Some of the most important classes of surfaces in projective 3-space are reviewed: these are isothermally asymptotic surfaces, projectively applicable surfaces, surfaces of Jonas, projectively minimal surfaces, etc. It is demonstrated that the corresponding projective "Gauss-Codazzi" equations reduce to integrable systems which are quite familiar from the modern soliton theory and coincide with the stationary flows in the Davey-Stewartson and Kadomtsev-Petviashvili hierarchies, equations of the Toda lattice, etc. The corresponding Lax pairs can be obtained by inserting a spectral parameter in the equations of the Wilczynski moving frame.
A Liouville classification of a natural Hamiltonian system on the projective plane with a rotation metric and a linear integral is obtained. All Fomenko--Zieschang invariants (i.e., labeled molecules) of the system are calculated.
Given two c-projectively equivalent metrics on a Kähler manifold we show that the canoncially constructed, Poisson-commuting integrals of motion of the geodesic flow, linear and quadratic in momenta, also commute as quantum operators. The methods employed here also provide a proof of a similar statement in the case of projective equivalence. We also investigate the addition of potentials, i.e. the generalization to natural Hamiltonian systems. We show that the commuting operators lead to separation of variables for Schrödinger's equation.
Projective connections arise from equivalence classes of affine connections under the reparametrization of geodesics. They may also be viewed as quotient systems of the classical geodesic equation. After studying the link between integrals of the (classical) geodesic flow and its associated projective connection, we turn our attention to 2-dimensional metrics that admit one projective vector field, i.e. whose local flow sends unparametrized geodesics into unparametrized geodesics. We review and discuss the classification of these metrics, introducing special coordinates on the linear space of …
We prove a singular Darboux type theorem for homogeneous polynomial closed $2$-forms of degree one on $\mathbb{C}^n$. As application, we classify non-integrable codimension one distributions, of degree one, and arbitrary classes on projective spaces.
We present the first steps of a procedure which discretises surface theory in classical projective differential geometry in such a manner that underlying integrable structure is preserved. We propose a canonical frame in terms of which the associated projective Gauss-Weingarten and Gauss-Mainardi-Codazzi equations adopt compact forms. Based on a scaling symmetry which injects a parameter into the linear Gauss-Weingarten equations, we set down an algebraic classification scheme of discrete projective minimal surfaces which turns out to admit a geometric counterpart formulated in terms of discre…
We give a new mechanism for constructing Backlund transformations by using symmetry reduction of differential systems. We then characterize a family of Backlund transformations between Darboux integrable systems where the Backlund transformation can be constructed by the proposed symmetry reduction method.
We introduce a general setting for multidimensional dispersionless integrable hierarchy in terms of differential $m$-form $Ω_m$ with the coefficients satisfying the Plücker relations, which is gauge-invariantly closed and its gauge-invariant coordinates (ratios of coefficients) are (locally) holomorphic with respect to one of the variables (the spectral variable). We demonstrate that this form defines a hierarchy of dispersionless integrable equations in terms of commuting vector fields locally holomorphic in the spectral variable. The equations of the hierarchy are given by the gauge-invarian…
We propose definitions of homogeneity and projective equivalence for systems of ordinary differential equations of order greater than two, which allow us to generalize the concept of a spray (for systems of order two). We show that the Euler-Lagrange fields of parametric Lagrangians of order greater than one which are regular (in a natural sense that we define) form a projective equivalence class of homogeneous systems. We show further that the geodesics, or base integral curves, of projectively equivalent homogeneous differential equation fields are the same apart from orientation-preserving …
The purpose of this article is to give an interpretation of real projective structures and associated cohomology classes in terms of connections, sections, etc. satisfying elliptic partial differential equations in the spirit of Hodge theory. We shall also give an application of these results as the uniqueness of a minimal surface in a symmetric space.
Extending the Labourie-Loftin correspondence, we establish, on any punctured oriented surface of finite type, a one-to-one correspondence between convex projective structures with specific types of ends and punctured Riemann surface structures endowed with meromorphic cubic differentials whose poles are at the punctures. This generalizes previous results of Loftin, Benoist-Hulin and Dumas-Wolf.
We construct and study a natural homeomorphism between the moduli space of polynomial cubic differentials of degree d on the complex plane and the space of projective equivalence classes of oriented convex polygons with d+3 vertices. This map arises from the construction of a complete hyperbolic affine sphere with prescribed Pick differential, and can be seen as an analogue of the Labourie-Loftin parameterization of convex RP^2 structures on a compact surface by the bundle of holomorphic cubic differentials over Teichmuller space.
It is demonstrated that the stationary Veselov-Novikov (VN) and the stationary modified Veselov-Novikov (mVN) equations describe one and the same class of surfaces in projective differential geometry: the so-called isothermally asymptotic surfaces, examples of which include arbitrary quadrics and cubics, quartics of Kummer, projective transforms of affine spheres and rotation surfaces. The stationary mVN equation arises in the Wilczynski approach and plays the role of the projective "Gauss-Codazzi" equations, while the stationary VN equation follows from the Lelieuvre representation of surface…
In the article arXiv:1108.5443 we established a general group-theoretical approach to the construction of Bäcklund transformations. We then showed how this construction can be applied to construct Bäcklund transformation between equations which are Darboux integrable. Here we give a number of detailed examples and new applications which demonstrate the theory. In particular our final example demonstrates how our group theoretical approach produces all the Bäcklund transformations in arXiv:0707.4408. We also prove, using group methods, a non-existence theorem for Bäcklund transformatons which d…
We introduce a 1-cocycle on the group of diffeomorphisms Diff$(M)$ of a smooth manifold $M$ endowed with a projective connection. This cocycle represents a nontrivial cohomology class of $\Diff(M)$ related to the Diff$(M)$-modules of second order linear differential operators on $M$. In the one-dimensional case, this cocycle coincides with the Schwarzian derivative, while, in the multi-dimensional case, it represents its natural and new generalization. This work is a continuation of \cite{bo} where the same problems have been treated in one-dimensional case.
Starting from suitable tableaux over finite dimensional Lie algebras, we provide a scheme for producing involutive linear Pfaffian systems related to various classes of submanifolds in homogeneous spaces which constitute integrable systems. These include isothermic surfaces, Willmore surfaces, and other classical soliton surfaces. Completely integrable equations such as the G/G_0-system of Terng and the curved flat system of Ferus-Pedit may be obtained as special cases of this construction. Some classes of surfaces in projective differential geometry whose Gauss-Codazzi equations are associate…
A novel class of integrable surfaces is recorded. This class of O surfaces is shown to include and generalize classical surfaces such as isothermic, constant mean curvature, minimal, `linear' Weingarten, Guichard and Petot surfaces and surfaces of constant Gaussian curvature. It is demonstrated that the construction of a Backlund transformation for O surfaces leads in a natural manner to an associated parameter-dependent linear representation. The classical pseudosphere and breather pseudospherical surfaces are generated.
We introduce a method to find differential equations for functions which define tables, such that associated billiard systems admit a local first integral. We illustrate this method in three situations: the case of (locally) integrable wire billiards, for finding surfaces in ${\mathbb R}^3$ with a first integral of degree one in velocities, and for finding a piece-wise smooth surface in ${\mathbb R}^3$ homeomorphic to a torus, being a table of an integrable billiard.
In this text, we explore the tools that Projective Differential Geometry can provide for the asymptotic analysis of classical fields on projectively compact manifolds. We emphasise on the case of order 2-compactifications and develop, in this case, a projective exterior differential tractor calculus that is analogous to that existing for conformally compact manifolds.
These are lecture notes on the rigidity of submanifolds of projective space "resembling" compact Hermitian symmetric spaces in their homogeneous embeddings. Recent results are surveyed, along with their classical predecessors. The notes include an introduction to moving frames in projective geometry, an exposition of the Hwang-Yamaguchi ridgidity theorem and a new variant of the Hwang-Yamaguchi theorem.
We analyze here Hamiltonian stationary surfaces in the complex projective plane as (local) solutions to an integrable system, formulated as a zero curvature on a loop group. As an application, we show in details why such tori are finite type solutions, and eventually describe the simplest of them: the homogeneous ones.
In this paper we analyze the tangential symmetries of Darboux integrable decomposable exterior differential systems. The decomposable systems generalize the notion of a hyperbolic exterior differential system and include the classic notion of Darboux integrability for first order systems and second order scalar equations. For Darboux integrable systems the general solution can be found by integration (solving ordinary differential equations). We show that this property holds for our generalized systems as well. We give a geometric construction of the Lie algebras of tangential symmetries assoc…
We search for Riemannian metrics whose Levi-Civita connection belongs to a given projective class. Following Sinjukov and Mikes, we show that such metrics correspond precisely to suitably positive solutions of a certain projectively invariant finite-type linear system of partial differential equations. Prolonging this system, we may reformulate these equations as defining covariant constant sections of a certain vector bundle with connection. This vector bundle and its connection are derived from the Cartan connection of the underlying projective structure.
The purpose of this paper is to connect two subjects: the theory of quantum integrable systems (complete commutative rings of differential operators), and differential Galois theory. We define quantum completely integrable systems (QCIS), algebraically integrable QCIS, the differential Galois group of a QCIS. We show that the differential Galois group is always reductive and that a QCIS is algebraically integrable if and only if its differential Galois group is commutative. In particular, we show that a differential operator L in one variable is algebraic in the sense of Krichever (i.e. finite…
In this paper we present a far-reaching generalization of E. Vessiot's analysis of the Darboux integrable partial differential equations in one dependent and two independent variables. Our approach provides new insights into this classical method, uncovers the fundamental geometric invariants of Darboux integrable systems, and provides for systematic, algorithmic integration of such systems. This work is formulated within the general framework of Pfaffian exterior differential systems and, as such, has applications well beyond those currently found in the literature. In particular, our integra…
Labourie and the author independently showed that a convex real projective structure on an oriented surface of genus at least 2 is equivalent to a conformal structure plus a holomorphic cubic differential U. We analyze the behavior of the real-projective structure as the conformal structure is fixed and the cubic differential is scaled to infinity. In particular, we find the asymptotic eigenvalues of the holonomies around smooth geodesic loops with respect to the flat metric given by the 2/3 power of |U|. If the asymptotic holonomies of all loops could be computed, then that would describe a b…
We study an isomorphism between the group of rigid body displacements and the group of dual quaternions modulo the dual number multiplicative group from the viewpoint of differential geometry in a projective space over the dual numbers. Some seemingly weird phenomena in this space have lucid kinematic interpretations. An example is the existence of non-straight curves with a continuum of osculating tangents which correspond to motions in a cylinder group with osculating vertical Darboux motions. We also suggest geometrically meaningful ways to select osculating conics of a curve in this projec…
We show that, for both the conformal and projective groups, all the differential invariants of a generic surface in three-dimensional space can be written as combinations of the invariant derivatives of a single differential invariant. The proof is based on the equivariant method of moving frames.
This is an expanded and updated version of a lecture series I gave at Seoul National University in September 1997. It is in some sense an update of the 1979 Griffiths and Harris paper with a similar title. I discuss: Homogeneous varieties, Topology and consequences Projective differential invariants, Varieties with degenerate Gauss images, When can a uniruled variety be smooth?, Dual varieties, Linear systems of bounded and constant rank, Secant and tangential varieties, Systems of quadrics with tangential defects, Recognizing uniruled varieties, Recognizing intersections of quadrics, Recogniz…
Following Simpson we consider the integrable system structure on the moduli spaces of Higgs bundles on a compact Kähler manifold $X$. We propose a description of the corresponding spectral cover of $X$ as the fiberwise projective dual to a hypersurface in the projectivization $\mathbb{P}(\mathcal{T}_{X} \oplus \mathcal{O}_X)$ of the tangent bundle $\mathcal{T}_X$ to $X$. The defining equation of the hypersurface dual to the Simpson spectral cover is explicitly constructed in terms of the Higgs fields.
This article is a local analysis of integrable GL(2)-structures of degree 4. A GL(2)-structure of degree n corresponds to a distribution of rational normal cones over a manifold M of dimension (n+1). Integrability corresponds to the existence of many submanifolds that are spanned by lines in the cones. These GL(2)-structures are important because they naturally arise from a certain family of second-order hyperbolic PDEs in three variables that are integrable via hydrodynamic reduction. Familiar examples include the wave equation, the first flow of the dKP equation, and the Boyer--Finley equati…
We investigate the differential calculus defined by Ashtekar and Lewandowski on projective limits of manifolds by means of cylindrical smooth functions and compare it with the C^infty calculus proposed by Froehlicher and Kriegl in more general context. For products of connected manifolds, a Boman theorem is proved, showing the equivalence of the two calculi in this particular case. Several examples of projective limits of manifolds are discussed, arising in String Theory and in loop quantization of Gauge Theories.
Given a triangulation of a closed surface, we consider a cross ratio system that assigns a complex number to every edge satisfying certain polynomial equations per vertex. Every cross ratio system induces a complex projective structure together with a circle pattern on the closed surface. In particular, there is an associated conformal structure. We show that for any triangulated torus, the projection from the space of cross ratio systems with prescribed Delaunay angles to the Teichmüller space is a covering map with at most one branch point. Our approach is based on a notion of discrete holom…
We obtain a unified theory of discrete minimal surfaces based on discrete holomorphic quadratic differentials via a Weierstrass representation. Our discrete holomorphic quadratic differential are invariant under Möbius transformations. They can be obtained from discrete harmonic functions in the sense of the cotangent Laplacian and Schramm's orthogonal circle patterns. We show that the corresponding discrete minimal surfaces unify the earlier notions of discrete minimal surfaces: circular minimal surfaces via the integrable systems approach and conical minimal surfaces via the curvature approa…
We present a complete classification and the construction of $\mathrm{Mp}(2n+2,\mathbb{R})$-equivariant differential operators acting on the principal series representations, associated to the contact projective geometry on $\mathbb{RP}^{2n+1}$ and induced from the irreducible $\mathrm{Mp}(2n,\mathbb{R})$-submodules of the Segal-Shale-Weil representation twisted by a one-parameter family of characters. The proof is based on the classification of homomorphisms of generalized Verma modules for the Segal-Shale-Weil representation twisted by a one-parameter family of characters, together with a ge…
Integrable flows on the Grassmannians Gr(N-1,N+1) are defined by the requirement of closedness of the differential N-1 forms $Ω_{N-1}$ of rank N-1 naturally associated with Gr(N-1,N+1). Gauge-invariant parts of these flows, given by the systems of the N-1 quasi-linear differential equations, describe coisotropic deformations of (N-1)-dimensional linear subspaces. For the class of solutions which are Laurent polynomials in one variable these systems coincide with N-dimensional integrable systems such as Liouville equation (N=2), dispersionless Kadomtsev-Petviashvili equation (N=3), dispersionle…
