On conformal points of area preserving maps and related topics (Q2169867)

This paper considers area-preserving diffeomorphisms of planar domains, with an interest in their conformal points (i.e., points at which the derivative is a similarity). Several motivations are stated in the paper, including a question by Asaf Shachar on MathOverflow (\url{https://mathoverflow.net/questions/354451}) that appears to have sparked the work. The paper presents some conditions that guarantee the existence of conformal points. Moreover links to the Carathéodory and Loewner conjectures are discussed. The Carathéodory conjecture asserts that a smooth closed surface in \(\mathbb{R}^ 3\) homeomorphic to the sphere has at least two distinct umbilic points. Consider the planar vector fields \(V_n\) whose two components are the real and imaginary parts of \((\partial_x+i\partial_y)^nH(x,y)\) where \(H(x,y)\) is a smooth function. The Loewner conjecture states that the index of an isolated zero of \(V_n\) does not exceed \(n\). The paper proves the following statements concerning the existence of conformal points: \begin{itemize} \item Let \(H(x,y)\) be a smooth function in a simply connected domain \(D\subset\mathbb{R}^2\) such that \(dH=0\) along the boundary. Assume that conformal points are isolated and that there are no conformal points on \(\partial D\). Then, provided one of certain additional conditions holds, there are two conformal points inside \(D\), counting with multiplicities. One of the mentioned additional conditions is that \(H\) has zero normal derivative along the boundary. This case is extended as follows: Let \(H(x,y)\) be a smooth function in a simply connected domain \(D\subset\mathbb{R}^2\) with \(dH=0\) on the boundary so that the Hamiltonian vector field \(X_H\) of \(H\) has no conformal points on \(\partial D\). Then \(X_H\) has two conformal points in the interior of the domain, counting with multiplicities. \item Let \(H(x,y)\) be a smooth function in a simply connected domain \(D\subset\mathbb{R}^2\) which is constant on the boundary with vanishing \(j\)-th normal derivatives along \(\partial D\) for \(j\in\{1,2\dots,n-1\}\). Moreover let the vector field \(V_n\) have only isolated zeros in \(D\) and no zeros on \(\partial D\). Then \(V_n\) has \(n\) zeros in the interior of \(D\), counting with multiplicities. \item Let \(F\) be a \emph{moderate symplectomorphism} (introduced in Section~4) of the simply connected domain \(D\subset\mathbb{R}^2\) which is the identity on the boundary. Assume that \(F\) has no conformal points on \(\partial D\). Then \(F\) possesses at least two conformal points inside \(D\), counting with multiplicities. \end{itemize} The authors also show that, in a proper sense, umbilic points are conformal points of a Hamiltonian vector field on \(S^2\).