Manin transformations are maps of the plane that preserve a pencil of cubic curves. They are the composition of two involutions. Each involution is constructed in terms of an involution point that is required to be one of the base points of the pencil. We generalise this construction to explicit birational maps of the plane that preserve quadratic resp. certain quartic pencils, and show that they are measure-preserving and hence integrable. In the quartic construction the two involution points are required to be base points of the pencil of multiplicity 2. On the other hand, for the quadratic pencils the involution points can be any two distinct points in the plane (except for base points). We employ Pascal's theorem to show that the maps that preserve a quadratic pencil admit infinitely many symmetries. The full 18-parameter QRT map is obtained as a special instance of the quartic case in a limit where the two involution points go to infinity. We show by construction that each generalised Manin transformation can be brought to QRT form by a fractional affine transformation. We also specify classes of generalised Manin transformations which admit a root.

Generalised Manin transformations and QRT maps

For cubic pencils we define the notion of an involution curve. This is a curve which intersects each curve of the pencil in exactly one non-base point of the pencil. Involution curves can be used to construct integrable maps of the plane which leave invariant a cubic pencil.

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A New Class of Integrable Maps of the Plane: Manin Transformations with Involution Curves

We propose a geometric construction of three-dimensional birational maps that preserve two pencils of quadrics. The maps act as compositions of involutions, which, in turn, act along the straight line generators of the quadrics of the first pencil and are defined by the intersections with quadrics of the second pencil. On each quadric of the first pencil, the maps act as two-dimensional QRT maps. While these maps are of a pretty high degree in general, we find geometric conditions which guarantee that the degree is reduced to 3. The resulting degree 3 maps are illustrated by two known and two novel Kahan-type discretizations of three-dimensional Nambu systems, including the Euler top and the Zhukovski-Volterra gyrostat with two non-vanishing components of the gyrostatic momentum.

A three-dimensional generalization of QRT maps

Kahan discretization is applicable to any system of ordinary differential equations on $\mathbb R^n$ with a quadratic vector field, $\dot{x}=f(x)=Q(x)+Bx+c$, and produces a birational map $x\mapsto \widetilde{x}$ according to the formula $(\widetilde{x}-x)/\epsilon=Q(x,\widetilde{x})+B(x+\widetilde{x})/2+c$, where $Q(x,\widetilde{x})$ is the symmetric bilinear form corresponding to the quadratic form $Q(x)$. When applied to integrable systems, Kahan discretization preserves integrability much more frequently than one would expect a priori, however not always. We show that in some cases where the original recipe fails to preserve integrability, one can adjust coefficients of the Kahan discretization to ensure its integrability.

How one can repair non-integrable Kahan discretizations

We contribute to the algebraic-geometric study of discrete integrable systems generated by planar birational maps: (a) we find geometric description of Manin involutions for elliptic pencils consisting of curves of higher degree, birationally equivalent to cubic pencils (Halphen pencils of index 1), and (b) we characterize special geometry of base points ensuring that certain compositions of Manin involutions are integrable maps of low degree (quadratic Cremona maps). In particular, we identify some integrable Kahan discretizations as compositions of Manin involutions for elliptic pencils of higher degree.

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Manin Involutions for Elliptic Pencils and Discrete Integrable Systems

We contribute to the algebraic-geometric study of discrete integrable systems generated by planar birational maps: 
(a) we find geometric description of Manin involutions for elliptic pencils consisting of curves of higher degree, birationally equivalent to cubic pencils (Halphen pencils of index 1), and 
(b) we characterize special geometry of base points ensuring that certain compositions of Manin involutions are integrable maps of low degree (quadratic Cremona maps). In particular, we identify some integrable Kahan discretizations as compositions of Manin involutions for elliptic pencils of higher degree.

Kangning Wei

Papers

Manin Involutions for Elliptic Pencils and Discrete Integrable Systems

Manin involutions for elliptic pencils and discrete integrable systems