Symplectic geometry: an introduction based on the seminar in Bern, 1992 (Q1330287)

The present book is intended to give the nonspecialist a solid introduction to the recent developments in symplectic and contact geometry. Chapter 1, ``Introduction'', gives a review of the symplectic group \(Sp(n, \mathbb{R})\), symplectic manifolds, and Hamiltonian systems. The Maslov index for closed curves as well as arcs in \(Sp(n,\mathbb{R})\) is discussed. Chapter 2, ``Darboux's theorem and examples of symplectic manifolds'', contains a more detailed account of symplectic manifolds starting with a proof of the Darboux theorem saying that there are no local invariants in symplectic geometry. The most important examples of symplectic manifolds are introduced: cotangent spaces and Kähler manifolds. Finally, we discuss the theory of coadjoint orbits and the Kostant-Souriau theorem, which are concerned with the question of which homogeneous spaces carry a symplectic structure. Chapter 3, ``Generating functions'', is devoted to an important tool for dealing with Lagrange submanifolds and their intersections. The intersection problem for Lagrange manifolds is a generalization of the problem of finding (or counting) the fixed points of a symplectomorphism. Here, the minimax principle and Lyusternik-Schnirelman theory can be used and will be explained. Generating functions also lead to a symplectic invariant, called the Viterbo capacity. In Chapter 4, ``Symplectic capacities'' are discussed. For this, one first has to deal with periodic trajectories in Hamiltonian systems. The variational method makes it possible to identify these closed trajectories with the critical points of the action functional defined on a loop space. Leray-Schauder degree theory is then applied to prove an existence theorem for closed trajectories. This theorem (or rather its proof) is then used to show that the Hofer-Zehnder capacity has all the properties required of a symplectic capacity. Gromov's squeezing theorem and some rigidity results for symplectomorphisms are derived from the existence of a symplectic capacity. In Chapter 5, ``Floer homology'', we discuss Floer's proof of the Arnol'd conjecture. In order to understand this, one first has to study Morse homology. Floer was able to construct an analog of the Morse complex in many cases. Its homology is now called Floer homology. Using a deformation to a time independent Hamiltonian, one then shows that Floer homology agrees with Morse homology. This proves the Arnol'd conjecture. Chapter 6, ``Pseudoholomorphic curves'', is an introduction to pseudoholomorphic curves in a symplectic manifold. Their study yields a powerful tool for proving theorems on symplectic manifolds. We try to give a self-contained presentation of the fundamental construction of the moduli space of parametrized closed holomorphic curves and its simplest compactness properties. The moduli space is constructed with the Sard-Smale theorem and the compactness is investigated via a differential geometric approach relying on a Sachs-Uhlenbeck argument and a Morrey inequality. At the end, we show how pseudoholomorphic curves can be used to prove the so-called squeezing theorem. In Chapter 7, ``Gromov's compactness theorem from a geometrical point of view'', the compactness theorem for pseudoholomorphic curves is taken up again, but this time from a more geometrical point of view. This approach offers the advantage of being geometrically intuitive and displays the analogy to function theoretic methods. Pseudoholomorphic analogs of the Schwarz lemma, of the Weierstrass theorem, and of a well-known monotonicity property are formulated. To make the notion of cusp-curves precise, a delicate notion of convergence is studied. It is closely related to convergence of hyperbolic structures on Riemann surfaces (using Fenchel-Nielsen parameters). For this, deformations of Riemann surfaces are studied. Contact structures are the odd-dimensional counterpart to symplectic structures. They naturally appear in many ways in symplectic geometry: first of all, as certain integral surfaces of Hamiltonian systems, and then, in the context of complex analysis, as strictly pseudoconvex hypersurfaces. The process of symplectification provides a direct link between contact and symplectic geometry. In Chapter 8, ``Contact structures'', we consider contact structures, first from a general point of view and then with special emphasis on complex analytic methods in 3-dimensional contact geometry. We study topological invariants of two-dimensional manifolds embedded in 3-dimensional contact or 4-dimensional symplectic manifolds and we present Eliashberg's classification results.