Boundedness of the number of nodal domains for eigenfunctions of generic Kaluza-Klein 3-folds (Q2656652)

\noindent This important and extensive well written paper studies the number of nodal domains of eigenfunctions of the Laplacian on certain 3-dimensional compact smooth Riemannian manifolds, namely, nontrivial principal \(S^1\) bundles \(P \to X\) over Riemann surfaces equipped with certain \(S^1\) invariant metrics, the Kaluza-Klein metrics, which in general are determined by: (i) a surface \(X\) equipped with a Riemannian metric \(g\) and \(a\) complex structure \(J\); (ii) a nontrivial complex holomorphic line bundle \(L \to X\) over a surface; (iii) an Hermitian metric \(h\) on \(L\); (iv) a complex structure \(J\) on \(L\); (v) an \(h\)-compatible connection \(\nabla\) on \(L\). \noindent The unitary frame bundle for the Hermitian metric \(h\) is given by \[ P_h = \{(z,h) \in L^*:\, h_z^*(\lambda) = 1\}. \] In the paper the Kaluza-Klein metrics considered are Riemannian metrics on principal \(S^1\) bundles \(P_h \to X\) associated to \(C^\infty\) complex Hermitian line bundles \(L \to X\). One can recover \(L\) from \(P_h\) as an associated line bundle. More specifically, given a complex line bundle with Hermitian metric \(h\) over a Riemannian surface \(X\colon (L,h) \to X\) one associates to \(L\) the \(U(1)\) bundle \(P_h\) of orthonormal frames. \noindent Let \(T = \dfrac{\partial}{\partial\theta}\) generates a \(S^1 \cong U(1)\) action, so \(P_h\) can be equipped with a connection \(\alpha\), that is, an \(S^1\) invariant \(1\)-form on \(P_h\) such that \(\alpha(T)=1\). \noindent This connection defines a splitting \[ T_pP_h = H(P_h) \oplus V(P_h) \] into horizontal and vertical spaces. The vertical space is given by orbits of the \(S^1\) action. The horizontal space is defined by \(H_p = \ker \alpha\) and is isomorphic under \(d\pi_p\) to \(T_zX\) where \(\pi(p) = z\). \noindent Following the authors, the Kaluza-Klein metric on \(P_h\) is the \(S^1\)-invariant metric \(G\) such that the horizontal space \(H_p := \ker\,d\alpha\) is isometric to \(T_{\pi(p)}X\), so that \(V = \mathbb{R}\, \dfrac{\partial}{\partial\theta}\) is orthogonal to \(H\) and is invariant under the natural \(S^1\) action and so that the fiber is a unit speed geodesic. The main result of the paper (Theorem 1.5) assures that for generic Kaluza-Klein metrics any Laplacian eigenfunction has exactly two nodal domains unless it is invariant under the \(S^1\) action. In the last section of the paper the authors consider the case of surfaces of constant curvature in particular flat tori, and construct an explicit orthonormal eigenbasis on the flat 3-torus \(T^3\), for which every non constant eigenfunction has two nodal domains (Theorem 1.11). The paper is divided into nine sections the first one being introductory, where basic concepts, besides a general description containing the statement of the central results, and an outline of the proof of the main result are presented. In the second section the authors gather the geometric tools that are necessary for the construction of the Kaluza-Klein framework to be used in the following sections. These include, among others, the space of isometry classes of metrics, complex line bundles, connections, curvature and corresponding Hilbert spaces of sections,, data that are also needed to handle, in the next section, the Bochner Laplacians \(\nabla^*\nabla\), where explicit formulae are provided, including a relation between the Kodaira and Bochner Laplacians, described by equality (3.2). In the fourth section, Theorem 4.1 is proven, one of the pillars for the proof of the main theorem of the paper. The authors start their approach by considering generic properties of the eigenvalues and eigensections of Bochner Laplacians on complex holomorphic Hermitian line bundles. Their generic treatment follows the arguments of \textit{K. Uhlenbeck}'s beautiful article [Am. J. Math. 98, 1059--1078 (1976; Zbl 0355.58017)], which, in turn, is an important streamlined extension of \textit{J. H. Albert} [Proc. Sympos. Pure Math. 23, 71--78 (1973; Zbl 0268.58009)]. This allows the authors to extend the initial conclusions on Bochner Laplacians on complex holomorphic Hermitian line bundles to Kaluza-Klein Laplacians. This is summed up in the preparation and in the proof of Theorem 4.1, given in sections 4.1-4.5. The following Subsection 4.6, studies the multiplicity of the spectrum, from there one partially infers the statement of the principal theorem of the paper Theorem 1.5. The fifth section handles the nodal sets of real and imaginary parts of Kaluza-Klein Laplacians. As the authors point out, though they deal with \(C^\infty\) eigendifferentials, the section follows the notation and terminology of the classic theory of holomorphic quadratic differentials on Riemann surfaces, e.g., [\textit{K. Strebel}, Quadratic differentials. Berlin: Springer Verlag (1984; Zbl 0547.30001)] adapting it eventually to modern approach, as presented by \textit{F. A. Arias} and \textit{M. Malakhaltsev} [J. Geom. Phys. 121, 108--122 (2017; Zbl 1375.53036)]. The starting point here is to study the zeros of the associated sections of the line bundles. It deals with the real and imaginary parts of the eigendifferentials by investigating its regular and singular points, for the later, in the non-degenerate case, an index is defined. Through it, for a generic Riemannian metric, the singular points of eigendifferentials of \(\nabla^*\nabla\) are described (Proposition 5.7). The sixth section, following [\textit{J. Vilms}, J. Differ. Geom. 4, 73--79 (1970; Zbl 0194.52901); \textit{L. Bérard Bergery} and \textit{J.-P. Bourguignon}, Ill. J. Math. 26, 181--200 (1982; Zbl 0483.58021)], the authors relate Kaluza-Klein metric to Riemannian submersions with totally geodesic fibers for the specific case of \(S^1\) actions and review some formulae for lifted operators. In Sections 6.2--6.4 they establish the fact that Bochner Laplacians are Fourier components of the horizontal Laplacian on \(SX\). The short seventh section contains just one lemma (and a remark) leading to prove Theorem 1.9 on the connectivity of nodal sets of the real parts of Kaluza-Klein eigenfunctions. Section 8 handles the counting of nodal domains of real and imaginary parts of the generic eigenfunctions. The section starts presenting a sketch of the proof of Theorem 1.5. Followed by the detailed proof in the subsequent Subsections 8.1--8.2. In the ninth, and last section, the authors illustrate their previous treatment of Kaluza-Klein metrics and the Kaluza-Klein eigenvalue problem on unit tangent bundles on surfaces of constant curvature. They consider flat tori, \(S^3\) and hyperbolic surfaces \(\mathbb{H}^2\) and construct an explicit orthonormal eigenbasis for the Kaluza-Klein Laplacian in the first two cases and in the last case they relate the argument to Maass-Hecke cusp forms, deducting Theorem 9.5 from there, hence verifying the statement on the boundedness of the number of nodal domains for the eigenfunctions of the Laplacian in all regarded concrete cases.