Average number of zeros and mixed symplectic volume of Finsler sets (Q1632232)

For an $n$-dimensional manifold $M$ and finite-dimensional vector spaces $V_1,\dots,V_n\subset C^\infty(M,\mathbb{R})$ (for example, eigenspaces of the Laplacian on the Riemannian manifold $(M,g)$), a Finsler ellipsoid $\mathcal{E}=\{ \mathcal{E}(x)\}$ is assigned to each $V_i$. Here each $\mathcal{E}(x)$ is an ellipsoid in $T^*_xM$. Using the Riemannian metric $g$, each $\mathcal{E}(x)$ can be chosen as the unit ball in $T_xM$. In this situation, the symplectic volume of $\bigcup \mathcal{E}(x)$ differs from $\mathrm{vol}(M)$ by a coefficient depending on $n$. In the present paper, it is proved in the general situation that the average number of isolated common zeros of $n$ functions $f_i\in V_i$ is equal to the mixed symplectic volume of the Finsler ellipsoids above. The special situation of a homogeneous space $M=G/H$ of a compact Lie group $G$ and invariant spaces $V_i$ is investigated and certain inequalities, similar to Hodge inequalities, are derived. The results are applied to the situation of the invariant Riemannian metric and eigenspaces of the Laplacian.