Spherical complexities with applications to closed geodesics (Q2035049)

For a given path-connected topological space \(X\) and \(n\geq 0\), \(S^n\) denotes the unit sphere, \(1=(1,0,\ldots,0)\in S^n\) and \(B^{n+1}\) denotes the closed unit ball in \(\mathbb{R}^{n+1}\). Set \[ S_nX=\{f\in C^0(S^n,X)\mid f \text{ is nullhomotopic}\} \text{ and } B_{n+1}X=C^0(B^{n+1},X), \] topologised with the compact-open topologies. Moreover, for a fixed basepoint \(x_0\in X\), define the subspaces \[ S_n^\ast X=\{f\in S_nX\mid f(1)=x_0\} \text{ and } B_{n+1}^\ast X=\{f\in B_{n+1}X\mid f(1)=x_0\}. \] In this paper the notion of spherical complexities is introduced: \begin{itemize} \item[1.] The \(n\)-spherical complexity of \(X\) is given by \[ \text{SC}_n(X)=\text{secat}(r_n), \] where \(\text{secat}(r_n)\) denotes the sectional category of the fibration \(r_n:B_{n+1}\to S_nX, r_n(\gamma)=\gamma\mid_{S^n}\). \item[2.] The based \(n\)-spherical complexity of \(X\) is defined as the number \[ \text{SC}_n^\ast(X)=\text{secat}(r_n\vert_{B_{n+1}^\ast X}:B_{n+1}^\ast X\to S_n^\ast X). \] \end{itemize} The author shows the following basic properties: \begin{itemize} \item[1.] (Proposition 1.9) The complexity \(\text{SC}_0(X)\) coincides with the topological complexity (à la Farber) \(\text{TC}(X)\) and \(\text{SC}_0^\ast(X)=\text{cat}(X)\), where \(\text{cat}(X)\) denotes the Lusternik-Schnirelmann category. \item[2.] (Proposition 1.3) The complexity \(\text{SC}_n(X)\) is a homotopy invariant, for each \(n\geq 0\). \item[3.] (Proposition 1.7) If \(X\) is a metrizable ANR, then \(\text{SC}_n(X)\geq \text{cat}(S_nX/c_n(X))-1\), for each \(n\geq 0\). Here, \(c_n\) denotes the map \(c_n:X\to S_nX, c_n(x)=\overline{x}\), where \(\overline{x}:S^n\to X\) is the constant map in \(x\). \item[4.] (Lemma 1.10) If \(X\) is a Hausdorff space, then \(\text{SC}_n^\ast(X)=\text{cat}(S_n^\ast X)\), for every \(n\geq 0\). \item[5.] (Theorem 1.11) If \(X\) is a Hausdorff space, then \(\text{cat}(S_n^\ast X)\leq\text{SC}_n(X)\leq\text{cat}(S_n X)\), for every \(n\geq 0\). \item[6.] (Theorem 1.13) If \(X\) is a Hausdorff space and \(R\) a commutative ring, then \(\text{SC}_n(X)\geq \text{cl}_R\left(S_nX,c_n(X)\right)+1\), for each \(n\geq 0\), where \(\text{cl}_R\left(S_nX,c_n(X)\right)\) is the least integer \(k\) such that all \((k+1)\)-fold cup products vanish in the reduced cohomology \(\widetilde{H^\star}(S_nX,c_n(X);R)\). \end{itemize} The author also introduces relative versions of spherical complexities and derives inequalities between spherical complexities and the number of critical orbits of \(O(n+1)\)-invariant functions on sphere spaces. \textbf{Theorem 1} Let \(M\) be a closed Riemannian manifold, \(n\in\mathbb{N}\) and let \(\mathcal{M}\subset S_nM\) be a Riemannian Hilbert manifold. Let \(F:\mathcal{M}\to\mathbb{R}\) be continuously differentiable and \(G\)-invariant, where \(G\) is a closed subgroup of \(O(n+1)\). If \(F\) is constant on the space of constant maps and satisfies the Palais-Smale condition with respect to the metric on \(\mathcal{M}\), and if \begin{itemize} \item[(i)] \(n=1\) and \(\pi_1(M)\) is torsion-free, or \item[(ii)] every critical point of \(F\) has trivial isotropy group with respect to the \(G\)-action on \(\mathcal{M}\), \end{itemize} then, for each \(\lambda\in\mathbb{R}\), the sublevel set \(F^{\lambda}=F^{-1}((-\infty,\lambda])\) contains \(\geq \text{SC}_{n,M}(F^{\lambda})-1\) distinct \(G\)-orbits of nonconstant critical points of \(F\). As an application, the author derives an existence result for closed geodesics under additional assumptions on topology and curvature of the manifold. \textbf{Theorem 7.4} Let \(n\geq 3\) and let \(M\) be a \(2n\)-dimensional closed oriented manifold. Assume that there exists a cohomology class \(x\in H^{2k}(M;\mathbb{Q})\) with \(x^2\neq 0\), where \(1\leq k\leq\dfrac{1}{2}(n-1)\). Let \(F\) be a Finsler metric on \(M\) of reversibility \(\lambda\). If the flag curvature \(K\) of \(F\) satisfies \[ \dfrac{1}{4}\left(\dfrac{\lambda}{1+\lambda}\right)^2<\delta\leq K\leq 1, \] then \((M,F)\) will have two positively distinct closed geodesics of length at most \(\pi/\sqrt{\delta}\). If in addition \(F\) is reversible, e.g. if \(F\) is derived from a Riemannian metric whose sectional curvature satisfies \(\dfrac{1}{16}<\delta\leq K\leq 1\), then \((M,F)\) will have two geometrically distinct closed geodesics of length at most \(\pi/\sqrt{\delta}\).