Showing papers in "Annals of Mathematics in 2021"

Integer multiplication in time O(n log n)

Abstract: We present an algorithm that computes the product of two n-bit integers in O(n log n) bit operations, thus confirming a conjecture of Schonhage and Strassen from 1971. Our complexity analysis takes place in the multitape Turing machine model, with integers encoded in the usual binary representa- tion. Central to the new algorithm is a novel “Gaussian resampling” technique that enables us to reduce the integer multiplication problem to a collection of multidimensional discrete Fourier transforms over the complex numbers, whose dimensions are all powers of two. These transforms may then be evaluated rapidly by means of Nussbaumer’s fast polynomial transforms.

Singularities of linear systems and boundedness of Fano varieties

Abstract: We study log canonical thresholds (also called global log canonical threshold or $\alpha$-invariant) of $\mathbb{R}$-linear systems. We prove existence of positive lower bounds in different settings, in particular, proving a conjecture of Ambro. We then show that the Borisov-Alexeev-Borisov conjecture holds, that is, given a natural number $d$ and a positive real number $\epsilon$, the set of Fano varieties of dimension $d$ with $\epsilon$-log canonical singularities forms a bounded family. This implies that birational automorphism groups of rationally connected varieties are Jordan which in particular answers a question of Serre. Next we show that if the log canonical threshold of the anti-canonical system of a Fano variety is at most one, then it is computed by some divisor, answering a question of Tian in this case.

Speed of random walks, isoperimetry and compression of finitely generated groups

Abstract: We give a solution to the inverse problem (given a function, find a corresponding group) for large classes of speed, entropy, isoperimetric profile, return probability and $L_p$-compression functions of finitely generated groups of exponential volume growth. For smaller classes, we give solutions among solvable groups. As corollaries, we prove a recent conjecture of Amir on joint evaluation of speed and entropy exponents and we obtain a new proof of the existence of uncountably many pairwise non-quasi-isometric solvable groups, originally due to Cornulier and Tessera. We also obtain a formula relating the $L_p$-compression exponent of a group and its wreath product with the cyclic group for $p$ in $[1,2]$.

$L^2$ curvature bounds on manifolds with bounded Ricci curvature

Abstract: Consider a Riemannian manifold with bounded Ricci curvature $|\Ric|\leq n-1$ and the noncollapsing lower volume bound $\Vol(B_1(p))>\rv>0$. The first main result of this paper is to prove that we have the $L^2$ curvature bound $\fint_{B_1(p)}|\Rm|^2 < C(n,\rv)$, which proves the $L^2$ conjecture. In order to prove this, we will need to first show the following structural result for limits. Namely, if $(M^n_j,d_j,p_j) \longrightarrow (X,d,p)$ is a $GH$-limit of noncollapsed manifolds with bounded Ricci curvature, then the singular set $\cS(X)$ is $n-4$ rectifiable with the uniform Hausdorff measure estimates $H^{n-4}\big(\cS(X)\cap B_1\big)

Lie algebras and $v_n$-periodic spaces

Abstract: We consider a homotopy theory obtained from that of pointed spaces by inverting the maps inducing isomorphisms in $v_n$-periodic homotopy groups. The case n = 0 corresponds to rational homotopy theory. In analogy with Quillen's results in the rational case, we prove that this $v_n$-periodic homotopy theory is equivalent to the homotopy theory of Lie algebras in T(n)-local spectra. We also compare it to the homotopy theory of commutative coalgebras in T(n)-local spectra, where it turns out there is only an equivalence up to a certain convergence issue of the Goodwillie tower of the identity.

Martin’s Maximum${}^{++}$ implies Woodin’s axiom $(*)$

Abstract: We show that Martin’s Maximum++ implies Woodin’s Pmax axiom (∗). This answers a question from the 1990’s and amalgamates two prominent axioms of set theory which were both known to imply that there are א2 many real numbers.

Arithmeticity, Superrigidity, and Totally Geodesic Submanifolds

Abstract: Let $\Gamma$ be a lattice in $\mathrm{SO}_0(n, 1)$. We prove that if the associated locally symmetric space contains infinitely many maximal totally geodesic subspaces of dimension at least $2$, then $\Gamma$ is arithmetic. This answers a question of Reid for hyperbolic $n$-manifolds and, independently, McMullen for hyperbolic $3$-manifolds. We prove these results by proving a superrigidity theorem for certain representations of such lattices. The proof of our superrigidity theorem uses results on equidistribution from homogeneous dynamics and our main result also admits a formulation in that language.

The spread of a finite group

Abstract: A group $G$ is said to be $\frac{3}{2}$-generated if every nontrivial element belongs to a generating pair It is easy to see that if $G$ has this property then every proper quotient of $G$ is cyclic In this paper we prove that the converse is true for finite groups, which settles a conjecture of Breuer, Guralnick and Kantor from 2008 In fact, we prove a much stronger result, which solves a problem posed by Brenner and Wiegold in 1975 Namely, if $G$ is a finite group and every proper quotient of $G$ is cyclic, then for any pair of nontrivial elements $x_1,x_2 \in G$, there exists $y \in G$ such that $G = \langle x_1, y \rangle = \langle x_2, y \rangle$ In other words, $s(G) \geqslant 2$, where $s(G)$ is the spread of $G$ Moreover, if $u(G)$ denotes the more restrictive uniform spread of $G$, then we can completely characterise the finite groups $G$ with $u(G) = 0$ and $u(G)=1$ To prove these results, we first establish a reduction to almost simple groups For simple groups, the result was proved by Guralnick and Kantor in 2000 using probabilistic methods and since then the almost simple groups have been the subject of several papers By combining our reduction theorem and this earlier work, it remains to handle the groups whose socles are exceptional groups of Lie type and this is the case we treat in this paper

Uniformity in Mordell–Lang for curves

Abstract: Consider a smooth, geometrically irreducible, projective curve of genus $g \ge 2$ defined over a number field of degree $d \ge 1$. It has at most finitely many rational points by the Mordell Conjecture, a theorem of Faltings. We show that the number of rational points is bounded only in terms of $g$, $d$, and the Mordell-Weil rank of the curve's Jacobian, thereby answering in the affirmative a question of Mazur. In addition we obtain uniform bounded, in $g$ and $d$, for the number of geometric torsion points of the Jacobian which lie in the image of an Abel-Jacobi map. Both estimates generalize our previous work for $1$-parameter families. Our proof uses Vojta's approach to the Mordell Conjecture, and the key new ingredient is the generalization of a height inequality due to the second- and third-named authors.

Thresholds versus fractional expectation-thresholds

Abstract: Proving a conjecture of Talagrand, a fractional version of the 'expectation-threshold' conjecture of Kalai and the second author, we show for any increasing family $F$ on a finite set $X$ that $p_c (F) =O( q_f (F) \log \ell(F))$, where $p_c(F)$ and $q_f(F)$ are the threshold and 'fractional expectation-threshold' of $F$, and $\ell(F)$ is the largest size of a minimal member of $F$. This easily implies several heretofore difficult results and conjectures in probabilistic combinatorics, including thresholds for perfect hypergraph matchings (Johansson--Kahn--Vu), bounded-degree spanning trees (Montgomery), and bounded-degree spanning graphs (new). We also resolve (and vastly extend) the 'axial' version of the random multi-dimensional assignment problem (earlier considered by Martin--Mezard--Rivoire and Frieze--Sorkin). Our approach builds on a recent breakthrough of Alweiss, Lovett, Wu and Zhang on the Erdős--Rado 'Sunflower Conjecture'.

Equiangular lines with a fixed angle

Abstract: Solving a longstanding problem on equiangular lines, we determine, for each given fixed angle and in all sufficiently large dimensions, the maximum number of lines pairwise separated by the given angle. Fix $0 < \alpha < 1$. Let $N_\alpha(d)$ denote the maximum number of lines through the origin in $\mathbb{R}^d$ with pairwise common angle $\arccos \alpha$. Let $k$ denote the minimum number (if it exists) of vertices in a graph whose adjacency matrix has spectral radius exactly $(1-\alpha)/(2\alpha)$. If $k < \infty$, then $N_\alpha(d) = \lfloor k(d-1)/(k-1) \rfloor$ for all sufficiently large $d$, and otherwise $N_\alpha(d) = d + o(d)$. In particular, $N_{1/(2k-1)}(d) = \lfloor k(d-1)/(k-1) \rfloor$ for every integer $k\ge 2$ and all sufficiently large $d$. A key ingredient is a new result in spectral graph theory: the adjacency matrix of a connected bounded degree graph has sublinear second eigenvalue multiplicity.

Types for tame p-adic groups

Abstract: Let k be a non-archimedean local field with residual characteristic p. Let G be a connected reductive group over k that splits over a tamely ramified field extension of k. Suppose p does not divide the order of the Weyl group of G. Then we show that every smooth irreducible complex representation of G(k) contains an $\mathfrak{s}$-type of the form constructed by Kim and Yu and that every irreducible supercuspidal representation arises from Yu's construction. This improves an earlier result of Kim, which held only in characteristic zero and with a very large and ineffective bound on p. By contrast, our bound on p is explicit and tight, and our result holds in positive characteristic as well. Moreover, our approach is more explicit in extracting an input for Yu's construction from a given representation.

A counterexample to the unit conjecture for group rings

Abstract: The unit conjecture, commonly attributed to Kaplansky, predicts that if $K$ is a field and $G$ is a torsion-free group then the only units of the group ring $K[G]$ are the trivial units, that is, the non-zero scalar multiples of group elements. We give a concrete counterexample to this conjecture; the group is virtually abelian and the field is order two.

Improved bounds for the sunflower lemma

Abstract: A sunflower with $r$ petals is a collection of $r$ sets so that the intersection of each pair is equal to the intersection of all of them. Erdős and Rado proved the sunflower lemma: for any fixed $r$, any family of sets of size $w$, with at least about $w^w$ sets, must contain a sunflower with $r$ petals. The famous sunflower conjecture states that the bound on the number of sets can be improved to $c^w$ for some constant $c$. In this paper, we improve the bound to about $(\log w)^w$. In fact, we prove the result for a robust notion of sunflowers, for which the bound we obtain is sharp up to lower order terms.

Weil representation and Arithmetic Fundamental Lemma

Abstract: By a global approach, we prove the arithmetic fundamental lemma conjecture for unitary groups in $n$ variables over $\mathbb{Q}_p$ when $p\geq n$.

Spectral interpretations of dynamical degrees and applications

Abstract: We prove that dynamical degrees of rational self-maps on projective varieties can be interpreted as spectral radii of naturally defined operators on suitable Banach spaces. Generalizing Shokurov's notion of b-divisors, we consider the space of b-classes of higher codimension cycles, and endow this space with various Banach norms. Building on these constructions, we design a natural extension to higher dimension of the Picard-Manin space introduced by Cantat and Boucksom-Favre-Jonsson in the case of surfaces. We prove a version of the Hodge index theorem, and a surprising compactness result in this Banach space. We use these two theorems to infer a precise control of the sequence of degrees of iterates of a map under the assumption that the square of the first dynamical degree is strictly larger than the second dynamical degree. As a consequence, we obtain that the dynamical degrees of an automorphism of the affine 3-space are all algebraic numbers.

Local and global boundary rigidity and the geodesic X-ray transform in the normal gauge

Abstract: In this paper we analyze the local and global boundary rigidity problem for general Riemannian manifolds with boundary $(M,g)$. We show that the boundary distance function, i.e., $d_g|_{\partial M\times\partial M}$, known near a point $p\in \partial M$ at which $\partial M$ is strictly convex, determines $g$ in a suitable neighborhood of $p$ in $M$, up to the natural diffeomorphism invariance of the problem. We also consider the closely related lens rigidity problem which is a more natural formulation if the boundary distance is not realized by unique minimizing geodesics. The lens relation measures the point and the direction of exit from $M$ of geodesics issued from the boundary and the length of the geodesic. The lens rigidity problem is whether we can determine the metric up to isometry from the lens relation. We solve the lens rigidity problem under the assumption that there is a function on $M$ with suitable convexity properties relative to $g$. This can be considered as a complete solution of a problem formulated first by Herglotz in 1905. We also prove a semi-global results given semi-global data. This shows, for instance, that simply connected manifolds with strictly convex boundaries are lens rigid if the sectional curvature is non-positive or non-negative or if there are no focal points. The key tool is the analysis of the geodesic X-ray transform on 2-tensors, corresponding to a metric $g$, in the normal gauge, such as normal coordinates relative to a hypersurface, where one also needs to allow weights. This is handled by refining and extending our earlier results in the solenoidal gauge.

Isolation of cuspidal spectrum, with application to the Gan–Gross–Prasad conjecture

Abstract: We introduce a new technique for isolating components on the spectral side of the trace formula. By applying it to the Jacquet--Rallis relative trace formula, we complete the proof of the global Gan--Gross--Prasad conjecture and its refinement Ichino--Ikeda conjecture for $\mathrm{U}(n)\times\mathrm{U}(n+1)$ in the stable case.

Filling functions of arithmetic groups

Abstract: The Dehn function and its higher-dimensional generalizations measure the difficulty of filling a sphere in a space by a ball. In nonpositively curved spaces, one can construct fillings using geodesics, but fillings become more complicated in subsets of nonpositively curved spaces, such as lattices in symmetric spaces. In this paper, we prove sharp filling inequalities for (arithmetic) lattices in higher rank semisimple Lie groups. When n is less than the rank of the associated symmetric space, we show that the n-dimensional filling volume function of the lattice grows at the same rate as that of the associated symmetric space, and when n is equal to the rank, we show that the n-dimensional filling volume function grows exponentially. This broadly generalizes a theorem of Lubotzky-Mozes-Raghunathan on length distortion in lattices and confirms conjectures of Thurston, Gromov, and Bux-Wortman.

The rectangular peg problem

Abstract: For every smooth Jordan curve $\gamma$ and rectangle $R$ in the Euclidean plane, we show that there exists a rectangle similar to $R$ whose vertices lie on $\gamma$. The proof relies on Shevchishin's theorem that the Klein bottle does not admit a smooth Lagrangian embedding in $\mathbb{C}^2$.

Chow groups and $L$-derivatives of automorphic motives for unitary groups

Abstract: In this article, we study the Chow group of the motive associated to a tempered global $L$-packet $\pi$ of unitary groups of even rank with respect to a CM extension, whose global root number is $-1$. We show that, under some restrictions on the ramification of $\pi$, if the central derivative $L'(1/2,\pi)$ is nonvanishing, then the $\pi$-nearly isotypic localization of the Chow group of a certain unitary Shimura variety over its reflex field does not vanish. This proves part of the Beilinson--Bloch conjecture for Chow groups and $L$-functions, which generalizes the Birch and Swinnerton-Dyer conjecture. Moreover, assuming the modularity of Kudla's generating functions of special cycles, we explicitly construct elements in a certain $\pi$-nearly isotypic subspace of the Chow group by arithmetic theta lifting, and compute their heights in terms of the central derivative $L'(1/2,\pi)$ and local doubling zeta integrals. This confirms the conjectural arithmetic inner product formula proposed by one of us, which generalizes the Gross--Zagier formula to higher dimensional motives.

A proof of Carleson's 2-conjecture

Abstract: In this paper we provide a proof of the Carleson $\\varepsilon^2$-conjecture. This result yields a characterization (up to exceptional sets of zero length) of the tangent points of a Jordan curve in terms of the finiteness of the associated Carleson $\\varepsilon^2$-square function.

Inscribed rectangles in a smooth Jordan curve attain at least one third of all aspect ratios

Abstract: We prove that for every smooth Jordan curve $\gamma$, if $X$ is the set of all $r \in [0,1]$ so that there is an inscribed rectangle in $\gamma$ of aspect ratio $\tan(r\cdot \pi/4)$, then the Lebesgue measure of $X$ is at least $1/3$. To do this, we study disjoint Mobius strips bounding a $(2n,n)$-torus link in the solid torus times an interval. We prove that any such set of Mobius strips can be equipped with a natural total ordering. We then combine this total ordering with some additive combinatorics to prove that $1/3$ is a sharp lower bound on the probability that a Mobius strip bounding the $(2,1)$-torus knot in the solid torus times an interval will intersect its rotation by a uniformly random angle.

The threshold conjecture for the energy critical hyperbolic Yang--Mills equation

Abstract: Author(s): Oh, Sung-Jin; Tataru, Daniel | Abstract: This article represents the fourth and final part of a four-paper sequence whose aim is to prove the Threshold Conjecture as well as the more general Dichotomy Theorem for the energy critical $4+1$ dimensional hyperbolic Yang--Mills equation. The Threshold Theorem asserts that topologically trivial solutions with energy below twice the ground state energy are global and scatter. The Dichotomy Theorem applies to solutions in arbitrary topological class with large energy, and provides two exclusive alternatives: Either the solution is global and scatters, or it bubbles off a soliton in either finite time or infinite time. Using the caloric gauge developed in the first paper, the continuation/scattering criteria established in the second paper, and the large data analysis in an arbitrary topological class at optimal regularity in the third paper, here we perform a blow-up analysis which shows that the failure of global well-posedness and scattering implies either the existence of a soliton with at most the same energy bubbling off, or the existence existence of a nontrivial self-similar solution. The proof is completed by showing that the latter solutions do not exist.