Intersection theory of punctured pseudoholomorphic curves (Q658420)

This paper is a comprehensive study of intersections of punctured pseudoholomorphic curves in 4-dimensional symplectic cobordisms that occur in symplectic field theory. The main difficulty is that intersection and self-intersection numbers are not homotopy invariant since the intersections may escape to or appear at infinity. Based on detailed asymptotic results from a previous paper [Commun. Pure Appl. Math. 61, No. 12, 1631--1684 (2008; Zbl 1158.53068] the author first introduces asymptotic indices that measure tangency and self-tangency at infinity. Adding them to the algebraic intersection numbers he obtains generalized intersection numbers and proves that they are determined only by curves' homotopy classes. Moreover, the generalized numbers satisfy an adjunction formula which leads to a purely topological condition for a curve to be embedded. Specializing to cylindrical cobordisms \(\mathbb{R}\times M\), where \(M\) is a closed \(3\)-manifold equipped with a stable Hamiltonian structure, the author uses homotopy invariance and the \(\mathbb{R}\)-action to express the generalized intersection numbers in terms of curves' projections to \(M\). This provides criteria for a projection to be embedded and for two projections to be disjoint. Applied to manifolds with certain types of book decompositions these criteria yield results on location of punctures relative to the binding of the books. Two more applications are presented. One is a proof that the differential of a connected curve projected to the Hamiltonian hyperplane distribution of \(M\) has finitely many zeros of positive order or vanishes identically. The other concerns \textit{H. Hofer}'s generalization of pseudoholomorphic curves [in: Proceedings of a meeting, Tel Aviv, Israel, August 25--September 3, 1999. Part II. Basel: Birkhäuser. 674--704 (2000; Zbl 1161.53362)] obtained by twisting the Cauchy-Riemann equation by a harmonic form. The author constructs an example of two generalized pseudoholomorphic curves having an isolated intersection of negative index, but then proves that globally the generalized intersection number remains positive as long as no component of the curves is contained in a cylinder over a periodic orbit.