Gradient flows within plane fields

DOI10.1007/S000140050102MaRDI QIDQ1969351zbMATH OpenOpenAlexFDO

Authors John B. Etnyre, Robert Ghrist

Publication date 18 July 2000

Published in Commentarii Mathematici Helvetici (Search for Journal in Brave)

Full work available at URL https://arxiv.org/abs/math/9904180

zbMATH Keywords

foliationgradient flowMorse-Smale systemoriented three manifoldplane fields

Mathematics Subject Classification ID

Gradient-like behavior; isolated (locally maximal) invariant sets; attractors, repellers for topological dynamical systems (37B35) Dynamical systems of geometric origin and hyperbolicity (geodesic and horocycle flows, etc.) (37D40) Wild embeddings (57M30) Vector distributions (subbundles of the tangent bundles) (58A30)

Abstract: We consider the dynamics of vector fields on three-manifolds which are constrained to lie within a plane field, such as occurs in nonholonomic dynamics. On compact manifolds, such vector fields force dynamics beyond that of a gradient flow, except in cases where the underlying manifold is topologically simple. Furthermore, there are strong restrictions on the types of gradient flows realized within plane fields: such flows lie on the boundary of the space of nonsingular Morse-Smale flows. This relationship translates to knot-theoretic obstructions for the link of singularities in the flow. In the case of an integrable plane field, the restrictions are even finer, forcing taut foliations on surface bundles. The situation is completely different in the case of contact plane fields, however: it is easy to realize gradient fields within overtwisted contact structures (the nonintegrable analogue of a foliation with Reeb components).

Review text

The authors deal with a gradient flow within plane fields. Let \(M\) denote a compact oriented three-manifold. A plane field \(\eta\) on \(M\) is a subbundle of the tangent bundle \(TM\) which associates secondly to each point \(p\in M\) a two-dimensional subspace \(\eta(p) \subset T_pM\). Unlike line fields, a plane field cannot always be integrated to yield a two-dimensional foliation \({\mathcal F}\). The authors show that there are strong restrictions on the types of gradient flows realized within plane fields: Such flows lie on the boundary of the space of nonsingular Morse-Smale flows. In the case of an integrable plane field they show that the restrictions are even finer, forcing the foliations on surface bundles. Moreover they show that the situation is completely different in the case of contact plane fields.

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Cited in

(2)

• Flows in Flatland: a romance of few dimensions
• Plane fields related to vector fields on 3-manifolds

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