period, and $α$ embeds nicely into the product of $\mathbb{R}^{2n}$ and an exact symplectic manifold. As an application of the method of proof, the minimal action of a regular closed coisotropic submanifold of complex projective space is at most $π/2$. This yields an obstruction to presymplectic embeddings, and in particular to Lagrangian embeddings.
This article is devoted to a world sheet analysis of A-type D-branes in N=(2,2) supersymmetric non-linear sigma models. In addition to the familiar Lagrangian submanifolds with flat connection we reproduce the rank one A-branes of Kapustin and Orlov, which are supported on coisotropic submanifolds. The main focus is however on gauge fields of higher rank and on tachyon profiles on brane-antibrane pairs. This will lead to the notion of a complex of coisotropic A-branes. A particular role is played by the noncommutative geometry on the brane world volume. It ensures that brane-antibrane pairs lo…
In this paper, we extend Rabinowitz Floer homology theory which has been established and extensively studied for hypersurfaces to coisotropic submanifolds of higher codimension. With this generalized version of Rabinowitz Floer homology theory, we explore the coisotropic intersection problem which interpolates between the Lagrangian intersection problem and the closed orbit problem. To be specific, we study the existence of leafwise intersection points on contact coisotropic submanifolds and the displaceability of stable coisotropic submanifolds.
The Poisson sigma model is a widely studied two-dimensional topological field theory. This note shows that boundary conditions for the Poisson sigma model are related to coisotropic submanifolds (a result announced in [math.QA/0309180]) and that the corresponding reduced phase space is a (possibly singular) dual pair between the reduced spaces of the given two coisotropic submanifolds. In addition the generalization to a more general tensor field is considered and it is shown that the theory produces Lagrangian evolution relations if and only if the tensor field is Poisson.
We revisit the definition of the Maslov index of loops in coisotropic submanifolds tangent to the characteristic foliation of this submanifold. This Maslov index is given by the mean index of a certain symplectic path which is a lift of the holonomy along the loop. We prove a result on the rigidity of the Maslov index for stable coisotropic submanifolds in a broad class of ambient symplectic manifolds. Furthermore, we establish a nearby existence theorem for the same class of ambient manifolds.
We study the role that Hamiltonian and symplectic diffeomorphisms play in the deformation problem of coisotropic submanifolds. We prove that the action by Hamiltonian diffeomorphisms corresponds to the gauge-action of the $L_\infty$-algebra of Oh and Park. Moreover we introduce the notion of extended gauge-equivalence and show that in the case of Oh and Park's $L_\infty$-algebra one recovers the action of symplectic isotopies on coisotropic submanifolds. Finally, we consider the transversally integrable case in detail.
In this paper we prove the Conley conjecture and the almost existence theorem in a neighborhood of a closed nowhere coisotropic submanifold under certain natural assumptions on the ambient symplectic manifold. Essential to the proofs is a displacement principle for such submanifolds. Namely, we show that a topologically displaceable nowhere coisotropic submanifold is also displaceable by a Hamiltonian diffeomorphism, partially extending the well-known non-Lagrangian displacement property.
Let $(M,ω)$ be a geometrically bounded symplectic manifold, $N\subseteq M$ a closed, regular (i.e. "fibering") coisotropic submanifold, and $ϕ:M\to M$ a Hamiltonian diffeomorphism. The main result of this article is that the number of leafwise fixed points of $ϕ$ is bounded below by the sum of the $Z_2$-Betti numbers of $N$, provided that the Hofer distance between $ϕ$ and the identity is small enough and the pair $(N,ϕ)$ is non-degenerate. The bound is optimal if there exists a $Z_2$-perfect Morse function on $N$. A version of the Arnol'd-Givental conjecture for coisotropic submanifolds is al…
Let $(M,ω)$ be a symplectic manifold, $N\subseteq M$ a coisotropic submanifold, and $Σ$ a compact oriented (real) surface. I define a natural Maslov index for each continuous map $u:Σ\to M$ that sends every connected component of $\partialΣ$ to some isotropic leaf of $N$. This index is real valued and generalizes the usual Lagrangian Maslov index. The idea is to use the linear holonomy of the isotropic foliation of $N$ to compensate for the loss of boundary data in the case codimension $N<\dim M/2$. The definition is based on the Salamon-Zehnder (mean) Maslov index of a path of linear symplect…
In this paper we study submanifolds of contact manifolds. The main submanifolds we are interested in are contact coisotropic submanifolds. Based on a correspondence between symplectic and contact coisotropic submanifolds, we can show contact coisotropic submanifolds admit a $C^0$-rigidity, similar to Humilière-Leclercq-Seyfaddini's coisotropic rigidity on symplectic manifolds. Moreover, based on Shelukhin's norm defined on the contactomorphism group, we define a Chekanov type pseudo-metric on the orbit space of a fixed submanifold of a contact manifold. Moreover, we can show a dichotomy of (no…
We establish the leafwise intersection property for closed, coisotropic submanifolds in an exact symplectic manifold satisfying natural additional assumptions.
We consider existence and uniqueness of two kinds of coisotropic embeddings and deduce the existence of deformation quantizations of certain Poisson algebras of basic functions. First we show that any submanifold of a Poisson manifold satisfying a certain constant rank condition sits coisotropically inside some larger cosymplectic submanifold, which is naturally endowed with a Poisson structure. Then we give conditions under which a Dirac manifold can be embedded coisotropically in a Poisson manifold, extending a classical theorem of Gotay.
In this note we study several aspects of coisotropic submanifolds of a contact manifold. In particular we give a structure theorem for the singularity of the characteristic foliation of a coisotropic submanifold. Moreover we establish the existence and uniqueness results of germs of contact structures near Legendrian foliations, which is a special case of coisotropic submanifold. This note can be thought of as an attempt to generalize the study of surfaces in three-dimensional contact geometry to higher dimensions.
We prove that symplectic homeomorphisms, in the sense of the celebrated Gromov-Eliashberg Theorem, preserve coisotropic submanifolds and their characteristic foliations. This result generalizes the Gromov-Eliashberg Theorem and demonstrates that previous rigidity results (on Lagrangians by Laudenbach-Sikorav, and on characteristics of hypersurfaces by Opshtein) are manifestations of a single rigidity phenomenon. To prove the above, we establish a C^0-dynamical property of coisotropic submanifolds which generalizes a foundational theorem in C^0-Hamiltonian dynamics: Uniqueness of generators for…
For an adiscal or monotone regular coisotropic submanifold $N$ of a symplectic manifold I define its Floer homology to be the Floer homology of a certain Lagrangian embedding of $N$. Given a Hamiltonian isotopy $ϕ=(ϕ^t)$ and a suitable almost complex structure, the corresponding Floer chain complex is generated by the $(N,ϕ)$-contractible leafwise fixed points. I also outline the construction of a local Floer homology for an arbitrary closed coisotropic submanifold. Results by Floer and Albers about Lagrangian Floer homology imply lower bounds on the number of leafwise fixed points. This repro…
We introduce the notion of a symplectic capacity relative to a coisotropic submanifold of a symplectic manifold, and we construct two examples of such capacities through modifications of the Hofer-Zehnder capacity. As a consequence, we obtain a non-squeezing theorem for symplectic embeddings relative to coisotropic constraints and existence results for leafwise chords on energy surfaces.
In previous work with M.C. Fernandes, we found a Lie algebroid symmetry for the Einstein evolution equations of general relativity. The present work was motivated by the effort to explain the coisotropic structure of the constraint subset for the initial value problem by extending the notion of hamiltonian structure from Lie algebra actions to general Lie algebroids over presymplectic manifolds. After comparing possible compatibility conditions between the anchor $A\to TM$ and the presymplectic structure on the base $M$, we choose the most natural of them, given by a suitably chosen connection…
We extend the construction of the BFV-complex of a coisotropic submanifold from the Poisson setting to the Jacobi setting. In particular, our construction applies in the contact and l.c.s. settings. The BFV-complex of a coisotropic submanifold $S$ controls the coisotropic deformation problem of $S$ under both Hamiltonian and Jacobi equivalence.
This is an expository and introductory note on some results obtained in "Coisotropic embeddings in Poisson manifolds" (ArXiv math/0611480). Some original material is contained in the last two sections, where we consider linear Poisson structures.
The purpose of this paper is to carry out a classical construction of a non-constant holomorphic disk with boundary on (the suspension of) a Lagrangian submanifold in $\mathbb{R}^{2 n}$ in the case the Lagrangian is the lift of a coisotropic (a.k.a. pre-Lagrangian) submanifold in (a subset $U$ of) $\mathbb{R}^{2 n - 1}$. We show that the positive lower and finite upper bounds for the area of such a disk (which are due to M. Gromov and J.-C. Sikorav and F. Laudenbach-Sikorav for general Lagrangians) depend on the coisotropic submanifold only but not on its lift to the symplectization. The main …
We show that if the image of a Legendrian submanifold under a contact homeomorphism (i.e. a homeomorphism that is a $C^0$-limit of contactomorphisms) is smooth then it is Legendrian, assuming only positive local lower bounds on the conformal factors of the approximating contactomorphisms. More generally the analogous result holds for coisotropic submanifolds in the sense of arXiv:1306.6367. This is a contact version of the Humilière-Leclercq-Seyfaddini coisotropic rigidity theorem in $C^0$ symplectic geometry, and the proof adapts the author's recent re-proof of that result in arXiv:1912.13043…
Let Y,Z be a pair of smooth coisotropic subvarieties in a smooth algebraic Poisson variety X. We show that any data of first order deformation of the structure sheaf O_X to a sheaf of noncommutative algebras and of the sheaves O_Y and O_Z to sheaves of right and left modules over the deformed algebra, respectively, gives rise to a Batalin-Vilkoviski algebra structure on the Tor-sheaf Tor^{O_X}_*(O_Y, O_Z). The induced Gerstenhaber bracket on the Tor-sheaf turns out to be canonically defined; it is independent of the choices of deformations involved. There are similar results for Ext-sheaves as…
The work of Oh and Park ([OP]) on the deformation problem of coisotropic submanifolds opened the possibility of studying a large and interesting class of foliations with some explicit geometric tools. These tools assemble into the structure of an L-infinity algebra on the shifted foliation complex (Ω^*[1](\fol), d_\fol), which allows a concise description of deformations in terms of a Maurer-Cartan equation. Infinitesimal deformations are given by d_\fol-closed forms, and the relation between infinitesimal deformations and full deformations can be studied in terms of obstruction classes lying …
In this survey, we discuss a series of linearization problems--for Poisson structures, Lie algebroids, and Lie groupoids. The last problem involves a conjecture on the structure of proper groupoids. Attempting to prove this by the method of averaging leads to problems concerning almost actions of compact groups and almost invariant submanifolds for compact group actions. The paper ends with a discussion of possible extensions of the convexity theorems for momentum maps of hamiltonian actions of compact groups.
Using the structural theorems developed in [Hua13], we study the deformation theory of coisotropic submanifolds in contact manifolds, under the assumption that the characteristic foliation is nonsingular. In the "middle" dimensions, we find an interesting relationship with foliation theory. Some elementary applications of contact geometry in foliation theory are explored.
Given a manifold M with a submanifold N, the deformation space D(M,N) is a manifold with a submersion to R whose zero fiber is the normal bundle, and all other fibers are equal to M. This article uses deformation spaces to study the local behavior of various geometric structures associated with singular foliations, with N a submanifold transverse to the foliation. New examples include L_\infty-algebroids, Courant algebroids, and Lie bialgebroids. In each case, we obtain a normal form theorem around N, in terms of a model structure over the normal bundle.
The study of mechanical systems on Lie algebroids permits an understanding of the dynamics described by a Lagrangian or Hamiltonian function for a wide range of mechanical systems in a unified framework. Systems defined in tangent bundles, Lie algebras, principal bundles, reduced systems and constrained are included in such description. In this paper, we investigate how to derive the dynamics associated with a Lagrangian system defined on the set of admissible elements of a given Lie algebroid using Tulczyjew's triple on Lie algebroids and constructing a Lagrangian Lie subalgebroid of a symple…
In this thesis we study geometric structures from Poisson and generalized complex geometry with mild singular behavior using Lie algebroids. The process of lifting such structures to their Lie algebroid version makes them less singular, as their singular behavior is incorporated in the anchor of the Lie algebroid. We develop a framework for this using the concept of a divisor, which encodes the singularities, and show when structures exhibiting such singularities can be lifted to a Lie algebroid built out of the divisor. Once one has successfully lifted the structure, it becomes possible to st…
In this master's thesis, we will go into the (projective) blow-up construction for Lie groupoids and Lie algebroids. In the literature, there are different methods to be found on how to do this, especially for Lie groupoids. The main goal of the thesis is to explain, in detail, the Lie groupoid and the Lie algebroid blow-up constructions, but also to examine and compare different points of view. More explicitly, we will rigorously explain the blow-up construction for Lie groupoids by Claire Debord and Georges Skandalis. Moreover, we will show that the blow-up construction for Lie groupoids by …
