This is the extended version of a lecture course given at the University of Vienna in the spring term 2005. The main aim of this course was to understand the papers \cite{10} and \cite{11} and to give a complete account of existence and uniqueness of the solutions of the members of higher order of the hierarchies of Burgers' equation and the Korteweg-de Vries equation, including their derivation and all the necessary background, both on the circle and on the real line in the setting of rapidly decreasing functions. These are all geodesic equations of infinite dimensional regular Lie groups, namely the diffeomorphism group of the line or the circle and the corresponding Virasoro group.
The $L^2$-metric or Fubini-Study metric on the non-linear Grassmannian of all submanifolds of type $M$ in a Riemannian manifold $(N,g)$ induces geodesic distance 0. We discuss another metric which involves the mean curvature and shows that its geodesic distance is a good topological metric. The vanishing phenomenon for the geodesic distance holds also for all diffeomorphism groups for the $L^2$-metric.
The geodesic distance vanishes on the group of compactly supported diffeomorphisms of a Riemannian manifold $M$ of bounded geometry, for the right invariant weak Riemannian metric which is induced by the Sobolev metric $H^s$ of order $0\le s<\tfrac12$ on the Lie algebra $\mathfrak X_c(M)$ of vector fields with compact support.
We show that certain right-invariant metrics endow the infinite-dimensional Lie group of all smooth orientation-preserving diffeomorphisms of the circle with a Riemannian structure. The study of the Riemannian exponential map allows us to prove infinite-dimensional counterparts of results from classical Riemannian geometry: the Riemannian exponential map is a smooth local diffeomorphism and the length-minimizing property of the geodesics holds.
In 1966 V.Arnold suggested a group-theoretic approach to ideal hydrodynamics in which the motion of an inviscid incompressible fluid is described as the geodesic flow of the right-invariant $L^2$-metric on the group of volume-preserving diffeomorphisms of the flow domain. Here we propose geodesic, group-theoretic, and Hamiltonian frameworks to include fluid flows with vortex sheets. It turns out that the corresponding dynamics is related to a certain groupoid of pairs of volume-preserving diffeomorphisms with common interface. We also develop a general framework for Euler-Arnold equations for …
We study Sobolev-type metrics of fractional order $s\geq0$ on the group $\Diff_c(M)$ of compactly supported diffeomorphisms of a manifold $M$. We show that for the important special case $M=S^1$ the geodesic distance on $\Diff_c(S^1)$ vanishes if and only if $s\leq\frac12$. For other manifolds we obtain a partial characterization: the geodesic distance on $\Diff_c(M)$ vanishes for $M=\R\times N, s<\frac12$ and for $M=S^1\times N, s\leq\frac12$, with $N$ being a compact Riemannian manifold. On the other hand the geodesic distance on $\Diff_c(M)$ is positive for $\dim(M)=1, s>\frac12$ and $\dim(…
This article provides an overview of various notions of shape spaces, including the space of parametrized and unparametrized curves, the space of immersions, the diffeomorphism group and the space of Riemannian metrics. We discuss the Riemannian metrics that can be defined thereon, and what is known about the properties of these metrics. We put particular emphasis on the induced geodesic distance, the geodesic equation and its well-posedness, geodesic and metric completeness and properties of the curvature.
We study geodesic equations for a family of right-invariant Riemannian metrics on the group of diffeomorphisms of a compact manifold. The metrics descend to Fisher's information metric on the space of smooth probability densities. The right reduced geodesic equations are higher-dimensional generalisations of the $μ$--Hunter--Saxton equation, used to model liquid crystals under influence of magnetic fields. Local existence and uniqueness results are established by proving smoothness of the geodesic spray. The descending property of the metrics is used to obtain a novel factorisation of diffeomo…
We start by constructing a Hilbert manifold T of orientation preserving diffeomorphisms of the circle (modulo the group of bi-holomorphic self-mappings of the disc). This space, which could be thought of as a completion of the universal Teichmueller space, is endowed with a right-invariant Kaehler metric. Using results from the theory of quasiconformal mappings we construct an embedding of T into the infinite dimensional Segal-Wilson Grassmannian. The latter turns out to be a very natural ambient space for T. This allows us to prove that T's sectional curvature is negative in the holomorphic d…
In this paper we show that the incompressible Euler equation on the Sobolev space $H^s(\R^n)$, $s > n/2+1$, can be expressed in Lagrangian coordinates as a geodesic equation on an infinite dimensional manifold. Moreover the Christoffel map describing the geodesic equation is real analytic. The dynamics in Lagrangian coordinates is described on the group of volume preserving diffeomorphisms, which is an analytic submanifold of the whole diffeomorphism group. Furthermore it is shown that a Sobolev class vector field integrates to a curve on the diffeomorphism group.
We define the group of almost periodic diffeomorphisms on $\mathbb{R}^n$ and on an arbitrary Lie group. We then study the properties of its Riemannian and Lie group exponential maps and provide applications to fluid equations. In particular, we show that there exists a geodesic of a weak Riemannian metric on the group of almost periodic diffeomorphisms of the line that consists entirely of conjugate points.
We consider a variety of geodesic equations on Sobolev diffeomorphism groups, including the equations of ideal hydrodynamics. We prove that solutions of the corresponding two-point boundary value problems are precisely as smooth as their boundary conditions. We further utilise this regularity property to construct continuously differentiable exponential maps in the Frechét setting.
In this paper, the two-dimensional periodic $b$-equation is discussed under geometric aspects, i.e., as a geodesic flow on the diffeomorphism group of the torus $\T=S^1\times S^1$. In the framework of Arnold's [V.I. Arnold, Sur la géométrie différentielle des groupes de Lie de dimension infinie et ses applications à l'hydrodynamique des fluides parfaits. Ann. Inst. Fourier (Grenoble) 16 (1966) 319-361] famous approach, we achieve some well-posedness results for the $b$-equation and we perform explicit curvature computations for the 2D Camassa-Holm equation, which is obtained for $b=2$. Finally…
We study completeness properties of the Sobolev diffeomorphism groups $\mathcal D^s(M)$ endowed with strong right-invariant Riemannian metrics when the underlying manifold $M$ is $\mathbb R^d$ or compact without boundary. The main result is that for $s > \dim M/2 + 1$, the group $\mathcal D^s(M)$ is geodesically and metrically complete with a surjective exponential map. We then present the connection between the Sobolev diffeomorphism group and the large deformation matching framework in order to apply our results to diffeomorphic image matching.
Of concern is the study of the long-time existence of solutions to the Euler--Arnold equation of the right-invariant $H^{3/2}$-metric on the diffeomorphism group of the circle. In previous work by Escher and Kolev it has been shown that this equation admits long-time solutions if the order $s$ of the metric is greater than $3/2$, the behaviour for the critical Sobolev index $s=3/2$ has been left open. In this article we fill this gap by proving the analogous result also for the boundary case. The behaviour of the $H^{3/2}$-metric is, however, still different from its higher order counter parts…
We give explicit solutions to the two-component Hunter-Saxton system on the unit circle. Moreover, we show how global weak solutions can be naturally constructed using the geometric interpretation of this system as a re-expression of the geodesic flow on the semi-direct product of a suitable subgroup of the diffeomorphism group of the circle with the space of smooth functions on the circle. These spatially and temporally periodic solutions turn out to be conservative.
We provide rigorous evidence of the fact that the modified Constantin-Lax-Majda equation modeling vortex and quasi-geostrophic dynamics describes the geodesic flow on the subgroup of orientation-preserving diffeomorphisms fixing one point, with respect to right-invariant metric induced by the homogeneous Sobolev norm $H^{1/2}$ and show the local existence of the geodesics in the extended group of diffeomorphisms of Sobolev class $H^{k}$ with $k\ge 2$.
Recently, Holm, Marsden, and Ratiu [1998] have derived a new model for the mean motion of an ideal fluid in Euclidean space given by the equation $\dot{V}(t) + \nabla_{U(t)} V(t) - α^2 [\nabla U(t)]^t \cdot \triangle U(t) = -\text{grad} p(t)$ where $\text{div} U=0$, and $V = (1- α^2 \triangle)U$. In this model, the momentum $V$ is transported by the velocity $U$, with the effect that nonlinear interaction between modes corresponding to length scales smaller than $α$ is negligible. We generalize this equation to the setting of an $n$ dimensional compact Riemannian manifold. The resulting equati…
Many conservative partial differential equations correspond to geodesic equations on groups of diffeomorphisms. Stability of their solutions can be studied by examining sectional curvature of these groups: negative curvature in all sections implies exponential growth of perturbations and hence suggests instability, while positive curvature suggests stability. In the first part of the paper we survey what we currently know about the curvature-stability relation in this context and provide detailed calculations for several equations of continuum mechanics associated to Sobolev $H^0$ and $H^1$ en…
We present a geometric analysis of the incompressible averaged Euler equations for an ideal inviscid fluid. We show that solutions of these equations are geodesics on the volume-preserving diffeomorphism group of a new weak right invariant pseudo metric. We prove that for precompact open subsets of ${\mathbb R}^n$, this system of PDEs with Dirichlet boundary conditions are well-posed for initial data in the Hilbert space $H^s$, $s>n/2+1$. We then use a nonlinear Trotter product formula to prove that solutions of the averaged Euler equations are a regular limit of solutions to the averaged Navi…
Of concern is the study of fractional order Sobolev--type metrics on the group of $H^{\infty}$-diffeomorphism of $\mathbb{R}^{d}$ and on its Sobolev completions $\mathcal{D}^{q}(\mathbb{R}^{d})$. It is shown that the $H^{s}$-Sobolev metric induces a strong and smooth Riemannian metric on the Banach manifolds $\mathcal{D}^{s}(\mathbb{R}^{d})$ for $s >1 + \frac{d}{2}$. As a consequence a global well-posedness result of the corresponding geodesic equations, both on the Banach manifold $\mathcal{D}^{s}(\mathbb{R}^{d})$ and on the smooth regular Fréchet-Lie group of all $H^{\infty}$-diffeomorphisms…
In this paper, we study the geodesic flow of a right-invariant metric induced by a general Fourier multiplier on the diffeomorphism group of the circle and on some of its homogeneous spaces. This study covers in particular right-invariant metrics induced by Sobolev norms of fractional order. We show that, under a certain condition on the symbol of the inertia operator (which is satisfied for the fractional Sobolev norm $H^{s}$ for $s \ge 1/2$), the corresponding initial value problem is well-posed in the smooth category and that the Riemannian exponential map is a smooth local diffeomorphism. …
In this article we study Sobolev metrics of order one on diffeomorphism groups on the real line. We prove that the space $\operatorname{Diff}_{1}(\mathbb R)$ equipped with the homogenous Sobolev metric of order one is a flat space in the sense of Riemannian geometry, as it is isometric to an open subset of a mapping space equipped with the flat $L^2$-metric. Here $\operatorname{Diff}_{1}(\mathbb R)$ denotes the extension of the group of all either compactly supported, rapidly decreasing or $H^\infty$-diffeomorphisms, that allows for a shift towards infinity. In particular this result provides …
We study the geodesic problem on the group of diffeomorphism of a domain M$\subset$Rd, equipped with the H(div) metric. The geodesic equations coincide with the Camassa-Holm equation when d=1, and represent one of its possible multi-dimensional generalizations when d>1. We propose a relaxation {à} la Brenier of this problem, in which solutions are represented as probability measures on the space of continuous paths on the cone over M. We use this relaxation to prove that smooth H(div) geodesics are globally length minimizing for short times. We also prove that there exists a unique pressure fi…
As V. I. Arnold observed in the 1960s, the Euler equations of incompressible fluid flow correspond formally to geodesic equations in a group of volume-preserving diffeomorphisms. Working in an Eulerian framework, we study incompressible flows of shapes as critical paths for action (kinetic energy) along transport paths constrained to have characteristic-function densities. The formal geodesic equations for this problem are Euler equations for incompressible, inviscid potential flow of fluid with zero pressure and surface tension on the free boundary. The problem of minimizing this action exhib…
We consider the periodic $\muDP$ equation (a modified version of the Degasperis-Procesi equation) as the geodesic flow of a right-invariant affine connection $\nabla$ on the Fréchet Lie group $\Diff^{\infty}(§^1)$ of all smooth and orientation-preserving diffeomorphisms of the circle $§^1=\R/\Z$. On the Lie algebra $\C^{\infty}(§^1)$ of $\Diff^{\infty}(§^1)$, this connection is canonically given by the sum of the Lie bracket and a bilinear operator. For smooth initial data, we show the short time existence of a smooth solution of $\muDP$ which depends smoothly on time and on the initial data. …
Many models in mathematical physics are given as non-linear partial differential equation of hydrodynamic type; the incompressible Euler, KdV, and Camassa--Holm equations are well-studied examples.A beautiful approach to well-posedness is to go from the Eulerian to a Lagrangian description.Geometrically it corresponds to a geodesic initial value problem on the infinite-dimensional group of diffeomorphisms with a right invariant Riemannian metric. By establishing regularity properties of the Riemannian spray one can then obtain local, and sometimes global, existence and uniqueness results. Ther…
In this paper we consider Yamabe type problem for higher order curvatures on manifolds with totally geodesic boundaries. We prove local gradient and second derivative estimates for solutions to the fully nonlinear elliptic equations associated with the problems.
The group of diffeomorphisms of a compact manifold endowed with the L^2 metric acting on the space of probability densities gives a unifying framework for the incompressible Euler equation and the theory of optimal mass transport. Recently, several authors have extended optimal transport to the space of positive Radon measures where the Wasserstein-Fisher-Rao distance is a natural extension of the classical L^2-Wasserstein distance. In this paper, we show a similar relation between this unbalanced optimal transport problem and the Hdiv right-invariant metric on the group of diffeomorphisms, wh…
