arXiv research

The paper develops methods for calculating equivariant homology from Morse functions.

Generalizes Floer homotopy via Morse-Bott theory.

The paper studies Morse theory for Lie algebra actions on Riemannian foliations.

We formalize an equivariant version of Bestvina-Brady discrete Morse theory, and apply it to Vietoris-Rips complexes in order to exhibit finite universal spaces for proper actions for all asymptotically CAT(0) groups.

We investigate an equivariant generalization of Morse theory for a general class of integrable models. In particular, we derive equivariant versions of the classical Poincaré-Hopf and Gauss-Bonnet-Chern theorems and present the corresponding path integral generalizations. Our approach is based on equivariant cohomology…

Study of equivariant movie moves for involutive links.

Paper proves finiteness and Morse index estimates for equivariant min-max hypersurfaces.

Study stabilizes Morse-Bott cohomology for equivariant manifolds.

We study the Morse theory of the Yang-Mills-Higgs functional on the space of pairs $(A,Φ)$, where $A$ is a unitary connection on a rank 2 hermitian vector bundle over a compact Riemann surface, and $Φ$ is a holomorphic section of $(E, d_A")$. We prove that a certain explicitly defined substratification of the Morse str…

In this paper, we prove equivariant Morse inequalities via Bismut-Lebeau's analytic localization techniques. As an application, we obtain Morse inequalities on compact manifold with nonempty boundary by applying equivariant Morse inequalities to the doubling manifold.

We use Morse theory of the Yang-Mills functional to compute the Betti numbers of the moduli stack of flat U(3)-bundles over a compact nonorientable surface. Our result establishes the antiperfection conjecture of Ho-Liu, and provides evidence for the equivariant formality conjecture of the author.

In this paper we present a new approach to Morse theory based on the de Rham-Federer theory of currents. The full classical theory is derived in a transparent way. The methods carry over uniformly to the equivariant and the holomorphic settings. Moreover, the methods are substantially stronger than the classical ones a…

For a 3-manifold $M$ with $b_1(M)=1$ fibered over $S^1$ and the fiberwise gradient $ξ$ of a fiberwise Morse function on $M$, we introduce the notion of amidakuji-like path (AL-path) on $M$. An AL-path is a piecewise smooth path on $M$ consisting of edges each of which is either a part of a critical locus of $ξ$ or a fl…

New invariants for 3-manifolds derived from equivariant Cerf theory.

We construct a deformed Morse complex computing the equivariant cohomology of a manifold M endowed with a smooth S^1-action. The deformation of the coboundary operator is given by counting gradient flow lines of a Morse function f that are allowed to "jump" along orbits of the S^1-action for finite time intervalls.

Study on Morse homology for reflection actions on manifolds.

This paper uses Morse-theoretic techniques to compute the equivariant Betti numbers of the space of semistable rank two degree zero Higgs bundles over a compact Riemann surface, a method in the spirit of Atiyah and Bott's original approach for semistable holomorphic bundles. This leads to a natural proof that the hyper…

Researchers prove spaces of positive scalar curvature metrics are contractible with symmetry.

For an equivariant Morse stratification which contains a unique open stratum, we introduce the notion of equivariant antiperfection, which means the difference of the equivariant Morse series and the equivariant Poincare series achieves the maximal possible value (instead of the minimal possible value 0 in the equivari…

The results of this paper concern the Morse theory of the norm-square of the moment map on the space of representations of a quiver. We show that the gradient flow of this function converges, and that the Morse stratification induced by the gradient flow co-incides with the Harder-Narasimhan stratification from algebra…

Following the lines of the celebrated Riemannian result of Gromoll and Meyer, we use infinite dimensional equivariant Morse theory to establish the existence of infinitely many geometrically distinct closed geodesics in a class of globally hyperbolic stationary Lorentzian manifolds.

The paper bounds the Morse index and nullity of bipolar surfaces related to Otsuki tori.

Study Lie 2-group actions on Riemannian groupoids, proving existence and developing geometric Killing vector fields.

Getzler-Jones-Petrack introduced $A_\infty$ structures on the equivariant complex for manifold $M$ with smooth $\mathbb{S}^1$ action, motivated by geometry of loop spaces. Applying Witten's deformation by Morse functions followed by homological perturbation we obtained a new set of $A_\infty$ structures. We extend and …

Study of harmonic oscillators on singular geometries using supersymmetry.

Let G be a compact Lie group and A(G) its Burnside Ring. For a compact smooth n-dimensional G-manifold X equipped with a generic G-invariant vector field v, we prove an equivariant analog of the Morse formula Ind^G(v) = \sum_{k = 0}^{n} (-1)^k χ^G(\d_k^+X) which takes its values in A(G). Here Ind^G(v) denotes the equiv…

We give topological lower bounds on the number of periodic and closed trajectories in strictly convex smooth billiards. We use variational reduction admitting a finite group of symmetries and apply topological approach based on equivariant Morse and Lusternik - Schnirelman theories. The paper continues results publishe…

Let $Γ$ be a finite d-valent graph and G an n-dimensional torus. An ``action'' of G on $Γ$ is defined by a map, $α$, which assigns to each oriented edge e of $Γ$ a one-dimensional representation of G (or, alternatively, a weight, $α_e$, in the weight lattice of G). For the assignment, $e \to α_e$, to be a schematic des…

Study of free boundary minimal surfaces with new existence and degeneration results.

We construct and analyze minimal disc stackings with bounds on their Morse index.

New spectral estimates for minimal surfaces with boundary conditions.

Let $G$ be a torus and $M$ a compact Hamiltonian $G$-manifold with finite fixed point set $M^G$. If $T$ is a circle subgroup of $G$ with $M^G=M^T$, the $T$-moment map is a Morse function. We will show that the associated Morse stratification of $M$ by unstable manifolds gives one a canonical basis of $K_G(M)$. A key in…

It is well known that the cohomology groups of a closed manifold $M$ can be reconstructed using the gradient dynamical of a Morse-Smale function $f\colon M\to \R$. A direct result of this construction are Morse inequalities that provide lower bounds for the number of critical points of $f$ in term of Betti numbers of $…

Local-to-global principle for Morse actions on symmetric spaces.

This paper extends Witten's holomorphic Morse inequalities to singular spaces.

The paper studies heat kernel asymptotics for Kohn Laplacians on CR manifolds.

Assume that the circle group acts holomorphically on a compact Kähler manifold with isolated fixed points and that the action can be lifted holomorphically to a holomorphic Hermitian vector bundle. We give a heat kernel proof of the equivariant holomorphic Morse inequalities. We use some techniques developed by Bismut …

In this paper we use the Morse theory of the Yang-Mills-Higgs functional on the singular space of Higgs bundles on Riemann surfaces to compute the equivariant cohomology of the space of semistable U(2,1) and SU(2,1) Higgs bundles with fixed Toledo invariant. In the non-coprime case this gives new results about the topo…

We study the topology of moduli spaces of closed linkages in \R^d depending on a length vector \ell\in \R^n. In particular, we use equivariant Morse theory to obtain information on the homology groups of these spaces, which works best for odd d. In the case d=5 we calculate the Poincare polynomial in terms of combinato…

We prove the equivariant holomorphic Morse inequalities for a holomorphic torus action on a holomorphic vector bundle over a compact Kahler manifold when the fixed-point set is not necessarily discrete. Such inequalities bound the twisted Dolbeault cohomologies of the Kahler manifold in terms of those of the fixed-poin…

We give lowed bounds on the number of periodic trajectories in strictly convex smooth billiards in $\R^{m+1}$ for $m\ge 3$. For plane billiards (when m=1) such bounds were obtained by G. Birkhoff in the 1920's. Our proof is based on topological methods of calculus of variations - equivariant Morse and Lusternik - Schir…

The diameter function is a topological Morse function.

This work extends knot homology theory to links, proving exact triangles and categorifying link signatures.

Proves unique symplectic Lefschetz fibration from Morse functions.

In arXiv:math/0605587, the first two authors have constructed a gauge-equivariant Morse stratification on the space of connections on a principal U(n)-bundle over a connected, closed, nonorientable surface. This space can be identified with the real locus of the space of connections on the pullback of this bundle over …

We associate several invariants to a knot in an integer homology 3-sphere using $SU(2)$ singular instanton gauge theory. There is a space of framed singular connections for such a knot, equipped with a circle action and an equivariant Chern-Simons functional, and our constructions are morally derived from the associate…

Let $M$ be a compact, connected symplectic manifold with a Hamiltonian action of a compact $n$-dimensional torus $G=T^n$. Suppose that $σ$ is an anti-symplectic involution compatible with the $G$-action. The real locus of $M$ is $X$, the fixed point set of $σ$. Duistermaat uses Morse theory to give a description of the…

We derive a discrete analogue of Morse-Bott theory on CW complexes and use this discrete Morse-Bott function to do some Conley theory analysis. It turns out that our discrete Morse-Bott theory is indeed a generalization of Forman's discrete Morse theory.