On the Weinstein conjecture in higher dimensions (Q1012476)

By a contact manifold we mean a \((2n-1)\)-dimensional manifold \(M\) together with a 1-form \(\lambda\) such that \(\lambda\wedge(d\lambda)^{n-1}\) is a volume form. It is well known that a contact manifold admits a unique vector field \(X\), called the Reeb vector field, such that \(i_Xd\lambda=0\) and \(i_X\lambda=1\). In [J. Differ. Equations 33, 353--358 (1979; Zbl 0388.58020)], \textit{A. Weinstein} conjectured that the Reeb vector field on a compact simply-connected contact manifold has a closed orbit. Many authors, including this reviewer, believe that the conjecture is true without the assumption of simple connectivity. In dimension 3 the conjecture was recently proved in full generality by \textit{C. H. Taubes} [Geom. Topol. 11, 2117--2202 (2007; Zbl 1135.57015)]. The present paper considers the Weinstein conjecture in higher dimensions. In dimension 3 one has the notion of an overtwisted contact structure. Let \(\xi\) denote the contact structure or hyperplane field defined by \(\lambda=0\). Roughly speaking, \(\xi\) being overtwisted means that one has a contact embedding of a disk, tangent to \(\xi\) at the origin and such that as one moves outward radially, the plane \(\xi\) turns over in a finite distance. As a higher dimensional generalization of being overtwisted, \textit{K. Niederkrüger} [Algebr. Geom. Topol. 6, 2473--2508 (2006; Zbl 1129.53056)] introduced the notion of a Plastikstufe. Let \({\mathbb D}^2\) denote the closed unit disk with coordinates \((x,y)\). The contact manifold contains a \textit{Plastikstufe with singular set \(S\)} if it admits a closed submanifold \(S\) of dimension \(n-2\) and an embedding \(\iota:{\mathbb D}^2\times S\longrightarrow M\) with \(\iota(\{0\}\times S)=S\) having the following properties: (1) There exists a contact form \(\lambda_{\text{PS}}\) inducing \(\xi\) such that the 1-form \(\beta=\iota^*\lambda_{\text{PS}}\) satisfies \(\beta\wedge d\beta=0\) and \(\beta\neq 0\) on \(({\mathbb D}^2\backslash \{0\})\times S\). Near \(\{0\}\times S\), \(\beta=xdy-ydx\) and the pull-back of \(\beta\) to \(\partial{\mathbb D}^2\times S\) vanishes. (2) The complement of \(\{0\}\times S\) in \(({\mathbb D}^2\backslash\partial{\mathbb D}^2)\times S\) is smoothly foliated by \(\beta\) via an \(S^1\)-family of leaves diffeomorphic to \((0,1)\times S\), where one of the ends converges to the singular set \(\{0\}\times S\) and the other is asymptotic to the leaf \(\partial{\mathbb D}^2\times S\). The set \(\iota({\mathbb D}^2\times S)\) is called the \textit{Plastikstufe} and a closed contact manifold is said to be \textit{PS-overtwisted} is it admits a contact form \(\lambda_{\text{PS}}\) inducing \(\xi\) containing a Plastikstufe. The main result of the present paper is that given a closed PS-overtwisted contact manifold with contact structure \(\xi\), every Reeb vector field associated to a contact form \(\lambda\) inducing \(\xi\) has a contractible periodic orbit.