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2 votes
0 answers
72 views

Diameter bounds by mean curvature and area

I'm wondering about a generalization of Simon/Topping/Wu-Zheng's results on bounding diameter by the mean curvature, which roughly says: given a closed $\Sigma^{n-1} \subseteq M^n$, $$\text{diam}(\...
1 vote
0 answers
122 views

Bilipschitz constants of exponential map on small ball for Riemannian manifold with curvature bounds

Let $(M,g)$ be a Riemannian manifold with sectional curvature $\mathrm{sect}$ between $-K\le \mathrm{sect} \le K$ for some $K>0$. In [1] it is stated at the beginning of section 4, that if $u,v\in ...
5 votes
0 answers
445 views

Upper bound on the sectional curvature of a Riemannian submersion

Consider the manifold $M := \operatorname{SO}(n) \times \mathbb{S}^{n-1}$, endowed with the product metric given by the bi-invariant metric of $\operatorname{SO}(n)$ and the round metric of $\mathbb{S}...
14 votes
1 answer
1k views

Progress on Gromov's Conjecture of the bound of total Betti numbers

This question is a reference request. Let $(M,g)$ be a Riemannian manifold of dimension $n$, and $b_i(M) = \dim H_i(M,\mathbb{R})$. Gromov proved it that there are constants $C(n)$ such that, if the ...
0 votes
1 answer
74 views

Handling degenerate planes in pseudo-Riemannian geometry: impact on sectional curvature and comparison theorems

I've been studying Riemannian and pseudo-Riemannian manifolds and came across an intriguing point regarding the definition of sectional curvature in both geometries. In pseudo-Riemannian geometry, for ...
7 votes
5 answers
4k views

Can anyone give an example of Ricci flat Riemannian or Lorentzian Manifold that is not flat?

Does there exist a Ricci flat Riemannian or Lorentzian manifold which is geodesic complete but not flat? And is there any theorm about Ricci-flat but not flat? I am especially interset in the case ...
2 votes
0 answers
123 views

Asymptotics on the number of diffeomorphism classes in the Cheeger finiteness theorem

A result of Cheeger says that, given any even dimension and any $\delta > 0$, there are only a finite number of diffeomorphism types of compact simply-connected manifolds of that dimension which ...
4 votes
0 answers
167 views

Parallel transport of global sections and Riemannian curvature

A, perhaps, naive question from an algebraist/combinatorialist teaching differential geometry. Originally asked on math.SE but didn't receive a single comment in 3 days. Consider a (real) smooth ...
5 votes
1 answer
343 views

Clarifying a result of Klingenberg

I am looking for some clarification on a result of Klingenberg. For context, I have a complete Riemannian manifold for which I would like to compute a lower bound on the injectivity radius at each ...
0 votes
1 answer
117 views

Curvature of an affine system

I find an interesting paper that mentioned the Definition of curvature of an affine optimal control system. It reminded me that many textbooks on Riemannian geometry only tell us about metrics, ...
46 votes
2 answers
11k views

Does the curvature determine the metric?

I ask myself, whether the curvature determines the metric. Concretely: Given a compact manifold $M$, are there two metrics $g_1$ and $g_2$, which are not everywhere flat, such that they are not ...
5 votes
2 answers
379 views

Correct curvature tensor of symmetric space of positive definite matrices with trace metric?

Let $Pos(n)$ be the set of $n \times n$ real positive definite matrices with trace (aka affine-invariant) metric $$\langle u, v \rangle_p = tr(p^{-1} u p^{-1} v)$$ for all $p \in Pos(n)$ and $u, v \in ...
3 votes
0 answers
102 views

Geometric interpretation for a connection whose corresponding distribution generates the whole Lie algebras of vector fields

Let we have a connection on a manifold $M$ so it is considered as a distribution on the tangent bundle $TM$ of $M$. The integrability of this distrbution is equivalent to flatness of the connection. ...
3 votes
0 answers
165 views

A higher-dimensional "line of curvature"?

Let $M$ be a submanifold of a Riemannian manifold $Q$, and let $\Gamma$ be a $d$-dimensional submanifold of $M$, i.e., $\Gamma^{d} \subset M \subset Q$. Suppose that, for all (unit) normal vectors of $...
0 votes
1 answer
100 views

Curvature tensor of interpolation of two metrics

Let $\hat{g}$ and $\bar{g}$ be two smooth Riemannian metrics defined, say, on $\mathbb{R}^n.$ Consider a smooth function $\xi$ that acts as an interpolation function between the two metrics above on ...
9 votes
1 answer
344 views

Do geodesics avoid regions where the curvature diverges?

Let $(M^2,g)$ be a Riemannian manifold, with manifold boundary $\partial M$. We assume that the metric degenerates at the boundary, in the sense that the (Gauss) curvature diverges like $K \to +\infty$...
1 vote
0 answers
210 views

Ricci-flat metrics on complex tori of dimension $n \geq 3$

Let $\mathbb{T}^n = \mathbb{C}^n /\Lambda$ be a complex torus of (complex) dimension $n$. If $n=2$, it is a theorem of Berger that the Ricci-flat metrics on $\mathbb{T}^2$ are flat. This follows from ...
18 votes
1 answer
1k views

Is the minimal volume a topological invariant?

On Wikipedia, it is said that the minimal volume $$\operatorname{MinVol}(M):=\inf\{\operatorname{vol}(M,g) :g\text{ a complete Riemannian metric with }|K_{g}|\leq 1\}$$ is a topological invariant, ...
5 votes
0 answers
244 views

Möbius strip zero curvature [closed]

Is there a Möbius strip, seen as an embedded surface in $\mathbb{R}^3$, with zero curvature? I know one can see the Möbius strip as the quotient of the square with reverse identification of two sides ...
2 votes
0 answers
126 views

Conformal changes of metric and normal coordinates

Suppose that $(M,g)$ is a smooth Riemannian manifold of dimension $n\geq 2$. Let $p\in M^{\textrm{int}}$. Does there exist a small $\delta>0$ and a smooth function $c>0$ such that for the ...
5 votes
2 answers
340 views

Example of a curvature with no associated metric

Is there a concrete example of a $4$ tensor $R_{ijkl}$ with the same symmetries as the Riemannian curvature tensor, i.e. \begin{gather*} R_{ijkl} = - R_{ijlk},\quad R_{ijkl} = R_{jikl},\quad R_{ijkl} =...
4 votes
1 answer
439 views

Etymology “Kulkarni–Nomizu product”

$\newcommand\KN{\mathbin{\bigcirc\mspace{-20mu}\wedge\mspace{3mu}}}$In the context of (pseudo)-Riemmian geometry, the Kulkarni–Nomizu product is defined to be an operation $\KN$, which takes two ...
6 votes
1 answer
378 views

Unbounded sectional curvature implies infinite diameter?

Let $(M,g)$ be a Riemannian manifold such that for each $C>0$ there is $p\in M$ and $X,Y\in T_pM$ unitary such that $K(X,Y) > C.$ Does this imply that the diameter of $(M,g)$ is infinite? I ...
2 votes
3 answers
593 views

Curvature of singular Riemannian metric

Let $M$ be a differentiable manifold of dimension $n>1$ and $g$ a flat Riemannian metric on $M$. Consider $f:M\rightarrow \mathbb{R}^+$ a continuous function which doesn't have continuous first ...
1 vote
2 answers
284 views

Ricci scalar of submanifold of $\mathbf R^n$

Let $M$ be an $n-m$ dimensional sub-manifold of $\mathbf R^n$ defined by the following set of equations: \begin{equation} f_1(\vec x)=0, \\ \vdots \\ f_m(\vec x)=0, \end{equation} where $\vec x$ are ...
1 vote
2 answers
148 views

Construct a hypersurface with fixed principal curvatures at a point

I'm reading Eschenburg's paper Local convexity and nonnegative curvature — Gromov's proof of the sphere theorem recently. And I meet a little question: Given a point $p\in M$, $N\in T_pM$, we want to ...
0 votes
0 answers
252 views

Computation of scalar curvature from a Riemannian metric

I want to compute the scalar curvature for points on an empirical manifold (sampled data). I have already an algorithm that learns the Riemannian metric and computes geodesics, so from the metric I ...
6 votes
1 answer
463 views

Holonomy bounded in terms of area and the curvature

I suppose the following result follows from Ambrose-Singer theorem, but I cannot find a reference, and the arguments I found in the literature are usually weaker. The idea is that holonomy over a null-...
2 votes
1 answer
224 views

The differentiability of the distance function on asymptotically flat manifolds

Let $M = \mathbb{R}^3 \setminus \overline{B_1}$ where $\overline{B_1}$ is the closed unit ball. Let $g$ be an asymptotically flat metric of the form $g_{ij} = \delta_{ij}+h_{ij}$ in standard ...
5 votes
0 answers
101 views

How is this product of tensors defined?

I am reading the paper “ The first eigenvalue of a small geodesic ball in a riemannian manifold”, by Karp and Pinsky, from where I took the following: Here, $\Delta_{-2}$ denotes the usual Laplacian ...
5 votes
1 answer
245 views

Possible sign of scalar curvature for Einstein warped product manifold with Ricci-flat

Let $(M, g_M)$ where $M= B \times_f F$ and $g_M=g_B + f^2g_F$, an Einstein warped product manifold (i.e., $Ric_M= \lambda g_M$), with Ricci flat fiber-manifold $F$, i.e., $Ric_F=0$. Then $M$ can admit ...
4 votes
1 answer
245 views

Tzitzeica surface

A Tzitzeica surface has the property that the ratio of the surface’s Gaussian curvature and the fourth power of the distance from the origin to the tangent plane at any arbitrary point of the surface ...
13 votes
2 answers
1k views

What is known about Lie groups with (strictly) positive curvature?

If we consider $G$ a compact Lie group, there is a left invariant Riemannian metric whose the sectional curvature is nonnegative (see Milnors' paper). When can we find a left invariant metric that has ...
2 votes
0 answers
101 views

Parallelism defect

I have a question that I don't know how to answer. If I have a parallelism defect it is due to the presence of a curvature and therefore we can bring it back to a Riemann tensor. The thing that is not ...
6 votes
3 answers
368 views

Curvature function as a random variable with uniform distribution

Let $(S,g)$ be a Riemannian surface. Then the curvature function $\kappa: S\to \mathbb{R}$ can be counted as a random variable. So it produces a probability density function $f_g:\mathbb{R}\to \...
2 votes
0 answers
149 views

Comparison of sum of vectors and exponential map on a Riemannian manifold

Suppose $M$ is a simply-connected complete Riemannian manifold with bounded sectional curvature $\delta \leq K \leq \Delta < 0$. Let $p_0\in M$. Define the sequence of points $p_1, \ldots, p_n$ by $...
4 votes
0 answers
148 views

The range of $\int_M \kappa_g ds$ where $g$ varies in all possible real analytic metrics on $M$

Let $M$ be a real analytic open surface(A non compact 2 dimensional manifold without boundary). For every number $\lambda\in \mathbb{R}$, is there a real analytic Riemannian metric on $M$ with $$\...
1 vote
1 answer
178 views

Asymptotics of constant mean curvature surfaces

Let $\Sigma^n \subset \mathbf{R}^{n+1}$ be a complete, properly embedded hypersurface with constant, non-zero mean curvature $H \neq 0.$ In the case where the dimension is $n = 2$, $\Sigma$ is non-...
4 votes
0 answers
495 views

Limit cycles of quadratic systems and closed geodesics(Finitness of $H(2)$)

This question is inspired by this answer to the question Finding a 1-form adapted to a smooth flow. Assume that $V$ is a polynomial vector field of degree $2$ as follows:$$\begin{cases} x'=P(...
1 vote
0 answers
97 views

Computing/estimating geodesics in practice

Let's say I have a Riemannian manifold with known metric $g$. I want to compute the geodesics of this manifold, specifically with respect to the Levi-Civita connection. In practice, (i.e. with a ...
2 votes
2 answers
163 views

stability of two-sided sectional curvature bounds in Lorentzian geometry

Suppose that $(M,g)$ is a Lorentzian manifold of signature $(-,+,\ldots,+)$. Given a two plane $\Pi=\textrm{Span}\{X,Y\}$ with $X,Y \in T_pM$, we say that $\Pi$ is non-degenerate if $$ g(X,X)g(Y,Y)-g(...
3 votes
1 answer
370 views

Reference request: extendability of Lipschitz maps as a synthetic notion of curvature bounds

In the lecture Notions of Scalar Curvature - IAS around 8:00, Gromov states the following result, which he claims he does "slightly uncarefully": Suppose $(X,g_X)$ and $(Y,g_Y)$ are ...
4 votes
1 answer
1k views

Relation between mean curvature and conformal metric

We'll consider $(N, g)$ a Riamannian Manifold and $\overline{g} = e^{2f}g$ a conformal metric. Let M be a hypersurface in N, $\overline{H}_M$ and $H_M$ the mean curvature of M with respect to the ...
3 votes
1 answer
5k views

Relationship between sectional curvature, bisectional curvature and conjugate points

Tian has defined bisectional curvature for unit and perpendicular tangent vectors $X,Y$ as follow $$R(X,Y,X,Y)+R(X,JY,X,JY).$$ If bisectional curvature be constant, is there any relationship between ...
10 votes
1 answer
3k views

Taylor expansion of the metric tensor in the normal coordinates

I am looking for a reference with a Taylor expansion of the metric tensor in the normal coordinates. The coefficients should be written in terms of $\mathrm{Rm}, \nabla\mathrm{Rm}, \nabla^2\mathrm{Rm},...
18 votes
1 answer
1k views

Geometric interpretation of the Weyl tensor?

The Riemann curvature tensor ${R^a}_{bcd}$ has a direct geometric interpretation in terms of parallel transport around infinitesimal loops. Question: Is there a similarly direct geometric ...
0 votes
0 answers
126 views

mean curvature for codimension $>1$?

The mean curvature of a hypersurface in a Riemannian manifold is defined to be the trace of the second fundamental form. I was curious, does the notion of mean curvature generalise to higher ...
3 votes
1 answer
551 views

Product formula for Laplace de-Rham operator

Let $M$ be a Riemannian manifold with Laplace de-Rham operator $\Delta = (d + \delta)^2$. If $g$ is a smooth $k$-form, and $f$ is a smooth function, is there a simple formula for $\Delta(fg)$ when $k &...
6 votes
2 answers
753 views

Curvature of nonsymmetric metric tensors?

Consider a smooth manifold $M$ of arbitrary dimension. We have notions of psuedo-Riemannian or Riemannian metrics on a manifold, and they differ in the slightest way of being positive-definite or not. ...
12 votes
0 answers
262 views

Jacobi fields on non-geodesic curves

The point of Jacobi fields is to study variations of geodesics through geodesics, but the Jacobi equation $D_t^2 J + R(J,\dot\gamma)\dot\gamma=0$ makes sense for any curve $\gamma$, not just for ...