arXiv subjects
Publications and source records attributed to Jean-Marc Schlenker.
We prove that globally hyperbolic compact anti-de Sitter (2+1)-spacetimes with strictly convex spacelike boundary that is either smooth or polyhedral and whose holonomy is close to Fuchsian are determined by the induced metric on the boundary.
We review recent progress on two closely related sets of questions concerning convex co-compact hyperbolic manifolds, or convex domains in those manifolds, such as their convex core. The first set of questions is to what extent the hyperbolic metric on such a manifold is uniquely determined by either of two possible geometric data on their boundary. The second aspect is the ``volume'' associated to such a manifold, such as the renormalized volume of a convex co-compact hyperbolic manifold. The relation between the two is provided by the first variation of the volume functions, which involves the two kinds of boundary data as ``conjugate'' variables. While progress has recently been made on some questions, others remain open. New connections have recently emerged, with physics (and in particular the AdS/CFT correspondence) as well as with probability theory (the Loewner energy).
Let $S$ be a closed, orientable surface of genus $g\geq 2$. We consider Delaunay circle patterns on $S$ equipped with a complex projective structure. We prove that the space of complex projective structures on $S$ equipped with a Delaunay circle pattern of prescribed combinatorics and intersection angles is a manifold of dimension $6g-6$, and that the forgetful map to the space $\cC_S$ of $\CP^1$-structures on $S$ is a Lagrangian immersion. This extends a recent result of Bonsante and Wolf for circle packings. This statement, and its proof, are more conveniently stated in terms of ideal polyhedral surfaces (surfaces with vertices at infinity) in hyperbolic ends, with the angles between the circles corresponding to the dihedral angles. Seen from this angle, we extend the statement to ideal polyhedral surfaces with prescribed edge lengths (or induced metrics), and to other types of polyhedral surfaces, either compact or hyperideal.
We provide conditions under which a Riemann surface $X$ is the asymptotic boundary of a convex co-compact hyperbolic manifold, homeomorphic to a handlebody, of negative renormalized volume. We prove that this is the case when there are on $X$ enough closed curves of short enough hyperbolic length.
We show that a hyperbolic three-manifold $M$ containing a closed minimal surface with principal curvatures in $[-1,1]$ also contains nearby (non-minimal) surfaces with principal curvatures in $(-1,1)$. When $M$ is complete and homeomorphic to $S\times\mathbb{R}$, for $S$ a closed surface, this implies that $M$ is quasi-Fuchsian, answering a question left open from Uhlenbeck's 1983 seminal paper. Additionally, our result implies that there exist (many) quasi-Fuchsian manifolds that contain a closed surface with principal curvatures in $(-1,1)$, but no closed minimal surface with principal curvatures in $(-1,1)$, disproving a conjecture from the 2000s.
Let $K\subset \HH^3$ be a convex subset in $\HH^3$ with smooth, strictly convex boundary. The induced metric on $\partial K$ then has curvature $K>-1$. It was proved by Alexandrov that if $K$ is bounded, then it is uniquely determined by the induced metric on the boundary, and any smooth metric with curvature $K>-1$ can be obtained. We propose here an extension of the existence part of this result to unbounded convex domains in $\HH^3$. The induced metric on $\partial K$ is then clearly not sufficient to determine $K$. However one can consider a richer data on the boundary including the ideal boundary of $K$. Specifically, we consider the data composed of the full conformal structure on the boundary of $K$ (in the Poincaré model of $\HH^3$), together with the induced metric on $\partial K$. We show that a wide range of "reasonable" data of this type, satisfying mild curvature conditions, can be realized on the boundary of a convex subset in $\HH^3$.
The classical Weyl problem (solved by Lewy, Alexandrov, Pogorelov, and others) asks whether any metric of curvature $K\geq 0$ on the sphere is induced on the boundary of a unique convex body in $\R^3$. The answer was extended to surfaces in hyperbolic space by Alexandrov in the 1950s, and a ``dual'' statement, describing convex bodies in terms of the third fundamental form of their boundary (e.g. their dihedral angles, for an ideal polyhedron) was later proved. We describe three conjectural generalizations of the Weyl problem in $\HH^3$ and its dual to unbounded convex subsets and convex surfaces, in ways that are relevant to contemporary geometry since a number of recent results and well-known open problems can be considered as special cases. One focus is on convex domain having a ``thin'' asymptotic boundary, for instance a quasicircle -- this part of the problem is strongly related to the theory of Kleinian groups. A second direction is towards convex subsets with a ``thick'' ideal boundary, for instance a disjoint union of disks -- here one find connections to problems in complex analysis, such as the Koebe circle domain conjecture. A third direction is towards complete, convex disks of infinite area in $\HH^3$ and surfaces in hyperbolic ends -- with connections to questions on circle packings or grafting on the hyperbolic disk. Similar statements are proposed in anti-de Sitter geometry, a Lorentzian cousin of hyperbolic geometry where interesting new phenomena can occur, and in Minkowski and Half-pipe geometry. We also collect some partial new results mostly based on recent works.
Convex co-compact 3-dimensional hyperbolic manifolds are uniquely determined by the pleating measured lamination on the boundary of their convex core.
Let $S$ be a closed surface of genus at least $2$, let $h$ be a smooth metric of curvature $K<-1$ on $S$, and let $h_0$ be a hyperbolic metric on $S$. We show that there exists a unique quasifuchsian AdS spacetime with left metric isotopic to $h_0$, containing a past-convex Cauchy surface with induced metric isotopic to $h$.
Let $N$ be a geodesically convex subset in a convex co-compact hyperbolic manifold $M$ with incompressible boundary. We assume that each boundary component of $N$ is either a boundary component of $\partial_\infty M$, or a smooth, locally convex surface in $M$. We show that $N$ is uniquely determined by the boundary data defined by the conformal structure on the boundary components at infinity, and by either the induced metric or the third fundamental form on the boundary components which are locally convex surfaces. We also describe the possible boundary data. This provides an extension of both the hyperbolic Weyl problem and the Ahlfors-Bers Theorem. Using this statement for quasifuchsian manifolds, we obtain existence results for similar questions for convex domains $Ω\subset \HH^3$ which meets the boundary at infinity $\partial_{\infty}\HH^3$ either along a quasicircle or along a quasidisk. The boundary data then includes either the induced metric or the third fundamental form in $\HH^3$, but also an additional "gluing" data between different components of the boundary, either in $\HH^3$ or in $\partial_\infty\HH^3$.
We consider hyperbolic and anti-de Sitter (AdS) structures on $M\times (0,1)$, where $M$ is a $d$-dimensional Gromov-Thurston manifold. If $M$ has cone angles greater than $2π$, we show that there exists a "quasifuchsian" (globally hyperbolic maximal) AdS manifold such that the future boundary of the convex core is isometric to $M$. When $M$ has cone angles less than $2π$, there exists a hyperbolic end with boundary a concave pleated surface isometric to $M$. Moreover, in both cases, if $M$ is a Gromov-Thurston manifold with $2k$ pieces (as defined below), the moduli space of quasifuchsian AdS structures (resp. hyperbolic ends) satisfying this condition contains a submanifold of dimension $2k-3$. When $d=3$, the moduli space of quasifuchsian AdS (resp. hyperbolic) manifolds diffeomorphic to $M\times (0,1)$ contains a submanifold of dimension $2k-2$, and extends up to a "Fuchsian" manifold, that is, an AdS (resp. hyperbolic) warped product of a closed hyperbolic manifold by~$\R$. We use this construction of quasifuchsian AdS manifolds to obtain new compact quotients of $Ø(2d,2)/\U(d,1)$. The construction uses an explicit correspondence between quasifuchsian $2d+1$-dimensional AdS manifolds and compact quotients of $Ø(2d,2)/\U(d,1)$ which we interpret as the space of timelike geodesic Killing fields of $\AdS^{2d+1}$.
In the AdS/CFT correspondence, amplitudes associated to connected bulk manifolds with disconnected boundaries have presented a longstanding mystery. A possible interpretation is that they reflect the effects of averaging over an ensemble of boundary theories. But in examples in dimension $D\geq 3$, an appropriate ensemble of boundary theories does not exist. Here we sharpen the puzzle by identifying a class of "sub-threshold" observables that we claim do not show effects of ensemble averaging. These are amplitudes that do not involve black hole states. To support our claim, we explore the example of $D=3$, and show that connected solutions of Einstein's equations with disconnected boundary never contribute to sub-threshold observables. To demonstrate this requires some novel results about the renormalized volume of a hyperbolic three-manifold, which we prove using modern methods in hyperbolic geometry. Why then do any observables show apparent ensemble averaging? We propose that this reflects the chaotic nature of black hole physics and the fact that the Hilbert space describing a black hole does not have a large $N$ limit.
We study hyperideal polyhedra in the 3-dimensional anti-de Sitter space $AdS^3$, which are defined as the intersection of the projective model of $AdS^3$ with a convex polyhedron in $RP^3$ whose vertices are all outside of $AdS^3$ and whose edges all meet $AdS^3$. We show that hyperideal polyhedra in $AdS^3$ are uniquely determined by their combinatorics and dihedral angles, as well as by the induced metric on their boundary together with an additional combinatorial data, and describe the possible dihedral angles and the possible induced metrics on the boundary.
Let $(S,h)$ be a closed hyperbolic surface and $M$ be a quasi-Fuchsian 3-manifold. We consider incompressible maps from $S$ to $M$ that are critical points of an energy functional $F$ which is homogeneous of degree $1$. These "minimizing" maps are solutions of a non-linear elliptic equation, and reminiscent of harmonic maps -- but when the target is Fuchsian, minimizing maps are minimal Lagrangian diffeomorphisms to the totally geodesic surface in $M$. We prove the uniqueness of smooth minimizing maps from $(S,h)$ to $M$ in a given homotopy class. When $(S,h)$ is fixed, smooth minimizing maps from $(S,h)$ are described by a simple holomorphic data on $S$: a complex self-adjoint Codazzi tensor of determinant $1$. The space of admissible data is smooth and naturally equipped with a complex structure, for which the monodromy map taking a data to the holonomy representation of the image is holomorphic. Minimizing maps are in this way reminiscent of shear-bend coordinates, with the complexification of $F$ analoguous to the complex length.
We provide a simple proof of Pascal's Theorem on cyclic hexagons, as well as a generalization by Möbius, using hyperbolic geometry.
While the ``hierarchy of science'' has been widely analysed, there is no corresponding study of the status of subfields within a given scientific field. We use bibliometric data to show that subfields of mathematics have a different ``standing'' within the mathematics community. Highly ranked departments tend to specialize in some subfields more than in others, and the same subfields are also over-represented in the most selective mathematics journals or among recipients of top prizes. Moreover this status of subfields evolves markedly over the period of observation (1984--2016), with some subfields gaining and others losing in standing. The status of subfields is related to different publishing habits, but some of those differences are opposite to those observed when considering the hierarchy of scientific fields. We examine possible explanations for the ``status'' of different subfields. Some natural explanations -- availability of funding, importance of applications -- do not appear to function, suggesting that factors internal to the discipline are at work. We propose a different type of explanation, based on a notion of ``focus'' of a subfield, that might or might not be specific to mathematics.
Let $λ_-$ and $λ_+$ be two bounded measured laminations on the hyperbolic disk $\mathbb H^2$, which "strongly fill" (definition below). We consider the left earthquakes along $λ_-$ and $λ_+$, considered as maps from the universal Teichmüller space $\mathcal T$ to itself, and we prove that the composition of those left earthquakes has a fixed point. The proof uses anti-de Sitter geometry. Given a quasi-symmetric homeomorphism $u:{\mathbb RP}^1\to {\mathbb RP}^1$, the boundary of the convex hull in $AdS^3$ of its graph in ${\mathbb RP}^1\times{\mathbb RP}^1\simeq \partial AdS^3$ is the disjoint union of two embedded copies of the hyperbolic plane, pleated along measured geodesic laminations. Our main result is that any pair of bounded measured laminations that "strongly fill" can be obtained in this manner.
We study convex polyhedra in $\mathbb{R}\mathbb{P}^3$ with all their vertices on a sphere. We do not require, in particular, that the polyhedra lie in the interior of the sphere, hence the term "weakly inscribed". Such polyhedra can be interpreted as ideal polyhedra, if we regard $\mathbb{R}\mathbb{P}^3$ as a combination of the hyperbolic space and the de Sitter space, with the sphere as the common ideal boundary. We have three main results: (1) the $1$-skeleta of weakly inscribed polyhedra are characterized in a purely combinatorial way, (2) the exterior dihedral angles are characterized by linear programming, and (3) we also describe the hyperbolic-de Sitter structure induced on the boundary of weakly inscribed polyhedra.