On the asymptotic geometry of area-preserving maps (Q1580353)

Let \(M\) be a two-dimensional manifold equipped with a volume (area) form \(\omega\); assume \(M\) is open, connected and oriented, and that \(\int_M \omega =\infty\). Let \(H:M\to R\) be a Hamiltonian with compact support \(S_H\subset M\), and \(\varphi^t_H\) the flow generated by \(H\). The authors consider the function \(r_H(t):= d(\text{id}, \varphi_H^t)\), where \(d\) is Hofer's metric. Due to the triangle inequality for the Hofer metric, \(r_H(t)\) grows at most linearly and thus \(\mu(H): =\lim_{t\to \infty} [r_H(t)/t]\) is well defined. The first result proved in this paper is the following ``dichotomy theorem'': if \(S_H\) is contractible in \(M\), then \(r_H(t)\) is bounded and \(\mu(H)=0\); if \(S_H\) is not contractible in \(M\), then \(r_H(t)\) grows asymptotically linearly, and \(\mu (H)>0\). Using this result, one obtains that: \(r_H(t)\) is bounded if and only if all periodic orbits of \(\varphi^t_H\) are contractible. The authors are actually able to determine more precisely the value of \(\mu(H)\) as the difference of two distinguished critical values of \(H\). If \(\pi_1(M)\neq 0\), let \({\mathcal L}\) be the set of all embedded non-contractible \(S^1\) circles in \(M\), and define \(c_+(H):= \sup_{L\in {\mathcal L}} \min_{x\in L}H(x)\), \(c_-(H):= \inf_{L \in {\mathcal L}}\max_{x\in L} H(x)\). It turns out that \(c_\pm (H)\) are critical values of \(H\), with \(c_+(H)\geq 0\) and \(c_-(H)\leq 0\). Moreover, \(\mu(H)= c_+(H)- c_-(H)\).