Coisotropic rigidity and \(C^0\)-symplectic geometry (Q2342125)

The article's main result proves that a symplectic homeomorphism preserves coisotropic submanifolds and their characteristic foliations. To prove it the authors establish a \(C^{0}\)-dynamical property of coisotropic submanifolds by proving the uniqueness of generators for continuous analogues of Hamiltonian flows; by doing so they generalize a fundamental theorem in \(C^{0}\)-Hamiltonian dynamics. The main results generalizes the Gromov-Eliashberg theorem and demonstrate previously known rigidity results (i) on Lagrangians, by \textit{F. Laudenbach} and \textit{J. C. Sikorav} [Int. Math. Res. Not. 1994, No. 4, 161--168 (1994; Zbl 0812.53031)] and (ii) on characteristics of hypersurfaces by \textit{E. Opshtein} [Ann. Sci. Éc. Norm. Supér. (4) 42, No. 5, 857--864 (2009; Zbl 1186.53054)]. Indeed, it is shown that these results are manifestations of a single rigidity phenomenon. They define symplectic homeomorphisms as \(C^{0}\)-limit of symplectomorphisms. The definition is well posed thanks to the Gromov-Eliashberg theorem [\textit{M. Gromov}, Partial differential relations. Berlin etc.: Springer-Verlag (1986; Zbl 0651.53001)] stating that a diffemorphism which is a \(C^{0}\)-limit of symplectomorphisms is symplectic. A submanifold \(C\) of a symplectic manifold \((M,\omega)\) is called coisotropic if for all \(p\in C\), \((T_{p}C)^{\omega}\subset T_{p}C\), where \((T_{p}C)^{\omega}\) denotes the symplectic orthogonal of \(T_{p}C\). For instance, hypersurfaces and Lagrangians are coisotropic. A coisotropic submanifold carries a natural foliation \(\mathcal{F}\) which integrates the distribution \((T_{p}C)^{\omega}\); \(\mathcal{F}\) is called the characteristic foliation of \(C\). {Main Theorem}. Let \(C\) be a smooth coisotropic submanifold of a symplectic manifold \((M,\omega)\). Let \(U\) be an open subset of \(M\), and let \(\theta:U\rightarrow V\) be a symplectic homeomorphism. If \(\theta(C\cap U)\) is smooth, then it is isotropic. Furthermore, \(\theta\) maps the characteristic foliation of \(C\cap U\) to that of \(\theta(C\cap U)\).