No label defined (Q4215554)

The authors establish a link between symplectic topology and pseudo-isotopy theory via the method of generating functions. In particular, it is shown that most algebro-\(K\)-theoretic invariants which appear in pseudo-isotopy theory provide nontrivial information for studying the topology of spaces of Lagrangian and Legendrian embeddings, and for other problems in symplectic topology. The introductory section contains a survey of stable Morse and Ljusternik-Schnirelmann theories, formulations of the main Lagrangian and Legendrian intersection inequalities and the parametric analog of Lagrangian intersection theory and its relations with the pseudo-isotopy theory. Section 1 describes the geometry which makes possible the reduction of the Lagrangian intersection problem to stable Morse theory. As application of this technique, the proof of the Conley-Zehnder-Chaperon theorem is given. Section 2 is devoted to cutoff and lifting constructions in symplectic and contact geometry. In Section 3, the authors return to the geometry described in Section 1 from the point of view of generating functions theory. In Section 4 it is shown that the generating functions theorem in the Lagrangian case immediately implies its contact analog for Legendrian manifolds. Section 5 is devoted to the parametric theory of generating functions and its relations with pseudo-isotopy theory. For the entire collection see [Zbl 0896.00014].