SearcharxivSearch

arXiv subjects

R. Komendarczyk

Publications and source records attributed to R. Komendarczyk.

11 recordsLinked to original sources

On Woltjer's force free minimizers and Moffatt's magnetic relaxation

In this note, we exhibit a situation where a stationary state of Moffatt's ideal magnetic relaxation problem is different than the corresponding force-free $L^2$ energy minimizer of Woltjer's variational principle. Such examples have been envisioned in Moffatt's seminal work on the subject and involve divergence free vector fields supported on collections of essentially linked magnetic tubes. Justification of Moffatt's examples requires the strong convergence of a minimizing sequence. What is proven in the current note is that there is a gap between the global minimum ({\em Woltjer's minimizer}) and the minimum over the weak $L^2$ closure of the class of vector fields obtained from a topologically non-trivial field by energy-decreasing diffeomorphisms. In the context of Taylor's conjecture, our result shows that the Woltjer's minimizer cannot be reached during the viscous MHD relaxation in the perfectly conducting magneto-fluid if the initial field has a nontrivial topology. The result also applies beyond Moffatt's relaxation to any other relaxation process which evolves a divergence free field by means of energy-decreasing diffeomorphisms, such processes were proposed by Vallis et.al and more recently by Nishiyama.

math-ph

Tree invariants and Milnor linking numbers with indeterminacy

The paper concerns the tree invariants of string links, introduced by Kravchenko and Polyak and closely related to the classical Milnor linking numbers also known as $\barμ$--invariants. We prove that, analogously as for $\barμ$--invariants, certain residue classes of tree invariants yield link homotopy invariants of closed links. The proof is arrow diagramatic and provides a more geometric insight into the indeterminacy through certain tree stacking operations. Further, we show that the indeterminacy of tree invariants is consistent with the original Milnor's indeterminacy. For practical purposes, we also provide a recursive procedure for computing arrow polynomials of tree invariants.

math.GT

Ropelength, crossing number and finite type invariants of links

Ropelength and embedding thickness are related measures of geometric complexity of classical knots and links in Euclidean space. In their recent work, Freedman and Krushkal posed a question regarding lower bounds for embedding thickness of $n$-component links in terms of the Milnor linking numbers. The main goal of the current paper is to provide such estimates and thus generalizing the known linking number bound. In the process, we collect several facts about finite type invariants and ropelength/crossing number of knots. We give examples of families of knots, where such estimates behave better than the well-known knot-genus estimate.

math.GT

Homotopy string links and the $κ$-invariant

Koschorke introduced a map from the space of closed $n$-component links to the ordered configuration space of $n$-tuples of points in $\mathbb{R}^3$, and conjectured that this map separates homotopy links. The purpose of this paper is to construct an analogous map for string links, and to prove (1) this map in fact separates homotopy string links, and (2) Koschorke's original map factors through the map constructed here together with an analogue of Markov's closure map defined on the level of certain function spaces.

math.GT

On the Borsuk conjecture concerning homotopy domination

In the seminal monograph "Theory of retracts", Borsuk raised the following question: suppose two compact ANR's are $h$--equal, i.e. mutually homotopy dominate each other, are they homotopy equivalent? The current paper approaches this question in two ways. On one end, we provide conditions on the fundamental group which guarantee a positive answer to the Borsuk question. On the other end, we construct various examples of compact $h$--equal, not homotopy equivalent continua, with distinct properties. The first class of these examples has trivial all known algebraic invariants (such as homology, homotopy groups etc.) The second class is given by $n$--connected continua, for any $n$, which are infinite $CW$--complexes, and hence ANR's, on a complement of a point.

math.AT

Overtwisted energy-minimizing curl eigenfields

We consider energy-minimizing divergence-free eigenfields of the curl operator in dimension three from the perspective of contact topology. We give a negative answer to a question of Etnyre and the first author by constructing curl eigenfields which minimize $L^2$ energy on their co-adjoint orbit, yet are orthogonal to an overtwisted contact structure. We conjecture that $K$-contact structures on $S^1$-bundles always define tight minimizers, and prove a partial result in this direction.

math.SG

On volume-preserving vector fields and finite type invariants of knots

We consider the general nonvanishing, divergence-free vector fields defined on a domain in three space and tangent to its boundary. Based on the theory of finite type invariants, we define a family of invariants for such fields, in the style of Arnold's asymptotic linking number. Our approach is based on the configuration space integrals due to Bott and Taubes.

math.GT

The third order helicity of magnetic fields via link maps II

In this sequel we extend the derivation of the third order helicity to magnetic fields supported on unlinked domains in 3-space. The formula is expressed in terms of generators of the deRham cohomology of the configuration space of three points in $\R^3$, which is a more practical domain from the perspective of applications. It also admits an ergodic interpretation as an average asymptotic Milnor $\barμ_{123}$-invariant and allows us to obtain the $L^2$-energy bound for the magnetic field. As an intermediate step we derive an integral formula for Milnor $\barμ_{123}$-invariant for parametrized Borromean links in $\R^3$.

math.DS

The third order helicity of magnetic fields via link maps

We introduce an alternative approach to the third order helicity of a volume preserving vector field $B$, which leads us to a lower bound for the $L^2$-energy of $B$. The proposed approach exploits correspondence between the Milnor $\barμ_{123}$-invariant for 3-component links and the homotopy invariants of maps to configuration spaces, and we provide a simple geometric proof of this fact in the case of Borromean links. Based on these connections we develop a formulation for the third order helicity of $B$ on invariant \emph{unlinked} domains of $B$, and provide Arnold's style ergodic interpretation of this invariant as an average asymptotic $\barμ_{123}$-invariant of orbits of $B$.

math.DG

Tight Beltrami fields with symmetry

Let $M$ be a compact orientable Seifered fibered 3-manifold without a boundary, and $α$ an $S^1$-invariant contact form on $M$. In a suitable adapted Riemannian metric to $α$, we provide a bound for the volume $\text{Vol}(M)$ and the curvature, which implies the universal tightness of the contact structure $ξ=\kerα$.

math.DG

On the contact geometry of nodal sets

In the 3-dimensional Riemannian geometry, contact structures equipped with an adapted Riemannian metric are divergence-free, nondegenerate eigenforms of the Laplace-Beltrami operator. We trace out a 2-d analogue of this fact: there is a close relationship between the topology of the contact structure on a convex surface in the 3-manifold (the dividing curves) and the nodal curves of Laplacian eigenfunctions on that surface. Motivated by this relationship, we consider a topological version of Payne's conjecture for the free membrane problem. We construct counterexamples to Payne's conjecture for closed Riemannian surfaces. In light of the correspondence between the nodal lines and dividing curves, we interpret Payne's conjecture in terms of the tight versus overtwisted dichotomy for contact structures.

math.DG