Let U(n) be the unitary group, and u(n)¤ the dual of its Lie algebra, equipped with the Kirillov Poisson structure. In their 1983 paper, Guillemin-Sternberg introduced a densely defined Hamiltonian action of a torus of dimension (n−1)n/2 on u(n)¤, with moment map given by the Gelfand-Zeitlin coordinates. A few years later, Flaschka-Ratiu described a similar, ‘multiplicative’ GelfandZeitlin system for the Poisson Lie group U(n)¤. By the Ginzburg-Weinstein theorem, U(n)¤ is isomorphic to u(n)¤ as a Poisson manifold. Flaschka-Ratiu conjectured that one can choose the Ginzburg-Weinstein diffeomorphism in such a way that it intertwines the linear and nonlinear Gelfand-Zeitlin systems. Our main result gives a proof of this conjecture, and produces a canonical Ginzburg-Weinstein diffeomorphism.

Let M be a compact Hamiltonian T−space, with finite fixed point set MT . An equivariant class is determined by its restriction to MT , and to each fixed point p ∈ MT and generic component of the moment map, there corresponds a canonical class τp. For a special class of Hamiltonian T−spaces, the value τp,q of τp at a fixed point q can be determined through an iterated interpolation procedure, and we obtained a formula for τp,q as a sum over ascending chains from p to q. In general the number of such chains is huge, and the main result of this paper is a procedure to reduce the number of relevant chains, through a systematic degeneration of the interpolation direction. The resulting formula for τp,q resembles, via the localization formula, an integral over a space of chains, and we prove that, for complex Grassmannians, τp,q can indeed be expressed as the integral of an equivariant form over a smooth Schubert variety.

We prove that if a connected Lie group action on a complete Riemannian manifold preserves the geodesics (considered as unparameterized curves), then the metric has constant positive sectional curvature, or the group acts by affine transformations.

Smooth valuations on manifolds are studied by establishing a link with the Rumin-de Rham complex of the co-sphere bundle. Several operations on differential forms induce operations on smooth valuations: signature operator, Rumin-Laplace operator, Euler-Verdier involution and derivation operator. As an application, Alesker’s Hard Lefschetz Theorem for even translation invariant valuations on a finite-dimensional Euclidean space is generalized to all translation invariant valuations. The proof uses K¨ahler identities, the Rumin-de Rham complex and spectral geometry.

We consider a regularization method for mean curvature flow of a submanifold of arbitrary codimension in the Euclidean space,through higher order equations. We prove that the regularized problems converge to the mean curvature flow for all times before the first singularity.