Superintegrable systems are classical and quantum Hamiltonian systems which enjoy much symmetry and structure that permit their solubility via analytic and even, algebraic means. The problem of classification of superintegrable systems can be approached by considering associated geometric structures. To this end, we invoke the invariant theory of Killing tensors (ITKT), and the recursive version of the Cartan method of moving frames to derive joint invariants. We are able to intrinsically characterise and interpret the arbitrary parameters appearing in the general form of the Smorodinsky-Winternitz superintegrable potential, where we determine that the more general the geometric structure associated with the SW potential is, the fewer arbitrary parameters it admits. Additionally, we classify the multi-separability of the Tremblay-Turbiner-Winternitz (TTW) system. We provide a proof that only for the case k = +/- 1 does the general TTW system admit orthogonal separation of variables with respect to both Cartesian and polar coordinates. / A study towards the classification of superintegrable systems defined on the Euclidean plane.

The main goal of this thesis is to present cosmological perturbation theory (based on the standard Friedmann cosmological model) in volume-preserving coordinates, which then provides a suitable basis for studies in cosmological averaging. We review perturbation theory to second order, allowing for averaging to second order in future research. To solve the averaging problem we need a method of covariantly and gauge invariantly averaging tensorial objects on a background manifold. This is a very difficult problem. However, the definition of an average takes on a particularly simple form when written in a system of volume-preserving coordinates. Therefore, we develop a three dimensional and a four dimensional volume-preserving coordinate gauge in this thesis that can be used for averaging in cosmological perturbation theory.

This thesis is mainly focused on the equivalence problem for a subclass of Lorentzian manifolds: the degenerate Kundt spacetimes. These spacetimes are not defined uniquely by their scalar curvature invariants. To prove two metrics are diffeomorphic, one must apply Cartan's equivalence algorithm, which is a non-trivial task: in four dimensions Karlhede has adapted the algorithm to the formalism of General Relativity and significant effort has been spent applying this algorithm to particular subcases. No work has been done on the higher dimensional case. First, we study the existence of a non-spacelike symmetry in two well-known subclasses of the N dimensional degenerate Kundt spacetimes: those spacetimes with constant scalar curvature invariants (CSI) and those admitting a covariant constant null vector (CCNV). We classify the CSI and CCNV spacetimes in terms of the form of the Killing vector giving constraints for the metric functions in each case. For the rest of the thesis we fix N=4 and study a subclass of the CSI spacetimes: the CSI-? spacetimes, in which all scalar curvature invariants vanish except those constructed from the cosmological constant. We produce an invariant characterization of all CSI-? spacetimes. The Petrov type N solutions have been classified using two scalar invariants. However, this classification is incomplete: given two plane-fronted gravitational waves in which both pairs of invariants are similar, one cannot prove the two metrics are equivalent. Even in this relatively simple subclass, the Karlhede algorithm is non-trivial to implement. We apply the Karlhede algorithm to the collection of vacuum Type N VSI (CSI-?, ? = 0) spacetimes consisting of the vacuum PP-wave and vacuum Kundt wave spacetimes. We show that the upper-bound needed to classify any Type N vacuum VSI metric is four. In the case of the vacuum PP-waves we have proven that the upper-bound is sharp, while in the case of the Kundt waves we have lowered the upper-bound from five to four. We also produce a suite of invariants that characterize each set of non-equivalent metrics in this collection. As an application we show how these invariants may be related to the physical interpretation of the vacuum plane wave spacetimes.

This thesis is about the structure of the boundary of the universe, i.e., points where the geometric structures of spacetime cannot be continued. In partic­ular, we study the structure of the b-boundary by B. Schmidt. It has been known for some time that the b-boundary construction has several drawbacks, perhaps the most severe being that it is often not Hausdorff separated from interior points in spacetime. In other words, the topology makes it impossible to distinguish which points in spacetime are near the singularity and which points are ‘far’ from it. The non-Hausdorffness of the b-completion is closely related to the concept of fibre degeneracy of the fibre in the frame bundle over a b-boundary point, the fibre being smaller than the whole structure group in a specific sense. Fibre degeneracy is to be expected for many realistic spacetimes, as was proved by C. J. S. Clarke. His proofs contain some errors however, and the purpose of paper I is to reestablish the results of Clarke, under somewhat different conditions. It is found that under some conditions on the Riemann curvature tensor, the boundary fibre must be totally degenerate (i.e., a single point). The conditions are essentially that the components of the Riemann tensor and its first derivative, expressed in a parallel frame along a curve ending at the singularity, diverge sufficiently fast. We also demonstrate the applicability of the conditions by verifying them for a number of well known spacetimes. In paper II we take a different view of the b-boundary and the b-length func­tional, and study the Riemannian geometry of the frame bundle. We calculate the curvature Rof the frame bundle, which allows us to draw two conclusions. Firstly, if some component of the curvature of spacetime diverges along a horizontal curve ending at a singularity, R must tend to — oo. Secondly, if the frame bundle is extendible through a totally degenerate boundary fibre, the spacetime must be a conformally flat Einstein space asymptotically at the corresponding b-boundary point. We also obtain some basic results on the isometries and the geodesics of the frame bundle, in relation to the corresponding structures on spacetime. The first part of paper III is concerned with imprisoned curves. In Lorentzian geometry, the situation is qualitatively different from Riemannian geometry in that there may be incomplete endless curves totally or partially imprisoned in a compact subset of spacetime. It was shown by B. Schmidt that a totally imprisoned curve must have a null geodesic cluster curve. We generalise this result to partially im­prisoned incomplete endless curves. We also show that the conditions for the fibre degeneracy theorem in paper I does not apply to imprisoned curves. The second part of paper III is concerned with the properties of the b-length functional. The b-length concept is important in general relativity because the presence of endless curves with finite b-length is usually taken as the definition of a singular spacetime. It is also closely related to the b-boundary definition. We study the structure of b-neighbourhoods, i.e., the set of points reachable from a fixed point in spacetime on (horizontal) curves with b-length less than some fixed number e > 0. This can then be used to understand how the geometry of spacetime is encoded in the frame bundle geometry, and as a tool when studying the structure of the b-boundary. We also give a result linking the b-length of a general curve in the frame bundle with the b-length of the corresponding horizontal curve. / digitalisering@umu

This thesis presents a geometric approach to studying kinematics, dynamics and controls of open-chain multi-body systems with non-zero momentum and multi-degree-of-freedom joints subject to holonomic and nonholonomic constraints. Some examples of such systems appear in space robotics, where mobile and free-base manipulators are developed. The proposed approach introduces a unified framework for considering holonomic and nonholonomic, multi-degree-of-freedom joints through: (i) generalization of the product of exponentials formula for kinematics, and (ii) aggregation of the dynamical reduction theories, using differential geometry. Further, this framework paves the ground for the input-output linearization and controller design for concurrent trajectory tracking of base-manipulator(s). In terms of kinematics, displacement subgroups are introduced, whose relative configuration manifolds are Lie groups and they are parametrized using the exponential map. Consequently, the product of exponentials formula for forward and differential kinematics is generalized to include multi-degree-of-freedom joints and nonholonomic constraints in open-chain multi-body systems. As for dynamics, it is observed that the action of the relative configuration manifold corresponding to the first joint of an open-chain multi-body system leaves Hamilton's equation invariant. Using the symplectic reduction theorem, the dynamical equations of such systems with constant momentum (not necessarily zero) are formulated in the reduced phase space, which present the system dynamics based on the internal parameters of the system. In the nonholonomic case, a three-step reduction process is presented for nonholonomic Hamiltonian mechanical systems. The Chaplygin reduction theorem eliminates the nonholonomic constraints in the first step, and an almost symplectic reduction procedure in the unconstrained phase space further reduces the dynamical equations. Consequently, the proposed approach is used to reduce the dynamical equations of nonholonomic open-chain multi-body systems. Regarding the controls, it is shown that a generic free-base, holonomic or nonholonomic open-chain multi-body system is input-output linearizable in the reduced phase space. As a result, a feed-forward servo control law is proposed to concurrently control the base and the extremities of such systems. It is shown that the closed-loop system is exponentially stable, using a proper Lyapunov function. In each chapter of the thesis, the developed concepts are illustrated through various case studies.

Le sujet de cette thèse est la question du nombre minimal d'orbites de Reeb distinctes sur une variété de contact qui est le bord d'une variété symplectique compacte. L'homologie symplectique $S^1$-équivariante positive est un des outils principaux de cette thèse; elle est construite à partir d'orbites périodiques de champs de vecteurs hamiltoniens sur une variété symplectique dont le bord est la variété de contact considérée. Nous analysons la relation entre les différentes variantes d'homologie symplectique d'une variété symplectique exacte compacte (domaine de Liouville) et les orbites de Reeb de son bord. Nous démontrons certaines propriétés de ces homologies. Pour un domaine de Liouville plongé dans un autre, nous construisons un morphisme entre leurs homologies. Nous étudions ensuite l'invariance de ces homologies par rapport au choix de la forme de contact sur le bord. Nous utilisons l'homologie symplectique $S^1$-équivariante positive pour donner une nouvelle preuve d'un théorème de Ekeland et Lasry sur le nombre minimal d'orbites de Reeb distinctes sur certaines hypersurfaces dans $\R^{2n}$. Nous indiquons comment étendre au cas de certaines hypersurfaces dans certains fibrés en droites complexes négatifs. Nous donnons une caractérisation et une nouvelle façon de calculer l'indice de Conley-Zehnder généralisé, défini par Robbin et Salamon pour tout chemin de matrices symplectiques. Ceci nous a mené à développer de nouvelles formes normales de matrices symplectiques.

In recent work, N. Hitchin described special geometries in terms of a variational problem for closed generic $p$-forms. In particular, he introduced on 8-manifolds the notion of an integrable $PSU(3)$-structure which is defined by a closed and co-closed 3-form. In this thesis, we first investigate this $PSU(3)$-geometry further. We give necessary conditions for the existence of a topological $PSU(3)$-structure (that is, a reduction of the structure group to $PSU(3)$ acting through its adjoint representation). We derive various obstructions for the existence of a topological reduction to $PSU(3)$. For compact manifolds, we also find sufficient conditions if the $PSU(3)$-structure lifts to an $SU(3)$-structure. We find non-trivial, (compact) examples of integrable $PSU(3)$-structures. Moreover, we give a Riemannian characterisation of topological $PSU(3)$-structures through an invariant spinor valued 1-form and show that the $PSU(3)$-structure is integrable if and only if the spinor valued 1-form is harmonic with respect to the twisted Dirac operator. Secondly, we define new generalisations of integrable $G_2$- and $Spin(7)$-manifolds which can be transformed by the action of both diffeomorphisms and 2-forms. These are defined by special closed even or odd forms. Contraction on the vector bundle $Toplus T^*$ defines an inner product of signature $(n,n)$, and even or odd forms can then be naturally interpreted as spinors for a spin structure on $Toplus T^*$. As such, the special forms we consider induce reductions from $Spin(7,7)$ or $Spin(8,8)$ to a stabiliser subgroup conjugate to $G_2 times G_2$ or $Spin(7) times Spin(7)$. They also induce a natural Riemannian metric for which we can choose a spin structure. Again we state necessary and sufficient conditions for the existence of such a reduction by means of spinors for a spin structure on $T$. We classify topological $G_2 times G_2$-structures up to vertical homotopy. Forms stabilised by $G_2 times G_2$ are generic and an integrable structure arises as the critical point of a generalised variational principle. We prove that the integrability conditions on forms imply the existence of two linear metric connections whose torsion is skew, closed and adds to 0. In particular we show these integrability conditions to be equivalent to the supersymmetry equations on spinors in supergravity theory of type IIA/B with NS-NS background fields. We explicitly determine the Ricci-tensor and show that over compact manifolds, only trivial solutions exist. Using the variational approach we derive weaker integrability conditions analogous to weak holonomy $G_2$. Examples of generalised $G_2$- and $Spin(7)$ structures are constructed by the device of T-duality.

An analogue of the Riemannian structure of a manifold is created for an ultrametric Cantor set using the techniques of Noncommutative Geometry. In particular, a spectral triple is created that can recover much of the fractal geometry of the original Cantor set. It is shown that this spectral triple can recover the metric, the upper box dimension, and in certain cases the Hausdorff measure. The analogy with Riemannian geometry is then taken further and an analogue of the Laplace-Beltrami operator is created for an ultrametric Cantor set. The Laplacian then allows to create an analogue of Brownian motion generated by this Laplacian. All these tools are then applied to the triadic Cantor set. Other examples of ultrametric Cantor sets are then presented: attractors of self-similar iterated function systems, attractors of cookie cutter systems, and the transversal of an aperiodic, repetitive Delone set of finite type. In particular, the example of the transversal of the Fibonacci tiling is studied.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Michigan State University. Dept. of Mathematics, 2008. / Title from PDF t.p. (viewed on July 24, 2009) Includes bibliographical references (p. 75-78). Also issued in print.

This thesis is concerned with the formulation of a suitable notion of monotonicity of discrete and continuous-time dynamical systems on Lie groups and homogeneous spaces. In a linear space, monotonicity refers to the property of a system that preserves an ordering of the elements of the space. Monotone systems have been studied in detail and are of great interest for their numerous applications, as well as their close connections to many physical and biological systems. In a linear space, a powerful local characterisation of monotonicity is provided by differential positivity with respect to a constant cone field, which combines positivity theory with a local analysis of nonlinear systems. Since many dynamical systems are naturally defined on nonlinear spaces, it is important to seek a suitable adaptation of monotonicity on such spaces. However, the question of how one can develop a suitable notion of monotonicity on a nonlinear manifold is complicated by the general absence of a clear and well-defined notion of order on such a space. Fortunately, for Lie groups and important examples of homogeneous spaces that are ubiquitous in many problems of engineering and applied mathematics, symmetry provides a way forward. Specifically, the existence of a notion of geometric invariance on such spaces allows for the generation of invariant cone fields, which in turn induce notions of conal orders. We propose differential positivity with respect to invariant cone fields as a natural and powerful generalisation of monotonicity to nonlinear spaces and develop the theory in this thesis. We illustrate the ideas with numerous examples and apply the theory to a number of areas, including the theory of consensus on Lie groups and order theory on the set of positive definite matrices.