Conjugate points and Maslov index in locally symmetric semi-Riemannian manifolds

DOI10.1016/J.DIFGEO.2006.02.007zbMATH Open1111.53039arXivmath/0505160OpenAlexW2040789016WikidataQ115357851 ScholiaQ115357851MaRDI QIDQ2432702FDOQ2432702

Authors: Miguel Angel Javaloyes, Paolo Piccione 

Publication date: 25 October 2006

Published in: Differential Geometry and its Applications (Search for Journal in Brave)

Abstract: We study the singularities of the exponential map in semi Riemannian locally symmetric manifolds. Conjugate points along geodesics depend only on real negative eigenvalues of the curvature tensor, and their contribution to the Maslov index of the geodesic is computed explicitly. We prove that degeneracy of conjugate points, which is a phenomenon that can only occur in semi-Riemannian geometry, is caused in the locally symmetric case by the lack of diagonalizability of the curvature tensor. The case of Lie groups endowed with a bi-invariant metric is studied in some detail, and conditions are given for the lack of local injectivity of the exponential map around its singularities.

Full work available at URL: https://arxiv.org/abs/math/0505160

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zbMATH Keywords

Maslov indexConley-Zehnder indexlocally symmetric manifoldsJordan signatures

Mathematics Subject Classification ID

Geodesics in global differential geometry (53C22) Differential geometry of symmetric spaces (53C35) Lagrangian submanifolds; Maslov index (53D12) Variational problems in applications to the theory of geodesics (problems in one independent variable) (58E10)

Cites Work

• Morse theory for Hamiltonian systems
• Matrices and indefinite scalar products
• Curvatures of left invariant metrics on Lie groups
• The Maslov index for paths
• Conjugate points on spacelike geodesics or pseudo-self-adjoint Morse-Sturm-Liouville systems
• On the distribution of conjugate points along semi-Riemannian geodesics
• Morse‐type index theory for flows and periodic solutions for Hamiltonian Equations
• Groupes de Lie munis de métriques bi-invariantes. (Lie groups admitting bi-invariant metrics)
• Spectral flow, Maslov index and bifurcation of semi-Riemannian geodesics
• On the Morse inequalities for geodesics on Lorentzian manifolds

Cited In (7)

• Spectral flow, Maslov index and bifurcation of semi-Riemannian geodesics
• Curvature and conjugate points in Lorentz symmetric spaces
• Stability of the conjugate index, degenerate conjugate points and the Maslov index in semi-Riemannian geometry.
• Penrose's singularity theorem in a Finsler spacetime
• Comparison results for conjugate and focal points in semi-Riemannian geometry via Maslov index
• On a monodromy theorem for sheaves of local fields and applications
• On the conjugate locus of pseudo-Riemannian manifolds

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