arXiv subjects
Publications and source records attributed to Jean Gutt.
We complete the spectral characterization of Besse and Zoll Reeb flows on the standard contact sphere $S^{2n-1}$ initiated by Ginzburg-G\"urel-Mazzucchelli. Roughly speaking, it states that a Reeb flow on the boundary of any star-shaped domain in $\mathbb{R}^{2n}$ is Besse if and only if it has $n$ coinciding Ekeland-Hofer capacities, and that it is Zoll if and only if the first $n$ capacities coincide.
In this paper, we prove that the Ekeland-Hofer capacities coincide on all star-shaped domain in $\mathbb{R}^{2n}$ with the equivariant symplectic homology capacities defined by the first author and Hutchings, answering a 35 years old question. Along the way, we prove that given a Hamiltonian $H$, the (equivariant) Floer homology of $H$ is chain-complex isomorphic to the Morse homology of the Hamiltonian action functional.
It is a long-standing conjecture that all symplectic capacities which are equal to the Gromov width for ellipsoids coincide on a class of convex domains in $\mathbb{R}^{2n}$. It is known that they coincide for monotone toric domains in all dimensions. In this paper, we study whether requiring a capacity to be equal to the $k^{th}$ Ekeland-Hofer capacity for all ellipsoids can characterize it on a class of domains. We prove that for $k=n=2$, this holds for convex toric domains, but not for all monotone toric domains. We also prove that for $k=n\ge 3$, this does not hold even for convex toric domains.
Chaidez and Edtmair have recently found the first example of dynamically convex domains in $\mathbb R^4$ that are not symplectomorphic to convex domains (called symplectically convex domains), answering a long-standing open question. In this paper, we discover new examples of such domains without referring to Chaidez-Edtmair's criterion. We also show that these domains are arbitrarily far from the set of symplectically convex domains in $\mathbb R^4$ with respect to the coarse symplectic Banach-Mazur distance by using an explicit numerical criterion for symplectic non-convexity.
We introduce a new normalization condition for symplectic capacities, which we call cube normalization. This condition is satisfied by the Lagrangian capacity and the cube capacity. Our main result is an analogue of the strong Viterbo conjecture for monotone toric domains in all dimensions. Moreover, we give a family of examples where standard normalized capacities coincide but not cube normalized ones. Along the way, we give an explicit formula for the Lagrangian capacity on a large class of toric domains.
We define a transverse Dolbeault cohomology associated to any almost complex structure $j$ on a smooth manifold $M$. This we do by extending the notion of transverse complex structure and by introducing a natural j-stable involutive limit distribution with such a transverse complex structure. We relate this transverse Dolbeault cohomology to the generalized Dolbeault cohomology of (M,j) introduced by Cirici and Wilson, showing that the (p,0) cohomology spaces coincide. This study of transversality leads us to suggest a notion of minimally non-integrable almost complex structure.
We investigate the convexity up to symplectomorphism (called symplectic convexity) of star-shaped toric domains in $\mathbb R^4$. In particular, based on the criterion from Chaidez-Edtmair via Ruelle invariant and systolic ratio of the boundary of star-shaped toric domains, we provide elementary operations on domains that can kill the symplectic convexity. These operations only result in $C^0$-small perturbations in terms of domains' volume. Moreover, one of the operations is a systematic way to produce examples of dynamically convex but not symplectically convex toric domains. Finally, we are able to provide concrete bounds for the constants that appear in Chaidez-Edtmair's criterion.
In this article we explore a symplectic packing problem where the targets and domains are $2n$-dimensional symplectic manifolds. We work in the context where the manifolds have first homology group equal to $\mathbb{Z}^n$, and we require the embeddings to induce isomorphisms between first homology groups. In this case, Maley, Mastrangeli and Traynor showed that the problem can be reduced to a combinatorial optimization problem, namely packing certain allowable simplices into a given standard simplex. They designed a computer program and presented computational results. In particular, they determined the simplex packing widths in dimension four for up to $k=12$ simplices, along with lower bounds for higher values of $k$. We present a modified algorithmic approach that allows us to determine the $k$-simplex packing widths for up to $k = 13$ simplices in dimension four and up to $k = 8$ simplices in dimension six. Moreover, our approach determines all simplex-multisets that allow for optimal packings.
A strong version of a conjecture of Viterbo asserts that all normalized symplectic capacities agree on convex domains. We review known results showing that certain specific normalized symplectic capacities agree on convex domains. We also review why all normalized symplectic capacities agree on $S^1$-invariant convex domains. We introduce a new class of examples called "monotone toric domains", which are not necessarily convex, and which include all dynamically convex toric domains in four dimensions. We prove that for monotone toric domains in four dimensions, all normalized symplectic capacities agree. For monotone toric domains in arbitrary dimension, we prove that the Gromov width agrees with the first equivariant capacity. We also study a family of examples of non-monotone toric domains and determine when the conclusion of the strong Viterbo conjecture holds for these examples. Along the way we compute the cylindrical capacity of a large class of "weakly convex toric domains" in four dimensions.
We prove that every non-degenerate Reeb flow on a closed contact manifold $M$ admitting a strong symplectic filling $W$ with vanishing first Chern class carries at least two geometrically distinct closed orbits provided that the positive equivariant symplectic homology of $W$ satisfies a mild condition. Under further assumptions, we establish the existence of two geometrically distinct closed orbits on any contact finite quotient of $M$. Several examples of such contact manifolds are provided, like displaceable ones, unit cosphere bundles, prequantization circle bundles, Brieskorn spheres and toric contact manifolds. We also show that this condition on the equivariant symplectic homology is preserved by boundary connected sums of Liouville domains. As a byproduct of one of our applications, we prove a sort of Lusternik-Fet theorem for Reeb flows on the unit cosphere bundle of not rationally aspherical manifolds satisfying suitable additional assumptions.
We show that many toric domains $X$ in $R^4$ admit symplectic embeddings $\phi$ into dilates of themselves which are knotted in the strong sense that there is no symplectomorphism of the target that takes $\phi(X)$ to $X$. For instance $X$ can be taken equal to a polydisk $P(1,1)$, or to any convex toric domain that both is contained in $P(1,1)$ and properly contains a ball $B^4(1)$; by contrast a result of McDuff shows that $B^4(1)$ (or indeed any four-dimensional ellipsoid) cannot have this property. The embeddings are constructed based on recent advances on symplectic embeddings of ellipsoids, though in some cases a more elementary construction is possible. The fact that the embeddings are knotted is proven using filtered positive $S^1$-equivariant symplectic homology.
We use positive S^1-equivariant symplectic homology to define a sequence of symplectic capacities c_k for star-shaped domains in R^{2n}. These capacities are conjecturally equal to the Ekeland-Hofer capacities, but they satisfy axioms which allow them to be computed in many more examples. In particular, we give combinatorial formulas for the capacities c_k of any "convex toric domain" or "concave toric domain". As an application, we determine optimal symplectic embeddings of a cube into any convex or concave toric domain. We also extend the capacities c_k to functions of Liouville domains which are almost but not quite symplectic capacities.
In this paper, we prove that every graphical hypersurface in a prequantization bundle over a symplectic manifold $M$, pinched between two circle bundles whose ratio of radii is less than $\sqrt{2}$ carries either one short simple periodic orbit or carries at least $\operatorname{cuplength}(M)+1$ simple periodic Reeb orbits.
We study periodic orbits on a nondegenerate dynamically convex starshaped hypersurface in $\mathbb{R}^{2n}$ along the lines of Long and Zhu, but using properties of the $S^1$-equivariant symplectic homology. We prove that there exist at least $n$ distinct simple periodic orbits on any nondegenerate starshaped hypersurface in $\mathbb{R}^{2n}$ satisfying the condition that the minimal Conley-Zehnder index is at least $n-1$. The condition is weaker than dynamical convexity.
We show that positive $S^1$-equivariant symplectic homology is a contact invariant for a subclass of contact manifolds which are boundaries of Liouville domains. In nice cases, when the set of Conley-Zehnder indices of all good periodic Reeb orbits on the boundary of the Liouville domain is lacunary, the positive $S^1$-equivariant symplectic homology can be computed; it is generated by those orbits. We prove a "Viterbo functoriality" property: when one Liouville domain is embedded into an other one, there is a morphism (reversing arrows) between their positive $S^1$-equivariant symplectic homologies and morphisms compose nicely. These properties allow us to give a proof of Ustilovsky's result on the number of non isomorphic contact structures on the spheres $S^{4m+1}$. They also give a new proof of a Theorem by Ekeland and Lasry on the minimal number of periodic Reeb orbits on some hypersurfaces in $\mathbb{R}^{2n}$. We extend this result to some hypersurfaces in some negative line bundles.
We give a self contained and elementary description of normal forms for symplectic matrices, based on geometrical considerations. The normal forms in question are expressed in terms of elementary Jordan matrices and integers with values in $\{-1,0,1\}$ related to signatures of quadratic forms naturally associated to the symplectic matrix.
The Conley-Zehnder index associates an integer to any continuous path of symplectic matrices starting from the identity and ending at a matrix which does not admit 1 as an eigenvalue. We give new ways to compute this index. Robbin and Salamon define a generalization of the Conley-Zehnder index for any continuous path of symplectic matrices; this generalization is half integer valued. It is based on a Maslov-type index that they define for a continuous path of Lagrangians in a symplectic vector space $(W,\barΩ)$, having chosen a given reference Lagrangian $V$. Paths of symplectic endomorphisms of $(\R^{2n},Ω_0)$ are viewed as paths of Lagrangians defined by their graphs in $(W=\R^{2n}\oplus \R^{2n},\barΩ=Ω_0\oplus -Ω_0)$ and the reference Lagrangian is the diagonal. Robbin and Salamon give properties of this generalized Conley-Zehnder index and an explicit formula when the path has only regular crossings. We give here an axiomatic characterization of this generalized Conley-Zehnder index. We also give an explicit way to compute it for any continuous path of symplectic matrices.
We give here a self contained and elementary introduction to the Conley-Zehnder index for a path of symplectic matrices. We start from the definition of the index as the degree of a map into the circle for a path starting at the identity and ending at a matrix for which 1 is not an eigenvalue. We prove some properties which characterize this index using normal forms for symplectic matrices obtained from geometrical considerations. We explore the relations to Robbin-Salamon index for paths of Lagrangians. We give an axiomatic characterization of the generalization of the Conley-Zehnder index for any continuous path of symplectic matrices defined by Robbin and Salamon.