Sub-Hermitian geometry and the quantitative Newlander-Nirenberg theorem

Complex vector fields, holomorphic foliations, (mathbb{C})-actions (32M25) Other partial differential equations of complex analysis in several variables (32W50) Sub-Riemannian geometry (53C17)

Abstract: Given a finite collection of

C^{1}

complex vector fields on a

C^{2}

manifold

M

such that they and their complex conjugates span the complexified tangent space at every point, the classical Newlander-Nirenberg theorem gives conditions on the vector fields so that there is a complex structure on

M

with respect to which the vector fields are

T^{0, 1}

. In this paper, we give intrinsic, diffeomorphic invariant, necessary and sufficient conditions on the vector fields so that they have a desired level of regularity with respect to this complex structure (i.e., smooth, real analytic, or have Zygmund regularity of some finite order). By addressing this in a quantitative way we obtain a holomorphic analog of the quantitative theory of sub-Riemannian geometry initiated by Nagel, Stein, and Wainger. We call this sub-Hermitian geometry. Moreover, we proceed more generally and obtain similar results for manifolds which have an associated formally integrable elliptic structure. This allows us to introduce a setting which generalizes both the real and complex theories.

Review text

Let \(M\) be a \(\mathcal{C}^1\) manifold. Given a finite collection of \(\mathcal{C}^1\) complex vector fields on \(M\) such that they and their complex conjugates span the complexified tangent space at every point, the classical Newlander-Nirenberg theorem gives conditions on the vector fields so that there is a complex structure on \(M\) with respect to which the vector fields are \(T^{0,1}\). The aim of this paper is to give intrinsic, diffeomorphic invariant, necessary and sufficient conditions on the vector fields so that they have a desired level of regularity with respect to this complex structure (i.e., smooth, real analytic, or have Zygmund regularity of some finite order). By addressing this in a quantitative way the author obtains a holomorphic analogue of the quantitative theory of sub-Riemannian geometry initiated by Nagel, Stein, and Wainger. He calls this sub-Hermitian geometry. Moreover, he proceeds more generally and obtains similar results for manifolds which have an associated formally integrable elliptic structure. This allows him to introduce a setting which generalizes both the real and complex theories. This paper is organized as follows: Section 1 is an introduction to the subject. In Section 2, the author introduces the function spaces which are used in this paper. Section 3 deals with corollaries of the main result. The main result concerns the existence of a certain coordinate chart which satisfies good quantitative properties. This coordinate chart is useful in two, related, ways: (i) It is a coordinate system in which given vector fields have the optimal level of regularity. (ii) It normalizes vector fields in a way which is useful for applying techniques from analysis. When viewed in this light, it can be seen as a scaling map for sub-Riemannian, or sub-Hermitian, geometries. In this section, the author presents two corollaries of his main result, which separate the above two uses. In each of these corollaries, he presents the real setting (which is known) and the complex setting (which is new). Section 4 presents the main results and Section 5 concerns some notations. The results in this paper simultaneously deal with the setting of real vector fields (on a real manifold) and the setting of complex vector fields (on a complex manifold). It is more convenient to work in a category of manifolds which contains both real manifolds and complex manifolds as full subcategories. The author defines these manifolds in Section 6, and calls them \(E\)-manifolds. In Section 7, he generalizes the results from Section 3 using the language of \(E\)-manifolds. This unifies the complex and real settings. Section 8 deals with an example from several complex variables. In Section 9, the author presents the basic properties of the function spaces introduced in Section 2. Section 10 presents proofs of corollaries and Section 11 Nirenberg's theorem for elliptic structures. Section 12 deals with the real case, Section 13 with proofs of the main results and Section 14 with Hölder spaces. The paper is supported by two appendices concerning immersed submanifolds and linear algebra.

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