A generalization of manifolds with corners

Abstract

In conventional Differential Geometry one studies manifolds, locally modelled on ${\mathbb R}^n$, manifolds with boundary, locally modelled on $[0,\infty)\times{\mathbb R}^{n-1}$, and manifolds with corners, locally modelled on $[0,\infty)^k\times{\mathbb R}^{n-k}$. They form categories ${\bf Man}\subset{\bf Man^b}\subset{\bf Man^c}$. Manifolds with corners $X$ have boundaries $\partial X$, also manifolds with corners, with $\mathop{\rm dim}\partial X=\mathop{\rm dim} X-1$. We introduce a new notion of 'manifolds with generalized corners', or 'manifolds with g-corners', extending manifolds with corners, which form a category $\bf Man^{gc}$ with ${\bf Man}\subset{\bf Man^b}\subset{\bf Man^c}\subset{\bf Man^{gc}}$. Manifolds with g-corners are locally modelled on $X_P=\mathop{\rm Hom}_{\bf Mon}(P,[0,\infty))$ for $P$ a weakly toric monoid, where $X_P\cong[0,\infty)^k\times{\mathbb R}^{n-k}$ for $P={\mathbb N}^k\times{\mathbb Z}^{n-k}$. Most differential geometry of manifolds with corners extends nicely to manifolds with g-corners, including well-behaved boundaries $\partial X$. In some ways manifolds with g-corners have better properties than manifolds with corners; in particular, transverse fibre products in $\bf Man^{gc}$ exist under much weaker conditions than in $\bf Man^c$. This paper was motivated by future applications in symplectic geometry, in which some moduli spaces of $J$-holomorphic curves can be manifolds or Kuranishi spaces with g-corners (see the author arXiv:1409.6908) rather than ordinary corners. Our manifolds with g-corners are related to the 'interior binomial varieties' of Kottke and Melrose in arXiv:1107.3320 (see also Kottke arXiv:1509.03874), and to the 'positive log differentiable spaces' of Gillam and Molcho in arXiv:1507.06752.