Singularities of the exponential map on the volume-preserving diffeomorphism group (Q2509108)

Let \(M\) be a compact, oriented Riemannian manifold of dimension \(n\), possibly with smooth boundary \(\partial M\). Let \(D^s_\mu(M)\) denote the group of all diffeomorphims of Sobolev class \(H^s\) preserving the volume form \(\mu\) on \(M\). A motivation for the authors to study the geometry of diffeomorphims groups comes from the Euler equations of hydrodynamics. The following theorem is proved: {Let \(M^2\) be a compact two-dimensional manifold without boundary. Then the exponential map of the \(L^2\) metric on \(D^s_\mu(M^2)\) is a nonlinear Fredholm map of the index zero.} A weaker result valid for any surface, using the weak topology generated by the \(L^2\) norm, is also obtained.