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Questions tagged [riemannian-geometry]

Riemannian Geometry is a subfield of Differential Geometry, which specifically studies "Riemannian Manifolds", manifolds with "Riemannian Metrics", which means that they are equipped with continuous inner products.

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7 votes
2 answers
2k views

The integral of torsion

I found the following * exercise (exercise *9) in page 407 of the book of do Carmo "Differential geometry of curves and surfaces". This problem is a classical theorem which is referenced ...
5 votes
1 answer
119 views

A formula in harmonic heat flow

Assume that $ (M,g) $ and $ (N,h) $ are two smooth closed manifold and $ N $ is embedded isometrically into $ \mathbb{R}^K $ for some $ K\in\mathbb{Z}_+ $. Assume that $ u\in C^{\infty}(M\times\mathbb{...
4 votes
0 answers
72 views

Riemannian manifolds with a unique distance property

Let $M$ be a compact Riemannian manifold with geodesic distance function $d$, of (normalised) diameter $1$. Some of my favourite manifolds $M$ have the property that there exists an integer $k$ such ...
1 vote
1 answer
207 views

Is squared geodesic distance a Morse-Bott function on simply-connected Hadamard manifolds?

Let $M$ be a simply connected Hadamard manifold. That is, $M$ is a complete Riemannian manifold with sectional curvature bounded above by 0. Let $f(x,y)=\frac{1}{2}d^2(x,y)$, where $x,y \in M$, and $d(...
7 votes
2 answers
436 views

Are square tiled surfaces dense in the moduli space of translation surfaces?

I'm reading the survey "An introduction to Veech surfaces" by Pascal Hubert and Thomas Schmidt. At page 19 they state "In any fixed stratum, the set of square-tiled surfaces of that stratum is dense....
8 votes
2 answers
440 views

Show $\langle \log(R), \log(R^{-1}S) \rangle \geq \langle \log(R), \log(S) - \log(R) \rangle $ for all $R,S \in \mathrm{SO}(3)$

$\DeclareMathOperator\SO{SO}$I have a similar question to one I asked a few days ago. Lately, I've been researching Lie groups equipped with bi-invariant Riemannian metrics. One common object is $\SO(...
1 vote
0 answers
70 views

Orbit projection geometry

Background: As shown in [1] and [2], for a closed smooth submanifold $M$ of $\mathbb R^d$, the domain $D_M$ of the projection map $P_M:D_M\rightarrow M$ has a dense interior $\Omega_M$ over which $P_M|...
7 votes
1 answer
325 views

Existence of normal and harmonic coordinates around a point

Let $(M^n,g)$ be a Riemannian manifold with a fixed point $p$. Can we find a local coordinate system $(x_1,x_2,\cdots, x_n)$ around $p$ satisfying the following two at the same time: (1) $(x_1,x_2,\...
5 votes
2 answers
537 views

Conformal Killing vector fields on compact surface of genus \ge 1

Let $(M, g)$ be a compact 2-dimensional Riemannian manifold with genus $\ge 1$. Can $M$ has a conformal Killing vector field $X$ other than Killing vector fields? That is, $L_X g = (\mathrm{div} X) g$ ...
7 votes
0 answers
123 views

Steklov eigenvalue for circle valued functions

Let $(M,g)$ be a compact Riemannian manifold with boundary. It is well known that the first positive Steklov eigenvalue $\sigma_1$ of $M$ has the following variational characterization: $$\sigma_1(M,g)...
2 votes
1 answer
174 views

Teichmuller interpretation of unbounded holomorphic quadratic differentials

For a closed Riemann surface $\Sigma$ of genus $g \geq 2$, the space of holomorphic quadratic differentials on $\Sigma$ can be identified with the cotangent space $T_\Sigma^* \mathcal{T}_g$: in other ...
13 votes
2 answers
816 views

$C^0$ estimate for solutions of elliptic PDE with Neumann BC

I am interested in a reference for (or counterexample to) a particular $C^0$ estimate for solutions of the Laplace equation with Neumann boundary conditions. More precisely, let $(M,g)$ be a $C^\...
2 votes
1 answer
398 views

Pythagorean theorem in Riemann metrics of non constant curvature

I already asked the same question here, but received no answer. I was reading this interesting article by Givental Givental, Alexander. "The Pythagorean theorem: What is it about?" Amer. ...
0 votes
0 answers
161 views

A closed leaf with two different index with respect to two different Riemannian metrics

Inspired by this question about Jacobi equation. conjugate points and limit cycle theory we ask the following question: Is there a geodesible 1 dimensional foliation $\mathcal{F}$ on a manifold $M$, ...
17 votes
3 answers
2k views

Do minimal submanifolds minimize area locally?

A few days ago I asked this question on math.stackexchange: Consider $(\tilde{M},g)$ a riemannian manifold and $M \subset \tilde{M}$ riemannian submanifold. Is it true that if $M$ is a minimal ...
1 vote
0 answers
96 views

Symmetric cones and symmetric spaces

I start by stating what I think I understood on symmetric cones (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Symmetric_cone). Let $\mathcal{C}$ be a symmetric cone in a vector space $V$. There are Riemannian ...
2 votes
1 answer
218 views

Are these the only first eigenfunctions on a hemisphere?

Let $\mathbb{S}^2_+$ denote the closed upper hemisphere of the unit round sphere in $\mathbb{R}^3$. It is well known that the first positive eigenvalue of the Laplacian on the closed unit sphere is $2$...
3 votes
1 answer
172 views

Do we have $d(P_{+}(\omega\wedge \theta))=d_{+}\omega\wedge \theta-\omega\wedge d_{+}\theta$ on a self-dual manifold?

Let $(X, g)$ be a smooth, oriented, Riemannian 4-diemnsional manifold. Let $\Lambda^2$ denote the bundle of 2-forms on $X$. Then the Hodge-star operator decomposes $\Lambda^2$ into the space of self-...
6 votes
1 answer
423 views

Difference between parallel transport and ambient projection

Consider a $d$-dimensional complete embedded Riemannian submanifold $(M,g)$ of a Euclidean space $\mathbb{R}^D$ (The major examples we consider are sphere and Stiefel manifold). Assume the sectional ...
8 votes
1 answer
660 views

Distance between two geodesics originating from separate but nearby points

Let $(M,g)$ be a complete Riemannian manifold with sectional curvatures constrained within $[\kappa_{\min},\kappa_{\max}]$. Suppose $x,y\in M$ are two points in $M$ and $v_x\in T_{x}M$ is a tangent ...
5 votes
0 answers
146 views

Is every linear Lie group of bounded geometry?

$\newcommand\norm[1]{\lVert#1\rVert}$Given any point $p$ of a smooth Riemannian manifold $M$ there exists $r\in (0,\infty]$ such that the Riemannian exponential is a diffeomorphism in the geodesic ...
4 votes
0 answers
153 views

Is there a good description of harmonic maps from $\mathbf{C}$ to $\mathbf{H}$?

Given a non-constant holomorphic quadratic differential $\phi \, \mathrm{d} z^2$ on the complex plane $\mathbf{C}$, there is a harmonic diffeomorphism $u: \mathbf{C} \to \mathbf{H}$ into the ...
3 votes
2 answers
521 views

Finding a hyperbolic metric with geodesic boundary on a given Riemann surface

Let $X$ be a Riemann surface with analytic boundary. Assume that $X$ has negative Euler characteristic. Then there exists a conformal hyperbolic metric $X$ such that $\partial X$ consists of geodesics ...
2 votes
0 answers
265 views

A Question about an article by Birman, Series

Birman and Series in their article GEODESICS WITH BOUNDED INTERSECTION NUMBER ON SURFACES ARE SPARSELY DISTRIBUTED proved that the set of points on a hyperbolic surface (possibly with boundary) ...
4 votes
1 answer
193 views

Approximate isometric embeddings of surfaces

The fundamental theorem of surfaces states that if symmetric matrices $g_{ij}$, $l_{ij}\colon U\subset R^2\to R$, where $U$ is open and $g_{ij}$ is positive definite satisfy the Gauss and Codazzi ...
8 votes
2 answers
642 views

Is it true $\left\|\log(RS)\right\|≤\left\|\log(R)+\log(S)\right\|$ for all $R,S \in \mathrm{SO}(3)$, where $\|\cdot\|$ is the Frobenius norm?

$\DeclareMathOperator\SO{SO}$I asked this initially in math stack exchange, but thought to ask it here since it is more advanced and related to my research topic. I study optimization on Lie groups ...
2 votes
0 answers
44 views

$1$-parameter family of metrics preserving the normal direction

Let $(M^n,g)$ be a compact Riemannian manifold with boundary, $n \geq 2$, and let $N$ be the unit outward normal to $\partial M$. Denote by $S^2(M)$ the symmetric covariant $2$-tensors, by $S^2_0(M)$ ...
10 votes
3 answers
1k views

Geodesic triangles in finite element method

I've been working on a new method for 2-dimensional finite element method (FEM) on Riemannian manifolds that involves using geodesic triangles instead of approximating them in an embedded form using &...
4 votes
1 answer
202 views

Finding a real-analytic diffeomorphism

Let $U_1\subset \mathbb R^3$ be a simply connected bounded open set with a smooth boundary and let $U_2$ be a neighborhood of $U_1$. Does there exist a real-analytic diffeomorphism $\psi: U_2 \to W_2$ ...
4 votes
1 answer
167 views

Is the intersection of such a triple of minimal surfaces in the 3-ball a single point?

Let $S_1,S_2,S_3$ be three simple closed curves on the 2-sphere $\mathbb{S}^2$. (With no smoothness or rectifiability assumption) For each $i$, let $M_i$ denote the minimal surface (i.e. disc) bounded ...
2 votes
0 answers
88 views

Euler-Poincaré characteristic of even-dimensional Einstein manifolds with nonnegative sectional curvature

My question is about whether there are some known conditions on the sign of the Euler-Poincaré characteristic for Einstein manifolds in even dimensions. In dimension $4$ some conditions on the sign of ...
3 votes
1 answer
174 views

Isoperimetric inequality for minimal surfaces bounded by space curves containing a line segment

Consider a simple closed curve $\gamma$ in $\mathbb R^3$. Suppose that $\gamma$ has length $\ell$ and contains a line segment $s$ of length $k<\ell/2$. Let $\Sigma$ be a surface with boundary $\...
3 votes
0 answers
214 views

Implicit function theorem in Riemannian manifold and Wasserstein space

My question is about to what extent can we extend the implicit function theorem to Riemannian manifolds. In the Euclidean space, consider a bivariate function $F \colon \Theta \times \mathcal{X} \...
5 votes
3 answers
620 views

Poisson equation on manifolds

Let $(\mathcal{M},g)$ be a compact Riemannian manifold with Levi-Civita connection $\nabla$. It is well-known that the Poisson equation $$\Delta u=f$$ does have a solution on $C^{\infty}(\mathcal{M})$ ...
7 votes
1 answer
889 views

Definition of the conformal metric

On page 16 of this lecture notes and in this lecture, at some point (somewhere at 1:37:45), Rod Gover defined the $\text{conformal metric}$ $\mathbb{g}$ on a conformal manifold $(M, [g])$. He ...
2 votes
0 answers
103 views

Representation formula for solutions to fully nonlinear equations

Let $n\geq 3$, for a metric $g$ on $\mathbb{S}^n$, the $\sigma_k$-curvature of $g$ is defined as follows. Let $Ric_{g}$, $R_{g}$ and $A_{g}$ denote respectively the Ricci curvature, the scalar ...
2 votes
0 answers
67 views

Internal symmetries of partial differential relation via the nonholonomic jet bundle

On a smooth n-dimensional Riemannian manifold $M$, suppose I have the kth order partial differential relation (PDR) written in the form: $$\mathcal{R}=\mathcal{R}\left(x^{i},u^{i},u_{j}^{i},u_{jk}^{i}\...
4 votes
1 answer
172 views

Existence of a domain with simple Dirichlet eigenvalues

Let $g$ be a smooth Riemannian metric on $\mathbb R^3$ that coincides with the Euclidean metric outside a compact set $K$. Does there exist some domain $\Omega$ with smooth boundary such that $K \...
6 votes
1 answer
230 views

Vanishing directional derivatives on $S^2$

Let $u$ be a smooth function defined on the unit sphere $S^2$. Does there exist a plane $P$ passing through the origin such that $P\cap S^2$ contains at least three points $x_1,x_2,x_3$ with $\nabla u(...
2 votes
1 answer
262 views

Make a Riemannian metric real analytic in some coordinates

Suppose I have a smooth (high dimensional) Riemannian manifold, and fix a base point $x_0$. Can I pick a coordinate system near $x_0$ such that the metric is real analytic in some of the variables (...
5 votes
0 answers
1k views

"The famous Lusternik-Schnirelmann Theorem of the Three Closed Geodesics"

The title is a quote from p.256 of Wilhelm Klingenberg's 1995 Riemannian Geometry (Google Books link): Every surface homeomorphic to a sphere $\mathbb{S}^2$ has three distinct, simple, closed ...
12 votes
1 answer
2k views

Isometry group of pseudo Riemannian manifold always a Lie group? (Myers-Steenrod)

Myers-Steenrod states that the isometry group of a Riemannian manifold is a Lie group. Is that also true for pseudo Riemannian manifolds? I didn't find anything related to that. Cheers
10 votes
4 answers
710 views

Palais's and Kobayashi's theorems on automorphism groups of geometric structures

My question concerns two results in the neighborhood of the standard theorem of Myers-Steenrod that isometry groups of Riemannian manifolds are Lie groups. Both appear in the first chapter of ...
9 votes
1 answer
334 views

Can a knotted sphere isometrically embed into $\mathbb R^3$?

All smooth simple closed curves in $\mathbb R^3$ (knotted or not) can be isometrically embedded into $\mathbb R^2$ as a circle of equal arclength. The situation for knotted spheres seems more ...
4 votes
0 answers
137 views

Eigenvalues of Schrödinger operator with Robin condition on the boundary

Let $(M^2,g)$ be a compact Riemannian surface with boundary and let $L = \Delta_g + q$ be a Schrödinger operator, where $\Delta_g = -\operatorname{div} \nabla$ is the Laplacian with respect to the ...
7 votes
0 answers
206 views

Crumpling dimension: the least d for which a riemannian manifold embeds isometrically into an arbitrarily small ball of R^d

In Smooth isometric embedding of euclidean n-space into an arbitrarily small neighborhood of another euclidean space I recently asked the same question, but specifically for euclidean spaces of any ...
1 vote
0 answers
59 views

Number of divergence free symmetric two tensor in dimension 4 [duplicate]

In a $4$ dimensional (semi)-Riemannian manifold $(M^{4}, g)$, both Einstein tensor $G= \operatorname{Ric}(g)- \frac{R(g)}{2}g$ and stress-energy tensor $T$ symmetric and divergence-free. Is there any ...
2 votes
0 answers
51 views

Transnormal foliation with non-smooth transnormal function

I am interested in results regarding transnormal foliations on a Riemannian (smooth, connected and complete) manifold $(M,g)$. More specifically, a smooth function $f:M\to{\bf R}$ is called ...
2 votes
1 answer
177 views

geodesics on a compact manifold

Let $M$ be a compact Riemann manifold without boundary. Please is this true that each homotopy class of closed curves contains a geodesic?
4 votes
0 answers
262 views

is there a co-Stokes theorem? (with the codifferential)

I am trying to read through J. Simmons, Minimal Varieties in Riemannian Manifolds, and in the proof of Proposition 1.2.2 he calls "Stokes theorem" to the following result: $$ \int_M\delta\...

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