Harmonic maps to spheres (Q1074207)

Let \(\Sigma\) be a totally geodesic subsphere of codimension two of the unit sphere \(S^ n\subset R^{n+1}\) and \(M=M^ k\) an open Riemannian manifold. The main results are as follows. If \(F: M\to S^ n\) is a nonconstant harmonic map on a compact manifold M, then F either links or meets \(\Sigma\) (i.e., either F(M)\(\cap \Sigma \neq \emptyset\) or \(F(M)\cap \Sigma =\emptyset\) and \(F: M\to S^ n\setminus \Sigma\) is homotopically nontrivial). An energy-minimizing map \(F: M\to S^ n\) which omits a neighbourhood of a codimension-two great subsphere of \(S^ n\) is everywhere smooth. When \(n>1\), an energy-minimizing map \(F: R^ k\to S^ n\) which is bounded away from \(\Sigma\), is constant. If u,v: \(M\to R\) are nontrivial solutions of a Schrödinger operator on a compact Riemannian manifold M and \(H^ 1(M)=0\), then \(N_ u\cap N_ v=\emptyset\) iff \(N_ u\cup N_ v=\emptyset\), where \(N_ u\) is the nodal set of u.