05

Index theory on Lorentzian manifolds

Index theory for hyperbolic equations on Lorentzian manifolds has recently been initiated and has already had applications in quantum field theory. The index theorem of C. Bär and A. Strohmaier applies to Lorentzian manifolds with compact Cauchy hypersurfaces.

In this project, Lorentzian index theory will be developed further and, in particular, the assumption on spatial compactness will be relaxed. This will allow for further physical applications.

The work program can be structured as follows.

1. Determine the class of admissible boundary conditions in the spatially compact case.
2. Relative index theory.
3. Spatial preiodicity.
4. Spatially bounded geometry.
5. Decay conditions at spatial infinity.

## Publications

The Rarita-Schwinger operator is the twisted Dirac operator restricted to 3/2-spinors. Rarita-Schwinger fields are solutions of this operator which are in addition divergence-free. This is an overdetermined problem and solutions are rare; it is even more unexpected for there to be large dimensional spaces of solutions.

In this paper we prove the existence of a sequence of compact manifolds in any given dimension greater than or equal to 4 for which the dimension of the space of Rarita-Schwinger fields tends to infinity. These manifolds are either simply connected Kähler-Einstein spin with negative Einstein constant, or products of such spaces with flat tori. Moreover, we construct Calabi-Yau manifolds of even complex dimension with more linearly independent Rarita-Schwinger fields than flat tori of the same dimension.

Related project(s):
5Index theory on Lorentzian manifolds

When trying to cast the free fermion in the framework of functorial field theory, its chiral anomaly manifests in the fact that it assigns the determinant of the Dirac operator to a top-dimensional closed spin manifold, which is not a number as expected, but an element of a complex line. In functorial field theory language, this means that the theory is twisted, which gives rise to an anomaly theory. In this paper, we give a detailed construction of this anomaly theory, as a functor that sends manifolds to infinite-dimensional Clifford algebras and bordisms to bimodules.

 Journal Annales Henri Poincare Publisher Springer Link to preprint version Link to published version

Related project(s):
5Index theory on Lorentzian manifolds

Let (Mi,gi)i∈N be a sequence of spin manifolds with uniform bounded curvature and diameter that converges to a lower dimensional Riemannian manifold (B,h) in the Gromov-Hausdorff topology. Lott showed that the spectrum converges to the spectrum of a certain first order elliptic differential operator D on B. In this article we give an explicit description of D. We conclude that D is self-adjoint and characterize the special case where D is the Dirac operator on B.

 Journal Annals of Global Analysis and Geometry Publisher Springer Volume 57 Pages 121-151 Link to preprint version Link to published version

Related project(s):
5Index theory on Lorentzian manifolds

The Bartnik mass is a notion of quasi-local mass which is remarkably difficult to compute. Mantoulidis and Schoen [2016] developed a novel technique to construct asymptotically flat extensions of minimal Bartnik data in such a way that the ADM mass of these extensions is well-controlled, and thus, they were able to compute the Bartnik mass for minimal spheres satisfying a stability condition. In this work, we develop extensions and gluing tools, à la Mantoulidis and Schoen, for time-symmetric initial data sets for the Einstein-Maxwell equations that allow us to compute the value of an ad-hoc notion of charged Barnik mass for suitable charged minimal Bartnik data.

 Journal ADV. THEOR. MATH. PHYS Volume 23 (0) Pages 1951--1980 Link to preprint version

Related project(s):
5Index theory on Lorentzian manifolds

Photon surfaces are timelike, totally umbilic hypersurfaces of Lorentzian spacetimes. In the first part of this paper, we locally characterize all possible photon surfaces in a class of static, spherically symmetric spacetimes that includes Schwarzschild, Reissner--Nordström, Schwarzschild-anti de Sitter, etc., in n+1dimensions. In the second part, we prove that any static, vacuum, "asymptotically isotropic" n+1-dimensional spacetime that possesses what we call an "equipotential" and "outward directed" photon surface is isometric to the Schwarzschild spacetime of the same (necessarily positive) mass, using a uniqueness result by the first named author.

Related project(s):
5Index theory on Lorentzian manifolds

We show that the Dirac operator on a compact globally hyperbolic Lorentzian spacetime with spacelike Cauchy boundary is a Fredholm operator if appropriate boundary conditions are imposed. We prove that the index of this operator is given by the same expression as in the index formula of Atiyah-Patodi-Singer for Riemannian manifolds with boundary. The index is also shown to equal that of a certain operator constructed from the evolution operator and a spectral projection on the boundary. In case the metric is of product type near the boundary a Feynman parametrix is constructed.

 Journal Amer. J. Math. Publisher John Hopkins Univ. Press Volume 141 (5) Pages 1421-1455 Link to preprint version Link to published version

Related project(s):
5Index theory on Lorentzian manifolds

We investigate Bartnik's static metric extension conjecture under the additional assumption of axisymmetry of both the given Bartnik data and the desired static extensions. To do so, we suggest a geometric flow approach, coupled to the Weyl-Papapetrou formalism for axisymmetric static solutions to the Einstein vacuum equations. The elliptic Weyl-Papapetrou system becomes a free boundary value problem in our approach. We study this new flow and the coupled flow--free boundary value problem numerically and find axisymmetric static extensions for axisymmetric Bartnik data in many situations, including near round spheres in spatial Schwarzschild of positive mass.

 Journal Pure and Applied Mathematics Quaterly Link to preprint version

Related project(s):
5Index theory on Lorentzian manifolds

We study boundary value problems for first-order elliptic differential operators on manifolds with compact boundary. The adapted boundary operator need not be selfadjoint and the boundary condition need not be pseudo-local.

We show the equivalence of various characterisations of elliptic boundary conditions and demonstrate how the boundary conditions traditionally considered in the literature fit in our framework. The regularity of the solutions up to the boundary is proven. We provide examples which are conveniently treated by our methods.

Related project(s):
5Index theory on Lorentzian manifolds

We study the set of trapped photons of a subcritical (a<M) Kerr spacetime as a subset of the phase space. First, we present an explicit proof that the photons of constant Boyer--Lindquist coordinate radius are the only photons in the Kerr exterior region that are trapped in the sense that they stay away both from the horizon and from spacelike infinity. We then proceed to identify the set of trapped photons as a subset of the (co-)tangent bundle of the subcritical Kerr spacetime. We give a new proof showing that this set is a smooth 5-dimensional submanifold of the (co-)tangent bundle with topology SO(3)×R2 using results about the classification of 3-manifolds and of Seifert fiber spaces. Both results are covered by the rigorous analysis of Dyatlov [5]; however, the methods we use are very different and shed new light on the results and possible applications.

 Journal General Relativity and Gravitation Publisher Springer Link to preprint version

Related project(s):
5Index theory on Lorentzian manifolds

Mantoulidis and Schoen developed a novel technique to handcraft asymptotically flat extensions of Riemannian manifolds (Σ≅S2,g), with g satisfying λ1=λ1(−Δg+K(g))>0, where λ1 is the first eigenvalue of the operator −Δg+K(g) and K(g) is the Gaussian curvature of g, with control on the ADM mass of the extension. Remarkably, this procedure allowed them to compute the Bartnik mass in this so-called minimal case; the Bartnik mass is a notion of quasi-local mass in General Relativity which is very challenging to compute. In this survey, we describe the Mantoulidis-Schoen construction, its impact and influence in subsequent research related to Bartnik mass estimates when the minimality assumption is dropped, and its adaptation to other settings of interest in General Relativity.

Related project(s):
5Index theory on Lorentzian manifolds

In this short survey article, we showcase a number of non-trivial geometric problems that have recently been resolved by marrying methods from functional calculus and real-variable harmonic analysis. We give a brief description of these methods as well as their interplay. This survey is succinct rather than comprehensive, and its aim is to inspire geometers and analysts alike to study these methods so that they can be adapted and potentially applied more widely.

Related project(s):
5Index theory on Lorentzian manifolds

On a compact globally hyperbolic Lorentzian spin manifold with smooth spacelike Cauchy boundary the (hyperbolic) Dirac operator is known to be Fredholm when Atiyah-Patodi-Singer boundary conditions are imposed. In this paper we investigate to what extent these boundary conditions can be replaced by more general ones and how the index then changes. There are some differences to the classical case of the elliptic Dirac operator on a Riemannian manifold with boundary.

 Publisher Oxford University Press Book A. Dancer, J.E. Andersen, O. García-Prada (eds.): Geometry and Physics Volume 1 Pages 3-18 Link to preprint version Link to published version

Related project(s):
5Index theory on Lorentzian manifolds

We study the behavior of the spectrum of the Dirac operator together with a symmetric W1,∞-potential on a collapsing sequence of spin manifolds with bounded sectional curvature and diameter losing one dimension in the limit. If there is an induced spin or pin− structure on the limit space N, then there are eigenvalues that converge to the spectrum of a first order differential operator D on N together with a symmetric W1,∞-potential. In the case of an orientable limit space N, D is the spin Dirac operator DN on N if the dimension of the limit space is even and if the dimension of the limit space is odd, then D=DN⊕−DN.

 Journal Manuscripta Mathematica Publisher Springer Pages 1-24 Link to preprint version Link to published version

Related project(s):
5Index theory on Lorentzian manifolds

The Bartnik mass is a quasi-local mass tailored to asymptotically flat Riemannian manifolds with non-negative scalar curvature. From the perspective of general relativity, these model time-symmetric domains obeying the dominant energy condition without a cosmological constant. There is a natural analogue of the Bartnik mass for asymptotically hyperbolic Riemannian manifolds with a negative lower bound on scalar curvature which model time-symmetric domains obeying the dominant energy condition in the presence of a negative cosmological constant. Following the ideas of Mantoulidis and Schoen [2016], of Miao and Xie [2016], and of joint work of Miao and the authors [2017], we construct asymptotically hyperbolic extensions of minimal and constant mean curvature (CMC) Bartnik data while controlling the total mass of the extensions. We establish that for minimal surfaces satisfying a stability condition, the Bartnik mass is bounded above by the conjectured lower bound coming from the asymptotically hyperbolic Riemannian Penrose inequality. We also obtain estimates for such a hyperbolic Bartnik mass of CMC surfaces with positive Gaussian curvature.

 Journal J. Geom. Phys. Publisher Elsevier Volume 132 Pages 338--357 Link to preprint version Link to published version

Related project(s):
5Index theory on Lorentzian manifolds

We propose a new foliation of asymptotically Euclidean initial data sets by 2-spheres of constant spacetime mean curvature (STCMC). The leaves of the foliation have the STCMC-property regardless of the initial data set in which the foliation is constructed which asserts that there is a plethora of STCMC 2-spheres in a neighborhood of spatial infinity of any asymptotically flat spacetime. The STCMC-foliation can be understood as a covariant relativistic generalization of the CMC-foliation suggested by Huisken and Yau. We show that a unique STCMC-foliation exists near infinity of any asymptotically Euclidean initial data set with non-vanishing energy which allows for the definition of a new notion of total center of mass for isolated systems. This STCMC-center of mass transforms equivariantly under the asymptotic Poincaré group of the ambient spacetime and in particular evolves under the Einstein evolution equations like a point particle in Special Relativity. The new definition also remedies subtle deficiencies in the CMC-approach to defining the total center of mass suggested by Huisken and Yau which were described by Cederbaum and Nerz.

Related project(s):
5Index theory on Lorentzian manifolds

We show that local deformations, near closed subsets, of solutions to open partial differential relations can be extended to global deformations, provided all but the highest derivatives stay constant along the subset. The applicability of this general result is illustrated by a number of examples, dealing with convex embeddings of hypersurfaces, differential forms, and lapse functions in Lorentzian geometry.

The main application is a general approximation result by sections which have very restrictive local properties an open dense subsets. This shows, for instance, that given any K∈R every manifold of dimension at least two carries a complete C^1,1-metric which, on a dense open subset, is smooth with constant sectional curvature K. Of course this is impossible for C^2-metrics in general.

Our topological setting is a smooth compact manifold of dimension two or higher with smooth boundary. Although this underlying topological structure is smooth, the Riemannian metric tensor is only assumed to be bounded and measurable. This is known as a rough Riemannian manifold. For a large class of boundary conditions we demonstrate a Weyl law for the asymptotics of the eigenvalues of the Laplacian associated to a rough metric. Moreover, we obtain eigenvalue asymptotics for weighted Laplace equations associated to a rough metric. Of particular novelty is that the weight function is not assumed to be of fixed sign, and thus the eigenvalues may be both positive and negative. Key ingredients in the proofs were demonstrated by Birman and Solomjak nearly fifty years ago in their seminal work on eigenvalue asymptotics. In addition to determining the eigenvalue asymptotics in the rough Riemannian manifold setting for weighted Laplace equations, we also wish to promote their achievements which may have further applications to modern problems.

Related project(s):
5Index theory on Lorentzian manifolds

We review some recent results on geometric equations on Lorentzian manifolds such as the wave and Dirac equations. This includes well-posedness and stability for various initial value problems, as well as results on the structure of these equations on black-hole spacetimes (in particular, on the Kerr solution), the index theorem for hyperbolic Dirac operators and properties of the class of Green-hyperbolic operators.

 Publisher de Gruyter Book J. Brüning, M. Staudacher (Eds.): Space - Time - Matter Pages 324-348 Link to preprint version Link to published version

Related project(s):
5Index theory on Lorentzian manifolds

We derive various pinching results for small Dirac eigenvalues using the classification of spinc and spin manifolds admitting nontrivial Killing spinors. For this, we introduce a notion of convergence for spinc manifolds which involves a general study on convergence of Riemannian manifolds with a principal S1-bundle. We also analyze the relation between the regularity of the Riemannian metric and the regularity of the curvature of the associated principal S1-bundle on spinc manifolds with Killing spinors.

 Journal Journal of Geometry and Physics Publisher Elsevier Volume 112 Pages 59-73 Link to preprint version Link to published version

Related project(s):
5Index theory on Lorentzian manifolds

On a smooth complete Riemannian spin manifold with smooth compact boundary, we demonstrate that Atiyah-Singer Dirac operator $\mathrm{D}_{\mathcal B}$ in $\mathrm{L}^{2}$ depends Riesz continuously on $\mathrm{L}^{\infty}$ perturbations of local boundary conditions ${\mathcal B}$. The Lipschitz bound for the map ${\mathcal B} \to {\mathrm{D}}_{\mathcal B}(1 + {\mathrm{D}}_{\mathcal B}^2)^{-\frac{1}{2}}$ depends on Lipschitz smoothness and ellipticity of ${\mathcal B}$ and bounds on Ricci curvature and its first derivatives as well as a lower bound on injectivity radius. More generally, we prove perturbation estimates for functional calculi of elliptic operators on manifolds with local boundary conditions.

 Journal Communications in Partial Differential Equations Publisher Taylor and Francis Link to preprint version Link to published version

Related project(s):
5Index theory on Lorentzian manifolds

## Team Members

Dr. Lashi Bandara
Researcher
Universität Potsdam
lashi.bandara(at)uni-potsdam.de

Prof. Dr. Christian Bär
Universität Potsdam
baer(at)math.uni-potsdam.de

Sebastian Hannes
Doctoral student
Universität Potsdam
shannes(at)math.uni-potsdam.de

PD Dr. habil. Olaf Müller
Researcher
Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin
mullerol(at)math.hu-berlin.de