arXiv subjects

Victor Goulart

Publications and source records attributed to Victor Goulart.

5 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

A CW complex homotopy equivalent to spaces of locally convex curves

Locally convex curves in the sphere $S^n$ have been studied for several reasons, including the study of linear ordinary differential equations. Taking Frenet frames obtains corresponding curves $Γ$ in the group $Spin_{n+1}$; $Π: Spin_{n+1} \to Flag_{n+1}$ is the universal cover of the space of flags. Determining the homotopy type of spaces of such curves $Γ$ with prescribed initial and final points appears to be a hard problem. We may focus on $L_n$, the space of locally convex curves $Γ: [0,1] \to Spin_{n+1}$ with $Γ(0) = 1$, $Π(Γ(1)) = Π(1)$. Convex curves form a contractible connected component of $L_n$; there are $2^{n+1}$ other components, one for each endpoint. The homotopy type of $L_n$ has so far been determined only for $n=2$. This paper is a step towards solving the problem for larger values of $n$. The itinerary of $Γ$ belongs to $W_n$, the set of finite words in the alphabet $S_{n+1} \setminus \{e\}$. The itinerary of a curve lists the non open Bruhat cells crossed. Itineraries stratify the space $L_n$. We construct a CW complex $D_n$ which is a kind of dual of $L_n$ under this stratification: the construction is similar to Poincaré duality. The CW complex $D_n$ is homotopy equivalent to $L_n$. The cells of $D_n$ are naturally labeled by words in $W_n$; $D_n$ is locally finite. Explicit glueing instructions are described for lower dimensions. We describe an open subset $Y_n \subset L_n$, a union of strata of $L_n$. In each non convex component of $L_n$, the intersection with $Y_n$ is connected and dense. Most connected components of $L_n$ are contained in $Y_n$. For $n > 3$, in the other components the complement of $Y_n$ has codimension at least $2$. The set $Y_n$ is homotopy equivalent to the disjoint union of $2^{n+1}$ copies of $ΩSpin_{n+1}$. For all $n \ge 2$, all connected components of $L_n$ are simply connected.

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arXiv2026

Homotopy type of spaces of locally convex curves in the sphere S^3

Locally convex (or nondegenerate) curves in the sphere $S^n$ have been studied for several reasons, including the study of linear ordinary differential equations of order $n+1$. Taking Frenet frames allows us to obtain corresponding curves $Γ$ in the group $Spin_{n+1}$. Let $L_n(z_0;z_1)$ be the space of such curves $Γ$ with prescribed endpoints $Γ(0) = z_0$, $Γ(1) = z_1$. The aim of this paper is to determine the homotopy type of the spaces $L_3(z_0;z_1)$ for all $z_0, z_1 \in Spin_4$. As a corollary, we obtain the homotopy type of the space of closed locally convex curves in either $S^3$ or $P^3$. There are many previous papers addressing related questions. An early paper solves the corresponding problem for curves in $S^2$. Another previous result (with B. Shapiro) reduces the problem to $z_0 = 1$ and $z_1 \in Quat_4$ where $Quat_4 \subset Spin_4$ is a finite group of order $16$. A more recent paper shows that for $z_1 \in Quat_4 \smallsetminus Z(Quat_4)$ we have a homotopy equivalence $L_3(1;z_1) \approx ΩSpin_4$. In this paper we compute the homotopy type of $L_3(1;z_1)$ for $z_1 \in Z(Quat_4)$: it is equivalent to the wedge of $ΩSpin_4$ with an infinite countable family of spheres (as for the case $n = 2$). The structure of the proof can be compared to that of the case $n = 2$ but some of the steps require the creation of new theories, involving algebra and combinatorics. We construct explicit subsets $Y \subset L_n(z_0;z_1)$ for which the inclusion $Y \subset ΩSpin_{n+1}(z_0;z_1)$ is a homotopy equivalence. For $n = 2$, there is a simple geometric description of $Y$; for $n = 3$, the far less natural construction is based on the theory of itineraries of such curves. The itinerary of a curve in $L_n(1;z_1)$ is a finite word in the alphabet $S_{n+1} \smallsetminus \{e\}$ of nontrivial permutations.

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arXiv2023

Stratification of spaces of locally convex curves by itineraries

Locally convex (or nondegenerate) curves in the sphere (or projective space) have been studied for several reasons, including the study of linear ordinary differential equations. Taking Frenet frames allows us to translate such curves into corresponding curves in the flag space, the orthogonal group or its cover $Spin_{n+1}$. Determining the homotopy type of the space of such closed curves or, more generally, of spaces of such curves with prescribed initial and final jets appears to be a hard problem, which has been solved for $n=2$ but otherwise remains open. This paper is a step towards solving the problem for larger values of $n$. In the process, we prove a related conjecture of B. Shapiro and M. Shapiro. We define the itinerary of a locally convex curve $Γ:[0,1]\to Spin_{n+1}$ as a word $w$ in the alphabet of non-trivial permutations. This word encodes the succession of non-open Bruhat cells of $Spin_{n+1}$ pierced by $Γ$. We prove that, for each word $w$, the subspace of curves of itinerary $w$ is an embedded contractible (topological) submanifold of finite codimension, thus defining a stratification of the space of curves. We show how to obtain explicit (topologically) transversal sections for each of these submanifolds. We study both a space of curves with minimum regularity hypotheses, where only topological transversality applies, and spaces of sufficiently regular curves. In both cases we study the neighboring relation between strata. This is an important step in the construction of CW cell complexes mapped into the original space of curves by weak homotopy equivalences. Our stratification is not as nice as might be desired, lacking for instance the Whitney property. The differentiability class of the curves affects some properties of the stratification. The necessary ingredients for the construction of a dual CW complex are proved.

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arXiv2020

Locally convex curves and the Bruhat stratification of the spin group

We study the lifting of the Schubert stratification of the homogeneous space of complete real flags of $R^{n+1}$ to its universal covering group $Spin_{n+1}$. We call the lifted strata the Bruhat cells of $Spin_{n+1}$, in keeping with the homonymous classical decomposition of reductive algebraic groups. We present explicit parameterizations for these Bruhat cells in terms of minimal-length expressions $σ=a_{i_1}... a_{i_k}$ for permutations $σ\in S_{n+1}$ in terms of the $n$ generators $a_i=(i,i+1)$. These parameterizations are compatible with the Bruhat orders in the Coxeter-Weyl group $S_{n+1}$. This stratification is an important tool in the study of locally convex curves; we present a few such applications.

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arXiv2018

Combinatorialization of spaces of nondegenerate spherical curves

A parametric curve $γ$ of class $C^n$ on the $n$-sphere is said to be nondegenerate (or locally convex) when $\det\left(γ(t),γ'(t),\cdots,γ^{(n)}(t)\right)>0$ for all values of the parameter $t$. We orthogonalize this ordered basis to obtain the Frenet frame $\mathfrak{F}_γ$ of $γ$ assuming values in the orthogonal group $\operatorname{SO}_{n+1}$ (or its universal double cover, $\operatorname{Spin}_{n+1}$), which we decompose into Schubert or Bruhat cells. To each nondegenerate curve $γ$ we assign its itinerary: a word $w$ in the alphabet $S_{n+1}\smallsetminus\{e\}$ that encodes the succession of non open Schubert cells pierced by the complete flag of $\mathbb{R}^{n+1}$ spanned by the columns of $\mathfrak{F}_γ$. Without loss of generality, we can focus on nondegenerate curves with initial and final flags both fixed at the (non oriented) standard complete flag. For such curves, given a word $w$, the subspace of curves following the itinerary $w$ is a contractible globally collared topological submanifold of finite codimension. By a construction reminiscent of Poincaré duality, we define abstract cell complexes mapped into the original space of curves by weak homotopy equivalences. The gluing instructions come from a partial order in the set of words. The main aim of this construction is to attempt to determine the homotopy type of spaces of nondegenerate curves for $n>2$. The reader may want to contrast the present paper's combinatorial approach with the geometry-flavoured methods of previous works.

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