Questions tagged [morse-theory]
In differential topology, Morse theory enables one to analyze the topology of a manifold by studying differentiable functions on that manifold.
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Is it likely that gradient flow trajectories of a $G$-invariant function pass through degenerate points?
This question may be posed somewhat vaguely, but I'm interested to actually get an idea of what to expect, so I try to not target it at a specific result.
Assume that $G$ is a compact Lie group, ...
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Continuity of the set of critical points of a Morse function when the function varies
Let me first give the result I am looking for, then what I found up to now and some related questions.
Definition/Notation.
Denote $Y_k(f)$ the set of critical values $x$ of $f$ such that the index of ...
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Relation between number of critical points of harmonic functions and number of connected components of the level sets
I am asking what I think is a simple question in the general area of Morse theory, specialized to 2-d and harmonic functions. I'll be specific.
Suppose I have $U(z)$ positive and harmonic for $z\in \...
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Integral equivariant formality for Hamiltonian T-actions
What is the simplest example of a compact symplectic manifold $M$ with Hamiltonian $T$-action for which the integral $T$-equivariant cohomology is not formal
i.e. $$H_T^*(M,\mathbb{Z}) \not \cong H^*(...
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How to distinguish birth and death bifurcations?
Let $f : \mathbb{R} \to \mathbb{R}$ have a degenerate critical point at $x = 0 \, ($ie, $f(0) = f'(0) = f''(0) = 0)$.
Perturbing $f$ locally around $0$ may cause multiple scenarios:
Birth: the ...
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Generalize the conception of 'stable' solution and 'stable outside a compact set' solution of elliptic PDE from $\mathbb{R}^n$ to closed manifold
I want to talk about generalizing the conception of 'stable' solution and 'stable outside the compact set' solution of elliptic PDE from $\mathbb{R}^n$ to closed manifold.
I'm reading $\Delta u +e^u=0$...
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What is the infinite Morse index solution?
I'm reading the celebrated paper written by Congming Li and Wenxiong Chen, Classification of solutions of some nonlinear elliptic equations, which considered
$$\Delta u = -e^u \ \ in \ \ \mathbb{R}^2.$...
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Morse theory for manifolds with boundary
I need a reference to some basic facts about Morse theory on manifolds with boundary.
Namely, if a critical point lies on the boundary, then the gradient of function might be nonzero and it brings ...
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Dynamical analogue of Morse theory
Is there a Hamiltonian $H:\mathbb{R}^{2n} \to \mathbb{R}$ with the following property:
For two regular values $a<b$ for which $[a,b]$ consists of regular values, the dynamics of $X_H$ on $H^{...
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Integrability (and hence regularity) of $\alpha$-harmonic maps
To prove the smoothness of an $\alpha$-harmonic map, Sachs and Uhlenbeck firstly show (in their paper "The existence of minimal immersions of 2-spheres") that it is in the Sobolev space $L^...
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Is squared geodesic distance a Morse-Bott function on simply-connected Hadamard manifolds?
Let $M$ be a simply connected Hadamard manifold. That is, $M$ is a complete Riemannian manifold with sectional curvature bounded above by 0. Let $f(x,y)=\frac{1}{2}d^2(x,y)$, where $x,y \in M$, and $d(...
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Homogenization of Morse-Bott functions
Let $M$ be a compact manifold of dimension $n$.
A smooth function $f:M \to \mathbb{R}$ is called Morse-Bott if the set critical points of $f$ is a disjoint union of compact submanifolds $C_1,\ldots,...
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Reference for Morse-Bott vector fields
I'm looking for a reference for the following result:
Let $X$ be a vector field on a manifold $M$ and let $C$ be a submanifold of $M$ formed by critical points of $X$. Assume that the Hessian of $X$ ...
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Is Morse theory local?
I am currently trying to use Morse theory in my work. Say I have $X$ smooth compact manifold and $f : X \to \mathbb{R}$ a smooth function. The classical result I know is : when $f$ has non-degenerate ...
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Handle attachment information from Morse function and triangulation
First, allow me to setup the relevant information. It is well known that a Morse function $f:M\to\mathbb{R}$ induces a handle decomposition of $M$.
For simplicity, let's restrict for now to the ...
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