A High-Rank Gap Theorem for Type-I Bounded Symmetric Domains

Abstract

Let $\Omega_{r,s}$ and $\Omega_{r',s'}$ be Type-I bounded symmetric domains with $s>r$ and $s'>r'$. Let $F:U\to M_{r',s'}(\mathbb C)$ be holomorphic, where $\overline{\Omega}_{r,s}\subset U$, and suppose that $F(S_{r,s})\subset S_{r',s'}$. If \[ k(s-r)\leq s'-r'<(k+1)(s-r) \quad\text{and}\quad r'>kr, \] then, up to target coordinates, the map contains a fixed identity block of size $r'-kr$. The proof first turns the boundary equation into a matrix identity for the first derivative. A direct dimension count gives $g(s-r)\leq s'-r'$, where $g$ is the rank of a positive semidefinite matrix arising from this identity. The extremal property of the Shilov boundary and the scalar Hopf boundary lemma then show that certain rows of the map are constant. This gives the fixed identity block. We also give examples showing that its size is optimal and explain why the proof needs $F$ on a neighborhood of $\overline{\Omega}_{r,s}$.