Publications

Publications of SPP2026

On this site you find preprints and publications produced within the projects and with the support of the DFG priority programme „Geometry at Infinity“.

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  • 01Hitchin components for orbifolds
  • 02Asymptotic geometry of sofic groups and manifolds
  • 03Geometric operators on a class of manifolds with bounded geometry
  • 04Secondary invariants for foliations
  • 05Index theory on Lorentzian manifolds
  • 06Spectral Analysis of Sub-Riemannian Structures
  • 07Asymptotic geometry of moduli spaces of curves
  • 08Parabolics and invariants
  • 09Diffeomorphisms and the topology of positive scalar curvature
  • 10Duality and the coarse assembly map
  • 11Topological and equivariant rigidity in the presence of lower curvature bounds
  • 12Anosov representations and Margulis spacetimes
  • 13Analysis on spaces with fibred cusps
  • 14Boundaries of acylindrically hyperbolic groups and applications
  • 15Spaces and Moduli Spaces of Riemannian Metrics with Curvature Bounds on compact and non-compact Manifolds
  • 16Minimizer of the Willmore energy with prescribed rectangular conformal class
  • 17Existence, regularity and uniqueness results of geometric variational problems
  • 18Analytic L2-invariants of non-positively curved spaces
  • 19Boundaries, Greens formulae and harmonic functions for graphs and Dirichlet spaces
  • 20Compactifications and Local-to-Global Structure for Bruhat-Tits Buildings
  • 21Stability and instability of Einstein manifolds with prescribed asymptotic geometry
  • 22Willmore functional and Lagrangian surfaces
  • 23Spectral geometry, index theory and geometric flows on singular spaces
  • 24Minimal surfaces in metric spaces
  • 25The Willmore energy of degenerating surfaces and singularities of geometric flows
  • 26Projective surfaces, Segre structures and the Hitchin component for PSL(n,R)
  • 27Invariants and boundaries of spaces
  • 28Rigidity, deformations and limits of maximal representations
  • 29Curvature flows without singularities
  • 30Nonlinear evolution equations on singular manifolds
  • 31Solutions to Ricci flow whose scalar curvature is bounded in Lp.
  • 32Asymptotic geometry of the Higgs bundle moduli space
  • 33Gerbes in renormalization and quantization of infinite-dimensional moduli spaces
  • 34Asymptotic geometry of sofic groups and manifolds II
  • 35Geometric operators on singular domains
  • 36Cohomogeneity, curvature, cohomology
  • 37Boundary value problems and index theory on Riemannian and Lorentzian manifolds
  • 38Geometry of surface homeomorphism groups
  • 39Geometric invariants of discrete and locally compact groups
  • 40Construction of Riemannian manifolds with scalar curvature constraints and applications to general relativity
  • 41Geometrically defined asymptotic coordinates in general relativity
  • 42Spin obstructions to metrics of positive scalar curvature on nonspin manifolds
  • 43Singular Riemannian foliations and collapse
  • 44Actions of mapping class groups and their subgroups
  • 45Macroscopic invariants of manifolds
  • 46Ricci flows for non-smooth spaces, monotonic quantities, and rigidity
  • 47Self-adjointness of Laplace and Dirac operators on Lorentzian manifolds foliated by noncompact hypersurfaces
  • 48Profinite and RFRS groups
  • 49Analysis on spaces with fibred cusps II
  • 50Probabilistic and spectral properties of weighted Riemannian manifolds with Kato bounded Bakry-Emery-Ricci curvature
  • 51The geometry of locally symmetric manifolds via natural maps
  • 52Spaces and Moduli Spaces of Riemannian Metrics with Curvature Bounds on compact and non-compact Manifolds II
  • 53Gauge-theoretic methods in the geometry of G2-manifolds
  • 54Cohomology of symmetric spaces as seen from infinity
  • 55New hyperkähler spaces from the the self-duality equations
  • 56Large genus limit of energy minimizing compact minimal surfaces in the 3-sphere
  • 57Existence, regularity and uniqueness results of geometric variational problems II
  • 58Profinite perspectives on l2-cohomology
  • 59Laplacians, metrics and boundaries of simplicial complexes and Dirichlet spaces
  • 60Property (T)
  • 61At infinity of symmetric spaces
  • 62A unified approach to Euclidean buildings and symmetric spaces of noncompact type
  • 63Uniqueness in mean curvature flow
  • 64Spectral geometry, index theory and geometric flows on singular spaces II
  • 65Resonances for non-compact locally symmetric spaces
  • 66Minimal surfaces in metric spaces II
  • 67Asymptotics of singularities and deformations
  • 68Minimal Lagrangian connections and related structures
  • 69Wall-crossing and hyperkähler geometry of moduli spaces
  • 70Spectral theory with non-unitary twists
  • 71Rigidity, deformations and limits of maximal representations II
  • 72Limits of invariants of translation surfaces
  • 73Geometric Chern characters in p-adic equivariant K-theory
  • 74Rigidity, stability and deformations in nearly parallel G2-geometry
  • 75Solutions to Ricci flow whose scalar curvature is bounded in L^p II
  • 76Singularities of the Lagrangian mean curvature flow
  • 77Asymptotic geometry of the Higgs bundle moduli space II
  • 78Duality and the coarse assembly map II
  • 79Alexandrov geometry in the light of symmetry and topology
  • 80Nonlocal boundary problems: Index theory and semiclassical asymptotics

A singular foliation \(\mathcal{F}\) on a complete Riemannian manifold \(M\) is called Singular Riemannian foliation (SRF for short) if its leaves are locally equidistant, e.g., the partition of M into orbits of an isometric action. In this paper, we investigate variational problems in compact Riemannian manifolds equipped with SRF with special properties, e.g. isoparametric foliations, SRF on fibers bundles with Sasaki metric, and orbit-like foliations. More precisely, we prove two results analogous to Palais' Principle of Symmetric Criticality, one is a general principle for \(\mathcal{F}\) symmetric operators on the Hilbert space \(W^{1,2}(M)\), the other one is for \(\mathcal{F}\) symmetric integral operators on the Banach spaces \(W^{1,p}(M)\). These results together with a \(\mathcal{F}\) version of Rellich Kondrachov Hebey Vaugon Embedding Theorem allow us to circumvent difficulties with Sobolev's critical exponents when considering applications of Calculus of Variations to find solutions to PDEs. To exemplify this we prove the existence of weak solutions to a class of variational problems which includes \(p\)-Kirschoff problems.

 

Related project(s):
43Singular Riemannian foliations and collapse

We study obstructions to the existence of Riemannian metrics of positive scalar curvature on closed smooth manifolds arising from torsion classes in the integral homology of their fundamental groups. As an application, we construct new examples of manifolds which do not admit positive scalar curvature metrics, but whose Cartesian products admit such metrics. 

 

 

Related project(s):
52Spaces and Moduli Spaces of Riemannian Metrics with Curvature Bounds on compact and non-compact Manifolds II

We consider a geodesic billiard system consisting of a complete Riemannian manifold and an obstacle submanifold with boundary at which the trajectories of the geodesic flow experience specular reflections. We show that if the geodesic billiard system is hyperbolic on its trapped set and the latter is compact and non-grazing the techniques for open hyperbolic systems developed by Dyatlov and Guillarmou can be applied to a smooth model for the discontinuous flow defined by the non-grazing billiard trajectories. This allows us to obtain a meromorphic resolvent for the generator of the billiard flow. As an application we prove a meromorphic continuation of weighted zeta functions together with explicit residue formulae. In particular, our results apply to scattering by convex obstacles in the Euclidean plane.

 

JournalAnn. Henri Poincaré
PublisherSpringer
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Related project(s):
65Resonances for non-compact locally symmetric spaces

We use the language of proper CAT(-1) spaces to study thick, locally compact trees, the real, complex and quaternionic hyperbolic spaces and the hyperbolic plane over the octonions. These are rank 1 Euclidean buildings, respectively rank 1 symmetric spaces of non-compact type. We give a uniform proof that these spaces may be reconstructed using the cross ratio on their visual boundary, bringing together the work of Tits and Bourdon.

 

Related project(s):
62A unified approach to Euclidean buildings and symmetric spaces of noncompact type

Reidemeister numbers of group automorphisms encode the number of twisted conjugacy classes of groups and might yield information about self-maps of spaces related to the given objects. Here we address a question posed by Gonçalves and Wong in the mid 2000s: we construct an infinite series of compact connected solvmanifolds (that are not nilmanifolds) of strictly increasing dimensions and all of whose self-homotopy equivalences have vanishing Nielsen number. To this end, we establish a sufficient condition for a prominent (infinite) family of soluble linear groups to have the so-called property R∞. In particular, we generalize or complement earlier results due to Dekimpe, Gonçalves, Kochloukova, Nasybullov, Taback, Tertooy, Van den Bussche, and Wong, showing that many soluble S-arithmetic groups have R∞ and suggesting a conjecture in this direction.

 

Related project(s):
62A unified approach to Euclidean buildings and symmetric spaces of noncompact type

In this paper we introduce the galaxy of Coxeter groups -- an infinite dimensional, locally finite, ranked simplicial complex which captures isomorphisms between Coxeter systems. In doing so, we would like to suggest a new framework to study the isomorphism problem for Coxeter groups. We prove some structural results about this space, provide a full characterization in small ranks and propose many questions. In addition we survey known tools, results and conjectures. Along the way we show profinite rigidity of triangle Coxeter groups -- a result which is possibly of independent interest.

 

JournalJournal of Algebra
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Related project(s):
62A unified approach to Euclidean buildings and symmetric spaces of noncompact type

We show that if one of various cycle types occurs in the permutation action of a finite group on the cosets of a given subgroup, then every almost conjugate subgroup is conjugate. As a number theoretic application, corresponding decomposition types of primes effect that a number field is determined by the Dedekind zeta function. As a geometric application, coverings of Riemannian manifolds with certain geodesic lifting behaviors must be isometric.

 

Related project(s):
58Profinite perspectives on l2-cohomology

Kac-Moody symmetric spaces have been introduced by Freyn, Hartnick, Horn and the first-named author for centered Kac-Moody groups, that is, Kac-Moody groups that are generated by their root subgroups. In the case of non-invertible generalized Cartan matrices this leads to complications that -- within the approach proposed originally -- cannot be repaired in the affine case. In the present article we propose an alternative approach to Kac-Moody symmetric spaces which for invertible generalized Cartan matrices provides exactly the same concept, which for the non-affine non-invertible case provides alternative Kac-Moody symmetric spaces, and which finally provides Kac-Moody symmetric spaces for affine Kac-Moody groups. In a nutshell, the original intention by Freyn, Hartnick, Horn and Köhl was to construct symmetric spaces that likely lead to primitive actions of the Kac-Moody groups; this, of course, cannot work in the affine case as affine Kac-Moody groups are far from simple.

 

Related project(s):
61At infinity of symmetric spaces

We determine the fundamental groups of symmetrizable algebraically simply connected split real Kac-Moody groups endowed with the Kac-Peterson topology. In analogy to the finite-dimensional situation, the Iwasawa decomposition G=KAU provides a weak homotopy equivalence between K and G, implying π1(G)=π1(K). It thus suffices to determine π1(K) which we achieve by investigating the fundamental groups of generalized flag varieties. Our results apply in all cases in which the Bruhat decomposition of the generalized flag variety is a CW decomposition − in particular, we cover the complete symmetrizable situation; the result concerning the structure of π1(K) more generally also holds in the non-symmetrizable two-spherical situation.

 

JournalTransformation Groups
Volume28
Pages769–802
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Related project(s):
61At infinity of symmetric spaces

In the 1970s, Williams developed an algorithm that has been used to construct modular links. We introduce the notion of bunches to provide a more efficient algorithm for constructing modular links in the Lorenz template. Using the bunch perspective, we construct parent manifolds for modular link complements and provide the first upper volume bound that is independent of word exponents and quadratic in the braid index. We find families of modular knot complements with upper volume bounds that are linear in the braid index. A classification of modular link complements based on the relative magnitudes of word exponents is also presented.

 

Related project(s):
38Geometry of surface homeomorphism groups

very oriented closed geodesic on the modular surface has a canonically associated knot in its unit tangent bundle coming from the periodic orbit of the geodesic flow. We study the volume of the associated knot complement with respect to its unique complete hyperbolic metric. We show that there exist sequences of closed geodesics for which this volume is bounded linearly in terms of the period of the geodesic's continued fraction expansion. Consequently, we give a volume's upper bound for some sequences of Lorenz knots complements, linearly in terms of the corresponding braid index. Also, for any punctured hyperbolic surface we give volume's bounds for the canonical lift complement relative to some sequences of sets of closed geodesics in terms of the geodesics length.

 

JournalJ. Knot Theory and its Ramifications
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Related project(s):
38Geometry of surface homeomorphism groups

We show that a singular Riemannian foliation of codimension two on a compact simply-connected Riemannian (????+2)-manifold, with regular leaves homeomorphic to the n-torus, is given by a smooth effective n-torus action. This solves in the negative for the codimension 2 case a question about the existence of foliations by exotic tori on simply-connected manifolds.

 

JournalMathematische Zeitschrift
PublisherSpringer
Volume304
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Related project(s):
43Singular Riemannian foliations and collapse

We construct a sequence of geodesics on the modular surface such that the complement of the canonical lifts to the unit tangent bundle are arithmetic 3-manifolds.

 

Related project(s):
38Geometry of surface homeomorphism groups

We prove a positive mass theorem for spin initial data sets \((M,g,k)\) that contain an asymptotically flat end and a shield of dominant energy (a subset of M on which the dominant energy scalar \(μ−|J|\) has a positive lower bound). In a similar vein, we show that for an asymptotically flat end \(\mathcal{E}\) that violates the positive mass theorem (i.e. \(\mathrm{E}<|\mathrm{P}|\)), there exists a constant \(R > 0\), depending only on \(\mathcal{E}\), such that any initial data set containing \(\mathcal{E}\) must violate the hypotheses of Witten's proof of the positive mass theorem in an \(R\)-neighborhood of \(\mathcal{E}\). This implies the positive mass theorem for spin initial data sets with arbitrary ends, and we also prove a rigidity statement. Our proofs are based on a modification of Witten's approach to the positive mass theorem involving an additional independent timelike direction in the spinor bundle.

 

Related project(s):
42Spin obstructions to metrics of positive scalar curvature on nonspin manifolds78Duality and the coarse assembly map II

Let \(M\) be an orientable connected \(n\)-dimensional manifold with \(n\in\{6,7\}\) and let \(Y\subset M\) be a two-sided closed connected incompressible hypersurface which does not admit a metric of positive scalar curvature (abbreviated by psc). Moreover, suppose that the universal covers of \(M\) and \(Y\) are either both spin or both non-spin. Using Gromov's \(\mu\)-bubbles, we show that \(M\) does not admit a complete metric of psc. We provide an example showing that the spin/non-spin hypothesis cannot be dropped from the statement of this result. This answers, up to dimension \(7\), a question by Gromov for a large class of cases. Furthermore, we prove a related result for submanifolds of codimension two. We deduce as special cases that, if \(Y\) does not admit a metric of psc and \(\dim(Y) \neq 4\), then \(M := Y\times\mathbb{R}\) does not carry a complete metric of psc and \(N := Y \times \mathbb{R}^2\) does not carry a complete metric of uniformly psc provided that \(\dim(M) \leq 7\) and \(\dim(N) \leq 7\), respectively. This solves, up to dimension \(7\), a conjecture due to Rosenberg and Stolz in the case of orientable manifolds.

 

JournalJournal of Topology
Volume16.3
Pages855-876
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Related project(s):
42Spin obstructions to metrics of positive scalar curvature on nonspin manifolds78Duality and the coarse assembly map II

In this survey, we give an overview of recent applications of Callias operators to the geometry of scalar curvature. A Callias operator is an operator of the form \(\mathcal{B}_\psi = \mathcal{D} + \mathcal{G}_\psi\), where \(\mathcal{D}\) is a Dirac operator and \(\mathcal{G}_\psi\) is an order zero term depending on a scalar-valued function \(\psi\). The zero order term modifies the Schrödinger–Lichnerowicz formula by a differential expression in the function \(\psi\) that can be related to distance estimates. This fact allows to use the Dirac method to derive sharp quantitative estimates in the presence of lower scalar curvature bounds in the spirit of metric inequalities with scalar curvature as proposed by Gromov.

 

BookM Gromov, B. Lawson (eds): Perspectives in Scalar Curvature
Volume1
Pages515-542
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Related project(s):
42Spin obstructions to metrics of positive scalar curvature on nonspin manifolds78Duality and the coarse assembly map II

We show scalar-mean curvature rigidity of warped products of round spheres of dimension at least 2 over compact intervals equipped  with   strictly log-concave warping functions. This generalizes earlier results of  Cecchini-Zeidler to all dimensions. Moreover, we show scalar curvature rigidity of round spheres of dimension at least $3$ minus two antipodal points, thus resolving a problem in Gromov's  ``Four Lectures'' in all dimensions. Our arguments are based on spin geometry.

 

Related project(s):
37Boundary value problems and index theory on Riemannian and Lorentzian manifolds52Spaces and Moduli Spaces of Riemannian Metrics with Curvature Bounds on compact and non-compact Manifolds II

We construct pairs of residually finite groups with isomorphic profinite completions such that one has non-vanishing and the other has vanishing real second bounded cohomology. The examples are lattices in different higher rank simple Lie groups. Using Galois cohomology, we actually show that \(\operatorname{SO}^0(n,2)\) for \(n \ge 6\) and the exceptional groups \(E_{6(-14)}\) and \(E_{7(-25)}\) constitute the complete list of higher rank Lie groups admitting such examples.

 

 

Related project(s):
58Profinite perspectives on l2-cohomology

Based on the Atiyah-Patodi-Singer index formula, we construct an obstruction to positive scalar curvature metrics with mean convex boundaries on spin manifolds of infinite K-area. We also characterize the extremal case. Next we show a general deformation principle for boundary conditions of metrics with lower scalar curvature bounds. This implies that the relaxation of boundary conditions often induces weak homotopy equivalences of spaces of such metrics. This can be used to refine the smoothing of codimension-one singularites a la Miao and the deformation of boundary conditions a la Brendle-Marques-Neves, among others. Finally, we construct compact manifolds for which the spaces of positive scalar curvature metrics with mean convex boundaries have nontrivial higher homotopy groups.

 

PublisherWorld Scientific
BookM Gromov, B. Lawson (eds): Perspectives in Scalar Curvature
Volume2
Pages325-377
Link to preprint version
Link to published version

Related project(s):
37Boundary value problems and index theory on Riemannian and Lorentzian manifolds52Spaces and Moduli Spaces of Riemannian Metrics with Curvature Bounds on compact and non-compact Manifolds II

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