A note on trignometric sums arising in gauge theory.
Heegaard splittings and Heegaard diagrams of a closed 3-manifold are translated into the language of Morse functions with Morse-Smale pseudo-gradients defined on . We make use in a very simple setting of techniques which Jean Cerf developed for solving a famous pseudo-isotopy problem. In passing, we show how to cancel the supernumerary local extrema in a generic path of functions when . The main tool that we introduce is an elementary swallow tail lemma which could be useful elsewhere.
The following problem of Markus and Yamabe is answered affirmatively: Let f be a local diffeomorphism of the euclidean plane whose jacobian matrix has negative trace everywhere. If f(0) = 0, is it true that 0 is a global attractor of the ODE dx/dt = f(x)? An old result of Olech states that this is equivalent to the question if such an f is injective. Here the problem is treated in the latter form by means of an investigation of the behaviour of f near infinity.
We shall prove the following Theorem. Let Fs and Fu be two continuous transverse foliations with uniformly smooth leaves, of some manifold. If f is uniformly smooth along the leaves of Fs and Fu, then f is smooth.
We prove that the standard action of the mapping class group of a surface of sufficiently large genus on the unit tangent bundle is not homotopic to any smooth action.
The author gives an example showing that Thurston’s stability theorem cannot be generalized to non-oriented foliations.