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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  • all projects
  • 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

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
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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

This paper investigates realisations of elliptic differential operators of general order on manifolds with boundary following the approach of Bär-Ballmann to first order elliptic operators. The space of possible boundary values of elements in the maximal domain is described as a Hilbert space densely sandwiched between two mixed order Sobolev spaces. The description uses Calderón projectors which, in the first order case, is equivalent to results of Bär-Bandara using spectral projectors of an adapted boundary operator. Boundary conditions that induce Fredholm as well as regular realisations, and those that admit higher order regularity, are characterised. In addition, results concerning spectral theory, homotopy invariance of the Fredholm index, and well-posedness for higher order elliptic boundary value problems are proven.

 

JournalAdvances in Mathematics
PublisherElsevier
Volume420
Pages1-123
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Related project(s):
37Boundary value problems and index theory on Riemannian and Lorentzian manifolds

We provide Fourier expansions of vector-valued eigenfunctions of the hyperbolic Laplacian that are twist-periodic in a horocycle direction. The twist may be given by any endomorphism of a finite-dimensional vector space; no assumptions on invertibility or unitarity are made. Examples of such eigenfunctions include vector-valued twisted automorphic forms of Fuchsian groups. We further provide a detailed description of the Fourier coefficients and explicitly identify each of their constituents, which intimately depend on the eigenvalues of the twisting endomorphism and the size of its Jordan blocks. In addition, we determine the growth properties of the Fourier coefficients.

 

JournalCommun. Number Theory Phys.
Volume17, no. 1
Pages173-248
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Related project(s):
70Spectral theory with non-unitary twists

For every number field and every Cartan Killing type, there is an associated split simple algebraic group. We examine whether the corresponding arithmetic subgroups are profinitely solitary so that the commensurability class of the profinite completion determines the commensurability class of the group among finitely generated residually finite groups. Assuming Grothendieck rigidity, we essentially solve the problem by Galois cohomological means.

 

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

Using variational methods together with symmetries given by singular Riemannian foliations with positive dimensional leaves, we prove the existence of an infinite number of sign-changing solutions to Yamabe type problems, which are constant along the leaves of the foliation, and one positive solution of minimal energy among any other solution with these symmetries. In particular, we find sign-changing solutions to the Yamabe problem on the round sphere with new qualitative behavior when compared to previous results, that is, these solutions are constant along the leaves of a singular Riemannian foliation which is not induced neither by a group action nor by an isoparametric function. To prove the existence of these solutions, we prove a Sobolev embedding theorem for general singular Riemannian foliations, and a Principle of Symmetric Criticality for the associated energy functional to a Yamabe type problem.

 

JournalCalculus of Variations and Partial Differential Equations
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Related project(s):
43Singular Riemannian foliations and collapse

Building on work of Bowden-Hensel-Webb, we study the action of the homeomorphism group of a surface $S$ on the fine curve graph $\mathcal{C}^\dagger(S)$.  While the definition of $\mathcal{C}^\dagger(S)$ parallels the classical curve graph for mapping class groups, we show that the dynamics of the action of $\mathrm{Homeo}(S)$ on $\mathcal{C}^\dagger(S)$ is much richer:  homeomorphisms induce parabolic isometries in addition to elliptics and hyperbolics, and all positive reals are realized as asymptotic translation lengths. 

 

When the surface $S$ is a torus, we relate the dynamics of the action of a homeomorphism on $\mathcal{C}^\dagger(S)$ to the dynamics of its action on the torus via the classical theory of {\em rotation sets}.  We characterize homeomorphisms acting hyperbolically, show asymptotic translation length provides a lower bound for the area of the rotation set, and, while no characterisation purely in terms of rotation sets is possible, we give sufficient conditions for elements to be elliptic or parabolic.  

 

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

Given a Chevalley group $\mathcal{G}$ of classical type and a Borel subgroup $\mathcal{B} \subseteq \mathcal{G}$, we compute the $\Sigma$-invariants of the $S$-arithmetic groups $\mathcal{B}(\Z[1/N])$, where $N$ is a product of large enough primes. To this end, we let $\mathcal{B}(\Z[1/N])$ act on a Euclidean building $X$ that is given by the product of Bruhat--Tits buildings $X_p$ associated to $\mathcal{G}$, where $p$ is a prime dividing $N$. In the course of the proof we introduce necessary and sufficient conditions for convex functions on $\CAT(0)$-spaces to be continuous. We apply these conditions to associate to each simplex at infinity $\tau \subset \pinf X$ its so-called parabolic building $X^{\tau}$ and to study it from a geometric point of view. Moreover, we introduce new techniques in combinatorial Morse theory, which enable us to take advantage of the concept of essential $n$-connectivity rather than actual $n$-connectivity. Most of our building theoretic results are proven in the general framework of spherical and Euclidean buildings. For example, we prove that the complex opposite each chamber in a spherical building $\Delta$ contains an apartment, provided $\Delta$ is thick enough and $\Aut(\Delta)$ acts chamber transitively on $\Delta$.

 

JournalTransactions of the American Mathematical Society
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Related project(s):
8Parabolics and invariants

The main theme of this paper is higher virtual algebraic fibering properties of right-angled Coxeter groups (RACGs), with a special focus on those whose defining flag complex is a finite building.

We prove for particular classes of finite buildings that their random induced subcomplexes have a number of strong properties, most prominently that they are highly connected.

From this we are able to deduce that the commutator subgroup of a RACG, with defining flag complex a finite building of a certain type, admits an epimorphism to Z whose kernel has strong topological finiteness properties.

We additionally use our techniques to present examples where the kernel is of type F_2 but not FP_3, and examples where the RACG is hyperbolic and the kernel is finitely generated and non-hyperbolic.

The key tool we use is a generalization of an approach due to Jankiewicz--Norin--Wise involving Bestvina--Brady discrete Morse theory applied to the Davis complex of a RACG, together with some probabilistic arguments.

 

Related project(s):
8Parabolics and invariants

Given a finitely generated group G that is relatively finitely presented with respect to a collection of peripheral subgroups, we prove that every infinite subgroup H of G that is bounded in the relative Cayley graph of G is conjugate into a peripheral subgroup. As an application, we obtain a trichotomy for subgroups of relatively hyperbolic groups. Moreover we prove the existence of the relative exponential growth rate for all subgroups of limit groups.

 

JournalAlgebraic and Geometric Topology
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Related project(s):
8Parabolics and invariants

We give a topological classification of Lawson's bipolar minimal surfaces corresponding to his ξ- and η-family. Therefrom we deduce upper as well as lower bounds on the area of these surfaces, and find that they are not embedded.

 

Related project(s):
25The Willmore energy of degenerating surfaces and singularities of geometric flows67Asymptotics of singularities and deformations

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