Reflection groups in non-negative curvature

Global Riemannian geometry, including pinching (53C20) Compact Lie groups of differentiable transformations (57S15) Groups acting on specific manifolds (57S25)

Abstract: We provide an equivariant description/classification of all complete (compact or not) non-negatively curved manifolds M together with a co-compact action by a reflection group W, and moreover, classify such W. In particular, we show that the building blocks consist of the classical constant curvature models and generalized open books with non negatively curved bundle pages, and derive a corresponding splitting theorem for the universal cover.

Review text

A discrete subgroup \(W\) of the isometry group of a Riemannian manifold \(M\) is called a reflection group if it is generated by reflections, i.e., by involutions which fix some codimension-one submanifolds, the so-called mirrors. It is called a Coxeter group if every mirror separates \(M\) into two components. A chamber of the action of \(W\) on \(M\) is the closure of a connected component of the complement of the union of all mirrors.NEWLINENEWLINENEWLINEIn the paper under review, structure results for the case when \(M\) has non-negative sectional curvature are proved. The main result is as follows:NEWLINENEWLINENEWLINELet \(M\) be a complete non-negatively curved manifold with co-compact reflection group \(W\). Then \(W\) lifts to a reflection group \(\hat{W}\) on the universal cover \(\tilde{M}\) of \(M\). \(\hat{W}\) is a product of Coxeter groups NEWLINE\[NEWLINE\hat{W}=\hat{W}_0\times \prod_{i=1}^{l-1} \hat{W}_i \times \hat{W}_l,NEWLINE\]NEWLINE where \(\hat{W}_0\) is affine and the other \(\hat{W}_i\) are spherical. Correspondingly, \(\hat{M}\) admits a \(\hat{W}\)-invariant metric splitting NEWLINE\[NEWLINE\tilde{M}=\mathbb R^k\times \prod_{i=1}^{l-1} S^{k_i}\times \Theta_l\times N,NEWLINE\]NEWLINE where \(N\) can be any simply connected compact manifold of non-negative curvature on which all \(\hat{W}_i\) act trivially, \(S^{k_i}\) is a non-negatively curved standard sphere with linear \(\hat{W}_i\)-action, and \(\Theta_l\) is a compact simply connected non-negatively curved (iterated) open book.NEWLINENEWLINENEWLINEOn the one hand this result is interesting on its own. On the other hand, understanding reflection groups on non-negatively curved manifolds is the first step to understand so-called polar actions on such manifolds. This is because the section of such an action is a non-negatively curved manifold with a reflection group.NEWLINENEWLINENEWLINEThe proof of the above result is based on the work of \textit{A. Wörner} [Geom. Topol. 16, No. 4, 2391--2426 (2012; Zbl 1261.53044)] which implies that the chamber of a Coxeter action is a product NEWLINE\[NEWLINEC=C_0\times C_1\times\dots\times C_l,NEWLINE\]NEWLINE where \(C_0\) is a manifold without boundary and each \(C_i\), \(i\geq 1\), is a non-negatively curved convex manifold with corners such that eitherNEWLINE{\parindent=0.6cm\begin{itemize}\item[--] \(C_i\) has more than \(n_i=\dim C_i\) faces but any \(n_i\) faces meet, or \item[--] \(C_i\) has \(k_i\leq n_i\) faces and they all meet. NEWLINENEWLINE\end{itemize}}NEWLINEIn the first case \(C_i\) is a simplex.NEWLINENEWLINEThe rest of the proof is divided into two steps:NEWLINE{\parindent=0.6cm\begin{itemize}\item[--] Describing those Coxeter manifolds for which there is only one factor \(C_i\) in the above decomposition. This leads to the different types of factors in the main result. \item[--] Showing that a simply connected Coxeter manifold splits as stated above if there are more than one factors in the decomposition of the chamber. NEWLINENEWLINE\end{itemize}}

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