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Equal fixed-surface flow heights imply boundary tangency

Statement

Let M be a smooth four-manifold without boundary, U⊆M open, and K a smooth vector field on U. Let C⊆U be a smooth embedded three-dimensional collar with boundary the smooth surface S, and assume K∣S=0. Write ϕ:D→U for the maximal flow of K on U, with open domain D⊆R×U. Let f,g:C→R be smooth up to S, with (h(x),x)∈D for every x∈C and h∈{f,g}. Define the variable-time maps directly by Fh(x)=ϕ(h(x),x), and suppose both are smooth embeddings up to S.

For p∈S, let Hp+C⊂TpC be the closed inward tangent half-space: in a boundary chart with collar interior x3>0, it is the set of vectors with third coordinate nonnegative, including TpS. Here the exterior tangent side of Fh(C) means d(Fh)p(Hp+C), the tangent half-space pointing into the collar image, rather than a choice of ambient normal side.

Both maps fix S pointwise. If f(p)=g(p)=c at p∈S, then, using the inclusion TpC⊂TpM, their differentials satisfy d(Ff)p=d(Fg)p=d(ϕc)p∣TpC. Consequently their images have the same tangent hyperplane at p and the same exterior tangent side. The common differential restricts to the identity on TpS. No equality of dfp and dgp is required.

Facts & Assumptions

[F1]

A smooth vector field on the boundaryless manifold U has a unique maximal smooth flow on an open domain; its time curves are its unique maximal integral curves. The fundamental theorem on flows

[F2]

An embedded smooth submanifold with boundary carries a manifold-with-boundary smooth structure whose inclusion is a smooth embedding. Embedded smooth submanifolds with boundary

[F3]

A smooth embedding has injective differential on the full tangent space, including at boundary points, and is a homeomorphism onto its image. Immersions and embeddings for manifolds with boundary

[F4]

In a boundary chart the full tangent space has inward, outward and boundary-tangent vectors distinguished by the sign of the last coordinate; this distinction is chart independent. Inward, outward, and boundary-tangent vectors

[F5]

Smooth half-space maps obey the chain rule for their full derivatives at boundary points, as computed from smooth local extensions. Chain rule for smooth half-space maps

[F6]

For the maximal flow on U, Ut={x∈U:(t,x)∈D} is open and ϕt:Ut→U−t is a diffeomorphism with inverse ϕ−t. Time-t flow maps are diffeomorphisms between open domains

[F7]

The collar assumption uses a smooth boundary collar: a smooth embedding c:S×[0,ε)→C with c(p,0)=p and image an open neighborhood of S=∂C in C; the width may first be a positive smooth function of p. math:def-smooth-collar-of-a-manifold-boundary

[F8]

For the boundary inclusion i:S=∂C↪C, dip identifies TpS with the boundary-tangent hyperplane of TpC. The boundary tangent space is the boundary-tangent hyperplane

[F9]

The differential of a diffeomorphism F:N→P is a linear isomorphism dFp:TpN→TF(p)P at every point. The differential of a diffeomorphism is an isomorphism

Proof

Given: The assumptions in the Statement.

Goal: Prove boundary fixation, equality of the full tangent maps at equal heights, and equality of their inward image half-spaces.

1.1F1F2F5F8given

For p∈S, the constant curve at p is an integral curve of K for every real time, since K(p)=0. Uniqueness in [F1] identifies it with the maximal integral curve through p. Thus ϕ(t,p)=p for all t∈R, and Ff∣S=Fg∣S=id⁡S. In particular, the fixed-time flow restricts to the identity on S, so its differential on TpS, identified with the boundary-tangent hyperplane by [F8], is the identity.

2.1F1F2F3F5givenstep 1.1algebra

Fix p∈S and h∈{f,g}. The map x↦(h(x),x) takes values in the open set D; near (h(p),p) this openness permits the usual smooth coordinate differentiation, including a smooth extension across the boundary of C. Apply the half-space chain rule to its composition with ϕ. For every v∈TpC, using the differential of the inclusion into U, this gives d(Fh)p(v)=d(ϕh(p))p(v)+Kϕ(h(p),p) dhp(v). Here ∂tϕ(t,x)=Kϕ(t,x) follows from the integral-curve property of [F1]. Step 1.1 and K(p)=0 therefore give d(Fh)p(v)=d(ϕh(p))p(v) on the full tangent space, without any condition on dhp.

3.1F2F3F6F9givenstep 2.1

If f(p)=g(p)=c, step 2.1 gives equality of the two differentials with the restriction of d(ϕc)p. Since (c,p)∈D, [F6] applies on the ambient open set Uc; by [F9], this ambient differential is an invertible map TpU→TpU. Its restriction to TpC is injective. The embedding hypotheses and [F2]–[F3] identify TpFh(C) with d(Fh)p(TpC), so the two image tangent hyperplanes agree.

4.1F3F4F8step 1.1step 2.1step 3.1∎

By [F4] and [F8], the closed half-space Hp+C in the Statement is intrinsic to the collar interior. The equal linear maps in step 3.1 carry this same half-space to equal half-spaces in the common tangent hyperplane, precisely the asserted common exterior tangent side. Their restriction to TpS is the identity by step 1.1. Together with the pointwise boundary fixation in step 1.1, this proves all the conclusions without requiring equality of the height derivatives.

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Used by · 3

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