0000000000211735
AUTHOR
Enrico Le Donne
showing 36 related works from this author
Ahlfors-regular distances on the Heisenberg group without biLipschitz pieces
2015
We show that the Heisenberg group is not minimal in looking down. This answers Problem 11.15 in `Fractured fractals and broken dreams' by David and Semmes, or equivalently, Question 22 and hence also Question 24 in `Thirty-three yes or no questions about mappings, measures, and metrics' by Heinonen and Semmes. The non-minimality of the Heisenberg group is shown by giving an example of an Ahlfors $4$-regular metric space $X$ having big pieces of itself such that no Lipschitz map from a subset of $X$ to the Heisenberg group has image with positive measure, and by providing a Lipschitz map from the Heisenberg group to the space $X$ having as image the whole $X$. As part of proving the above re…
Universal infinitesimal Hilbertianity of sub-Riemannian manifolds
2019
We prove that sub-Riemannian manifolds are infinitesimally Hilbertian (i.e., the associated Sobolev space is Hilbert) when equipped with an arbitrary Radon measure. The result follows from an embedding of metric derivations into the space of square-integrable sections of the horizontal bundle, which we obtain on all weighted sub-Finsler manifolds. As an intermediate tool, of independent interest, we show that any sub-Finsler distance can be monotonically approximated from below by Finsler ones. All the results are obtained in the general setting of possibly rank-varying structures.
Remarks about the Besicovitch Covering Property in Carnot groups of step 3 and higher
2016
International audience
Isometric embeddings of snowflakes into finite-dimensional Banach spaces
2016
We consider a general notion of snowflake of a metric space by composing the distance by a nontrivial concave function. We prove that a snowflake of a metric space $X$ isometrically embeds into some finite-dimensional normed space if and only if $X$ is finite. In the case of power functions we give a uniform bound on the cardinality of $X$ depending only on the power exponent and the dimension of the vector space.
Assouad dimension, Nagata dimension, and uniformly close metric tangents
2013
We study the Assouad dimension and the Nagata dimension of metric spaces. As a general result, we prove that the Nagata dimension of a metric space is always bounded from above by the Assouad dimension. Most of the paper is devoted to the study of when these metric dimensions of a metric space are locally given by the dimensions of its metric tangents. Having uniformly close tangents is not sufficient. What is needed in addition is either that the tangents have dimension with uniform constants independent from the point and the tangent, or that the tangents are unique. We will apply our results to equiregular subRiemannian manifolds and show that locally their Nagata dimension equals the to…
Universal differentiability sets and maximal directional derivatives in Carnot groups
2019
We show that every Carnot group G of step 2 admits a Hausdorff dimension one `universal differentiability set' N such that every real-valued Lipschitz map on G is Pansu differentiable at some point of N. This relies on the fact that existence of a maximal directional derivative of f at a point x implies Pansu differentiability at the same point x. We show that such an implication holds in Carnot groups of step 2 but fails in the Engel group which has step 3.
Isometries of nilpotent metric groups
2016
We consider Lie groups equipped with arbitrary distances. We only assume that the distance is left-invariant and induces the manifold topology. For brevity, we call such object metric Lie groups. Apart from Riemannian Lie groups, distinguished examples are sub-Riemannian Lie groups and, in particular, Carnot groups equipped with Carnot-Carath\'eodory distances. We study the regularity of isometries, i.e., distance-preserving homeomorphisms. Our first result is the analyticity of such maps between metric Lie groups. The second result is that if two metric Lie groups are connected and nilpotent then every isometry between the groups is the composition of a left translation and an isomorphism.…
Time-Optimal Synthesis for Three Relevant Problems: The Brockett Integrator, the Grushin Plane and the Martinet Distribution
2015
We construct the time-optimal synthesis for 3 problems that are linear in the control and with polytopic constraints in the controls. Namely, the Brockett integrator, the Grushin plane, and the Martinet distribution. The main purpose is to illustrate the steps in solving an optimal control problem and in particular the use of second order conditions. The Grushin and the Martinet case are particularly important: the first is the prototype of a rank-varying distribution, the second of a non-equiregular structure.
A note on topological dimension, Hausdorff measure, and rectifiability
2020
The purpose of this note is to record a consequence, for general metric spaces, of a recent result of David Bate. We prove the following fact: Let $X$ be a compact metric space of topological dimension $n$. Suppose that the $n$-dimensional Hausdorff measure of $X$, $\mathcal H^n(X)$, is finite. Suppose further that the lower n-density of the measure $\mathcal H^n$ is positive, $\mathcal H^n$-almost everywhere in $X$. Then $X$ contains an $n$-rectifiable subset of positive $\mathcal H^n$-measure. Moreover, the assumption on the lower density is unnecessary if one uses recently announced results of Cs\"ornyei-Jones.
Bicycle paths, elasticae and sub-Riemannian geometry
2020
We relate the sub-Riemannian geometry on the group of rigid motions of the plane to `bicycling mathematics'. We show that this geometry's geodesics correspond to bike paths whose front tracks are either non-inflectional Euler elasticae or straight lines, and that its infinite minimizing geodesics (or `metric lines') correspond to bike paths whose front tracks are either straight lines or `Euler's solitons' (also known as Syntractrix or Convicts' curves).
Corners in non-equiregular sub-Riemannian manifolds
2014
We prove that in a class of non-equiregular sub-Riemannian manifolds corners are not length minimizing. This extends the results of (G.P. Leonardi and R. Monti, Geom. Funct. Anal. 18 (2008) 552-582). As an application of our main result we complete and simplify the analysis in (R. Monti, Ann. Mat. Pura Appl. (2013)), showing that in a 4-dimensional sub-Riemannian structure suggested by Agrachev and Gauthier all length-minimizing curves are smooth. Mathematics Subject Classification. 53C17, 49K21, 49J15.
Regularity properties of spheres in homogeneous groups
2015
We study left-invariant distances on Lie groups for which there exists a one-parameter family of homothetic automorphisms. The main examples are Carnot groups, in particular the Heisenberg group with the standard dilations. We are interested in criteria implying that, locally and away from the diagonal, the distance is Euclidean Lipschitz and, consequently, that the metric spheres are boundaries of Lipschitz domains in the Euclidean sense. In the first part of the paper, we consider geodesic distances. In this case, we actually prove the regularity of the distance in the more general context of sub-Finsler manifolds with no abnormal geodesics. Secondly, for general groups we identify an alg…
Polynomial and horizontally polynomial functions on Lie groups
2022
We generalize both the notion of polynomial functions on Lie groups and the notion of horizontally affine maps on Carnot groups. We fix a subset $S$ of the algebra $\mathfrak g$ of left-invariant vector fields on a Lie group $\mathbb G$ and we assume that $S$ Lie generates $\mathfrak g$. We say that a function $f:\mathbb G\to \mathbb R$ (or more generally a distribution on $\mathbb G$) is $S$-polynomial if for all $X\in S$ there exists $k\in \mathbb N$ such that the iterated derivative $X^k f$ is zero in the sense of distributions. First, we show that all $S$-polynomial functions (as well as distributions) are represented by analytic functions and, if the exponent $k$ in the previous defini…
Metric equivalences of Heintze groups and applications to classifications in low dimension
2021
We approach the quasi-isometric classification questions on Lie groups by considering low dimensional cases and isometries alongside quasi-isometries. First, we present some new results related to quasi-isometries between Heintze groups. Then we will see how these results together with the existing tools related to isometries can be applied to groups of dimension 4 and 5 in particular. Thus we take steps towards determining all the equivalence classes of groups up to isometry and quasi-isometry. We completely solve the classification up to isometry for simply connected solvable groups in dimension 4, and for the subclass of groups of polynomial growth in dimension 5.
Space of signatures as inverse limits of Carnot groups
2021
We formalize the notion of limit of an inverse system of metric spaces with 1-Lipschitz projections having unbounded fibers. The construction is applied to the sequence of free Carnot groups of fixed rank n and increasing step. In this case, the limit space is in correspondence with the space of signatures of rectifiable paths in ℝn, as introduced by Chen. Hambly-Lyons’s result on the uniqueness of signature implies that this space is a geodesic metric tree. As a particular consequence we deduce that every path in ℝn can be approximated by projections of some geodesics in some Carnot group of rank n, giving an evidence that the complexity of sub-Riemannian geodesics increases with the step.
A metric characterization of Carnot groups
2013
We give a short axiomatic introduction to Carnot groups and their subRiemannian and subFinsler geometry. We explain how such spaces can be metrically described as exactly those proper geodesic spaces that admit dilations and are isometrically homogeneous.
Lipschitz Carnot-Carathéodory Structures and their Limits
2022
AbstractIn this paper we discuss the convergence of distances associated to converging structures of Lipschitz vector fields and continuously varying norms on a smooth manifold. We prove that, under a mild controllability assumption on the limit vector-fields structure, the distances associated to equi-Lipschitz vector-fields structures that converge uniformly on compact subsets, and to norms that converge uniformly on compact subsets, converge locally uniformly to the limit Carnot-Carathéodory distance. In the case in which the limit distance is boundedly compact, we show that the convergence of the distances is uniform on compact sets. We show an example in which the limit distance is not…
Metric Lie groups admitting dilations
2019
We consider left-invariant distances $d$ on a Lie group $G$ with the property that there exists a multiplicative one-parameter group of Lie automorphisms $(0, \infty)\rightarrow\mathtt{Aut}(G)$, $\lambda\mapsto\delta_\lambda$, so that $ d(\delta_\lambda x,\delta_\lambda y) = \lambda d(x,y)$, for all $x,y\in G$ and all $\lambda>0$. First, we show that all such distances are admissible, that is, they induce the manifold topology. Second, we characterize multiplicative one-parameter groups of Lie automorphisms that are dilations for some left-invariant distance in terms of algebraic properties of their infinitesimal generator. Third, we show that an admissible left-invariant distance on a Lie …
Sets with constant normal in Carnot groups: properties and examples
2019
We analyze subsets of Carnot groups that have intrinsic constant normal, as they appear in the blowup study of sets that have finite sub-Riemannian perimeter. The purpose of this paper is threefold. First, we prove some mild regularity and structural results in arbitrary Carnot groups. Namely, we show that for every constant-normal set in a Carnot group its sub-Riemannian-Lebesgue representative is regularly open, contractible, and its topological boundary coincides with the reduced boundary and with the measure-theoretic boundary. We infer these properties from a cone property. Such a cone will be a semisubgroup with nonempty interior that is canonically associated with the normal directio…
Toward a quasi-Möbius characterization of invertible homogeneous metric spaces
2020
We study locally compact metric spaces that enjoy various forms of homogeneity with respect to Mobius self-homeomorphisms. We investigate connections between such homogeneity and the combination of isometric homogeneity with invertibility. In particular, we provide a new characterization of snowflakes of boundaries of rank-one symmetric spaces of non-compact type among locally compact and connected metric spaces. Furthermore, we investigate the metric implications of homogeneity with respect to uniformly strongly quasi-Mobius self-homeomorphisms, connecting such homogeneity with the combination of uniform bi-Lipschitz homogeneity and quasi-invertibility. In this context we characterize spac…
Conformality and $Q$-harmonicity in sub-Riemannian manifolds
2016
We prove the equivalence of several natural notions of conformal maps between sub-Riemannian manifolds. Our main contribution is in the setting of those manifolds that support a suitable regularity theory for subelliptic $p$-Laplacian operators. For such manifolds we prove a Liouville-type theorem, i.e., 1-quasiconformal maps are smooth. In particular, we prove that contact manifolds support the suitable regularity. The main new technical tools are a sub-Riemannian version of p-harmonic coordinates and a technique of propagation of regularity from horizontal layers.
Субфинслерова задача на группе Картана
2019
Изучается задача субфинслеровой геометрии на свободной нильпотентной группе ранга $2$ глубины $3$. Такая группа также называется группой Картана, она имеет естественную структуру группы Карно, на которой вводится метрика с помощью $\ell _\infty $-нормы на ее первом слое. Используются методы теории оптимального управления. С помощью принципа максимума Понтрягина охарактеризованы экстремальные кривые. Описаны анормальные и особые дуги, построен релейный поток.
Extremal polynomials in stratified groups
2018
We introduce a family of extremal polynomials associated with the prolongation of a stratified nilpotent Lie algebra. These polynomials are related to a new algebraic characterization of abnormal subriemannian geodesics in stratified nilpotent Lie groups. They satisfy a set of remarkable structure relations that are used to integrate the adjoint equations.
A Cornucopia of Carnot groups in Low Dimensions
2022
Abstract Stratified groups are those simply connected Lie groups whose Lie algebras admit a derivation for which the eigenspace with eigenvalue 1 is Lie generating. When a stratified group is equipped with a left-invariant path distance that is homogeneous with respect to the automorphisms induced by the derivation, this metric space is known as Carnot group. Carnot groups appear in several mathematical contexts. To understand their algebraic structure, it is useful to study some examples explicitly. In this work, we provide a list of low-dimensional stratified groups, express their Lie product, and present a basis of left-invariant vector fields, together with their respective left-invaria…
Sub-Finsler Geodesics on the Cartan Group
2018
This paper is a continuation of the work by the same authors on the Cartan group equipped with the sub-Finsler $\ell_\infty$ norm. We start by giving a detailed presentation of the structure of bang-bang extremal trajectories. Then we prove upper bounds on the number of switchings on bang-bang minimizers. We prove that any normal extremal is either bang-bang, or singular, or mixed. Consequently, we study mixed extremals. In particular, we prove that every two points can be connected by a piecewise smooth minimizer, and we give a uniform bound on the number of such pieces.
Regularity of sets with constant horizontal normal in the Engel group
2012
In the Engel group with its Carnot group structure we study subsets of locally finite subRiemannian perimeter and possessing constant subRiemannian normal. We prove the rectifiability of such sets: more precisely we show that, in some specific coordinates, they are upper-graphs of entire Lipschitz functions (with respect to the Euclidean distance). However we find that, when they are written as intrinsic horizontal upper-graphs with respect to the direction of the normal, then the function defining the set might even fail to be continuous. Nevertheless, we can prove that one can always find other horizontal directions for which the set is the intrinsic horizontal upper-graph of a function t…
Nonexistence of Quasiconformal Maps Between Certain Metric Measure Spaces
2013
We provide new conditions that ensure that two metric measure spaces are not quasiconformally equivalent. As an application, we deduce that there exists no quasiconformal map between the sub-Riemannian Heisenberg and roto-translation groups.
On the quasi-isometric and bi-Lipschitz classification of 3D Riemannian Lie groups.
2021
AbstractThis note is concerned with the geometric classification of connected Lie groups of dimension three or less, endowed with left-invariant Riemannian metrics. On the one hand, assembling results from the literature, we give a review of the complete classification of such groups up to quasi-isometries and we compare the quasi-isometric classification with the bi-Lipschitz classification. On the other hand, we study the problem whether two quasi-isometrically equivalent Lie groups may be made isometric if equipped with suitable left-invariant Riemannian metrics. We show that this is the case for three-dimensional simply connected groups, but it is not true in general for multiply connec…
Smooth surjections and surjective restrictions
2017
Given a surjective mapping $f : E \to F$ between Banach spaces, we investigate the existence of a subspace $G$ of $E$, with the same density character as $F$, such that the restriction of $f$ to $G$ remains surjective. We obtain a positive answer whenever $f$ is continuous and uniformly open. In the smooth case, we deduce a positive answer when $f$ is a $C^1$-smooth surjection whose set of critical values is countable. Finally we show that, when $f$ takes values in the Euclidean space $\mathbb R^n$, in order to obtain this result it is not sufficient to assume that the set of critical values of $f$ has zero-measure.
Conformal equivalence of visual metrics in pseudoconvex domains
2017
We refine estimates introduced by Balogh and Bonk, to show that the boundary extensions of isometries between smooth strongly pseudoconvex domains in $\C^n$ are conformal with respect to the sub-Riemannian metric induced by the Levi form. As a corollary we obtain an alternative proof of a result of Fefferman on smooth extensions of biholomorphic mappings between pseudoconvex domains. The proofs are inspired by Mostow's proof of his rigidity theorem and are based on the asymptotic hyperbolic character of the Kobayashi or Bergman metrics and on the Bonk-Schramm hyperbolic fillings.
A Primer on Carnot Groups: Homogenous Groups, Carnot-Carathéodory Spaces, and Regularity of Their Isometries
2017
AbstractCarnot groups are distinguished spaces that are rich of structure: they are those Lie groups equipped with a path distance that is invariant by left-translations of the group and admit automorphisms that are dilations with respect to the distance. We present the basic theory of Carnot groups together with several remarks.We consider them as special cases of graded groups and as homogeneous metric spaces.We discuss the regularity of isometries in the general case of Carnot-Carathéodory spaces and of nilpotent metric Lie groups.
Sard property for the endpoint map on some Carnot groups
2016
In Carnot-Caratheodory or sub-Riemannian geometry, one of the major open problems is whether the conclusions of Sard's theorem holds for the endpoint map, a canonical map from an infinite-dimensional path space to the underlying finite-dimensional manifold. The set of critical values for the endpoint map is also known as abnormal set, being the set of endpoints of abnormal extremals leaving the base point. We prove that a strong version of Sard's property holds for all step-2 Carnot groups and several other classes of Lie groups endowed with left-invariant distributions. Namely, we prove that the abnormal set lies in a proper analytic subvariety. In doing so we examine several characterizat…
Semigenerated Carnot algebras and applications to sub-Riemannian perimeter
2021
This paper contributes to the study of sets of finite intrinsic perimeter in Carnot groups. Our intent is to characterize in which groups the only sets with constant intrinsic normal are the vertical half-spaces. Our viewpoint is algebraic: such a phenomenon happens if and only if the semigroup generated by each horizontal half-space is a vertical half-space. We call semigenerated those Carnot groups with this property. For Carnot groups of nilpotency step 3 we provide a complete characterization of semigeneration in terms of whether such groups do not have any Engel-type quotients. Engel-type groups, which are introduced here, are the minimal (in terms of quotients) counterexamples. In add…
Space of signatures as inverse limits of Carnot groups
2021
We formalize the notion of limit of an inverse system of metric spaces with 1-Lipschitz projections having unbounded fibers. The construction is applied to the sequence of free Carnot groups of fixed rank n and increasing step. In this case, the limit space is in correspondence with the space of signatures of rectifiable paths in ℝn, as introduced by Chen. Hambly-Lyons’s result on the uniqueness of signature implies that this space is a geodesic metric tree. As a particular consequence we deduce that every path in ℝn can be approximated by projections of some geodesics in some Carnot group of rank n, giving an evidence that the complexity of sub-Riemannian geodesics increases with the step.…
Nilpotent Groups and Bi-Lipschitz Embeddings Into L1
2022
We prove that if a simply connected nilpotent Lie group quasi-isometrically embeds into an L1 space, then it is abelian. We reach this conclusion by proving that every Carnot group that bi-Lipschitz embeds into L1 is abelian. Our proof follows the work of Cheeger and Kleiner, by considering the pull-back distance of a Lipschitz map into L1 and representing it using a cut measure. We show that such cut measures, and the induced distances, can be blown up and the blown-up cut measure is supported on “generic” tangents of the original sets. By repeating such a blow-up procedure, one obtains a cut measure supported on half-spaces. This differentiation result then is used to prove that bi-Lipsch…
Pauls rectifiable and purely Pauls unrectifiable smooth hypersurfaces
2020
This paper is related to the problem of finding a good notion of rectifiability in sub-Riemannian geometry. In particular, we study which kind of results can be expected for smooth hypersurfaces in Carnot groups. Our main contribution will be a consequence of the following result: there exists a -hypersurface without characteristic points that has uncountably many pairwise non-isomorphic tangent groups on every positive-measure subset. The example is found in a Carnot group of topological dimension 8, it has Hausdorff dimension 12 and so we use on it the Hausdorff measure . As a consequence, we show that any Lipschitz map defined on a subset of a Carnot group of Hausdorff dimension 12, with…