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Leandro Lichtenfelz

Publications and source records attributed to Leandro Lichtenfelz.

10 recordsLinked to original sources
arXiv2025

Conjugate points on Lie groups with left-invariant metrics

We prove sufficient conditions for the existence of conjugate points along geodesics of a left-invariant metric on a Lie group, using a reformulation of the index form in terms of the adjoint action. In the compact semisimple case, with an arbitrary left-invariant metric, we show that all geodesics must have a conjugate point, and we give upper and lower bounds on conjugate times. In particular this applies to the left-invariant metrics on $SU(n)$ and $SO(n)$ which are of importance in fluid dynamics and rigid body motion, and yields estimates for the diameter and injectivity radius. We also establish criteria in the noncompact case: we show that every closed nonhomogeneous geodesic has a conjugate point, and determine explicit conditions for them in the three-dimensional unimodular case. For homogeneous geodesics, we relate conjugate points to Lagrangian stability, and Eulerian stability of the corresponding steady velocity. Finally, we obtain as by-products criteria for conjugate points in general homogeneous spaces, by lifting the problem to the total Lie group of the quotient and using a result of O'Neill. Through several examples, we show that our theorems apply when well-known criteria relying on positive Ricci curvature or other curvature bounds fail, and in some cases even when Ricci curvature is negative in all directions.

math.DG↗
arXiv2025

Singular Sets of Riemannian Exponential Maps in Hydrodynamics

We prove that the singular sets for the Lagrangian solution maps of the two-dimensional inviscid Euler and generalized surface quasi-geostrophic equations are Gaussian null sets. To achieve this we carry out a spectral analysis of an operator related to the coadjoint representation of the algebra of divergence-free vector fields on the fluid domain. In particular, we establish sharp results on the Schatten-von Neumann class to which this operator belongs. Furthermore, its failure to be compact is directly connected to the absence of Fredholm properties of the corresponding Lagrangian solution maps. We show that, for the three-dimensional Euler equations and the standard surface quasi-geostrophic equation, this failure is in fact essential.

math.DG↗
arXiv2025

Ricci curvature for hydrodynamics on the sphere

The geometric description of incompressible hydrodynamics, as geodesic motion on the infinite-dimensional group of volume-preserving diffeomorphisms, enables notions of curvature in the study of fluids in order to study stability. Formulas for Ricci curvature are often simpler than those for sectional curvature, which typically takes both signs, but the drawback is that Ricci curvature is rarely well-defined in infinite-dimensional spaces. Here we suggest a definition of Ricci curvature in the case of two-dimensional hydrodynamics, based on the finite-dimensional Zeitlin models arising in quantization theory, which gives a natural tool for renormalization. We provide formulae for the finite-dimensional approximations and give strong numerical evidence that these converge in the infinite-dimensional limit, based in part on four new conjectured identities for Wigner $6j$ symbols. The suggested limiting expression for (average) Ricci curvature is surprisingly simple and demonstrates an average instability for high-frequency modes which helps explain long-term numerical observations of spherical hydrodynamics due to mixing.

math.DG↗
arXiv2025

Homotopy Type of the Space of Fibrations of the Three-sphere by Simple Closed Curves

We show that the moduli space of all smooth fibrations of a three-sphere by simple closed curves has the homotopy type of a disjoint union of a pair of two-spheres if the fibers are oriented, and of a pair of real projective planes if unoriented, the same as for its finite-dimensional subspace of Hopf fibrations by parallel great circles. This moduli space is the quotient of the diffeomorphism group of the three-sphere (a Fréchet Lie group) by its subgroup of automorphisms of the Hopf fibration, which we show is a smooth Fréchet submanifold of the diffeomorphism group. Then we show that the moduli space, already known to be a Fréchet manifold by [HKMR12], can be modeled on the concrete Fréchet space of vector fields on the three-sphere which are "horizontal" and "balanced" with respect to a given Hopf fibration, and see how the structure of this moduli space helps us to determine its homotopy type.

math.GT↗
arXiv2022

Existence of a conjugate point in the incompressible Euler flow on a three-dimensional ellipsoid

The existence of a conjugate point on the volume-preserving diffeomorphism group of a compact Riemannian manifold M is related to the Lagrangian stability of a solution of the incompressible Euler equation on M. The Misiolek curvature is a reasonable criterion for the existence of a conjugate point on the volume-preserving diffeomorphism group corresponding to a stationary solution of the incompressible Euler equation. In this article, we introduce a class of stationary solutions on an arbitrary Riemannian manifold whose behavior is nice with respect to the Misiolek curvature and give a positivity result of the Misiolek curvature for solutions belonging to this class. Moreover, we also show the existence of a conjugate point in the three-dimensional ellipsoid case as its corollary.

math.DG↗
arXiv2019

Axisymmetric diffeomorphisms and ideal fluids on Riemannian 3-manifolds

We study the Riemannian geometry of 3D axisymmetric ideal fluids. We prove that the $L^2$ exponential map on the group of volume-preserving diffeomorphisms of a $3$-manifold is Fredholm along axisymmetric flows with sufficiently small swirl. Along the way, we define the notions of axisymmetric and swirl-free diffeomorphisms of any manifold with suitable symmetries and show that such diffeomorphisms form a totally geodesic submanifold of infinite $L^2$ diameter inside the space of volume-preserving diffeomorphisms whose diameter is known to be finite. As examples we derive the axisymmetric Euler equations on $3$-manifolds equipped with each of Thurston's eight model geometries.

math.DG↗
arXiv2018

A local instability mechanism of the Navier-Stokes flow with swirl on the no-slip flat boundary

Using numerical simulations of the axisymmetric Navier-Stokes equations with swirl on a no-slip flat boundary, Hsu-Notsu-Yoneda [J. Fluid Mech. 2016] observed the creation of a high-vorticity region on the boundary near the axis of symmetry. In this paper, using a differential geometric approach, we prove that such flows indeed have a destabilizing effect, which is formulated in terms of a lower bound on the $L^\infty$-norm of derivatives of the velocity field on the boundary.

math.AP↗
arXiv2013

Almost isometries of non-reversible metrics with applications to stationary spacetimes

We develop the basics of a theory of almost isometries for spaces endowed with a quasi-metric. The case of non-reversible Finsler (more specifically, Randers) metrics is of particular interest, and it is studied in more detail. The main motivation arises from General Relativity, and more specifically in spacetimes endowed with a timelike conformal field K, in which case \emph{conformal diffeomorphisms} correspond to almost isometries of the Fermat metrics defined in the spatial part. A series of results on the topology and the Lie group structure of conformal maps are discussed.

math.DG↗