Diffeomorphism

 ( Mathematical Physics ) 

In mathematics, a diffeomorphism is an isomorphism of differentiable manifolds. It is an invertible function that maps one differentiable manifold to another such that both the function and its inverse are continuously differentiable.

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Definition Given two differentiable manifolds $M$ and $N$, a continuously differentiable map $f\; \backslash colon\; M\; \backslash rightarrow\; N$ is a diffeomorphism if it is a bijection and its inverse $f^\{-1\}\; \backslash colon\; N\; \backslash rightarrow\; M$ is differentiable as well. If these functions are $r$ times continuously differentiable, $f$ is called a $C^r$-diffeomorphism.

Two manifolds $M$ and $N$ are diffeomorphic (usually denoted $M\; \backslash simeq\; N$) if there is a diffeomorphism $f$ from $M$ to $N$. Two $C^r$-differentiable manifolds are $C^r$-diffeomorphic if there is an $r$ times continuously differentiable bijective map between them whose inverse is also $r$ times continuously differentiable. A $C^1$-diffeomorphism is simply a diffeomorphism, and a $C^0$-diffeomorphism is a homeomorphism.

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Diffeomorphisms of subsets of manifolds Given a subset $X$ of a manifold $M$ and a subset $Y$ of a manifold $N$, a function $f:X\backslash to\; Y$ is said to be smooth if for all $p$ in $X$ there is a neighborhood $U\backslash subset\; M$ of $p$ and a smooth function $g:U\backslash to\; N$ such that the restrictions agree: $g\_\{|U\; \backslash cap\; X\}\; =\; f\_\{|U\; \backslash cap\; X\}$ (note that $g$ is an extension of $f$). The function $f$ is said to be a diffeomorphism if it is bijective, smooth and its inverse is smooth.

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Local description Testing whether a differentiable map is a diffeomorphism can be made locally under some mild restrictions. This is the Hadamard-Caccioppoli theorem:

(2025). 9781461459804, Springer. ISBN 9781461459804

If $U$, $V$ are Connected space Open set of $\backslash R^n$ such that $V$ is simply connected, a differentiable map $f:U\backslash to\; V$ is a diffeomorphism if it is Proper map and if the differential $Df\_x:\backslash R^n\backslash to\backslash R^n$ is bijective (and hence a linear isomorphism) at each point $x$ in $U$.

Some remarks:

It is essential for $V$ to be simply connected for the function $f$ to be globally invertible (under the sole condition that its derivative be a bijective map at each point). For example, consider the "realification" of the Complex number square function

$\backslash begin\{cases\}$

f : \R^2 \setminus \{(0,0)\} \to \R^2 \setminus \{(0,0)\} \\ (x,y)\mapsto(x^2-y^2,2xy). \end{cases} Then $f$ is surjective and it satisfies

$\backslash det\; Df\_x\; =\; 4(x^2+y^2)\; \backslash neq\; 0.$

Thus, though $Df\_x$ is bijective at each point, $f$ is not invertible because it fails to be injective (e.g. $f(1,0)=(1,0)=f(-1,0)$).

Since the differential at a point (for a differentiable function)

$Df\_x\; :\; T\_xU\; \backslash to\; T\_\{f(x)\}V$

is a linear map, it has a well-defined inverse if and only if $Df\_x$ is a bijection. The matrix representation of $Df\_x$ is the $n\backslash times\; n$ matrix of first-order partial derivatives whose entry in the $i$-th row and $j$-th column is $\backslash partial\; f\_i\; /\; \backslash partial\; x\_j$. This so-called Jacobian matrix is often used for explicit computations.

Diffeomorphisms are necessarily between manifolds of the same dimension. Imagine $f$ going from dimension $n$ to dimension $k$. If

If $Df\_x$ is a bijection at $x$ then $f$ is said to be a local diffeomorphism (since, by continuity, $Df\_y$ will also be bijective for all $y$ sufficiently close to $x$).

Given a smooth map from dimension $n$ to dimension $k$, if $Df$ (or, locally, $Df\_x$) is surjective, $f$ is said to be a submersion (or, locally, a "local submersion"); and if $Df$ (or, locally, $Df\_x$) is injective, $f$ is said to be an immersion (or, locally, a "local immersion").

A differentiable bijection is not necessarily a diffeomorphism. $f(x)=x^3$, for example, is not a diffeomorphism from $\backslash R$ to itself because its derivative vanishes at 0 (and hence its inverse is not differentiable at 0). This is an example of a homeomorphism that is not a diffeomorphism.

When $f$ is a map between differentiable manifolds, a diffeomorphic $f$ is a stronger condition than a homeomorphic $f$. For a diffeomorphism, $f$ and its inverse need to be differentiable; for a homeomorphism, $f$ and its inverse need only be continuous. Every diffeomorphism is a homeomorphism, but not every homeomorphism is a diffeomorphism.

$f:M\backslash to\; N$ is a diffeomorphism if, in coordinate charts, it satisfies the definition above. More precisely: Pick any cover of $M$ by compatible coordinate charts and do the same for $N$. Let $\backslash phi$ and $\backslash psi$ be charts on, respectively, $M$ and $N$, with $U$ and $V$ as, respectively, the images of $\backslash phi$ and $\backslash psi$. The map $\backslash psi\; f\backslash phi^\{-1\}:U\backslash to\; V$ is then a diffeomorphism as in the definition above, whenever $f(\backslash phi^\{-1\}(U))\backslash subseteq\backslash psi^\{-1\}(V)$.

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Examples Since any manifold can be locally parametrised, we can consider some explicit maps from $\backslash R^2$ into $\backslash R^2$.

• Let

: $f(x,y)\; =\; \backslash left\; (x^2\; +\; y^3,\; x^2\; -\; y^3\; \backslash right\; ).$

We can calculate the Jacobian matrix:

:

The Jacobian matrix has zero determinant if and only if $xy=0$. We see that $f$ could only be a diffeomorphism away from the $x$-axis and the $y$-axis. However, $f$ is not bijective since $f(x,y)=f(-x,y)$, and thus it cannot be a diffeomorphism.

• Let

: $g(x,y)\; =\; \backslash left\; (a\_0\; +\; a\_\{1,0\}x\; +\; a\_\{0,1\}y\; +\; \backslash cdots,\; \backslash \; b\_0\; +\; b\_\{1,0\}x\; +\; b\_\{0,1\}y\; +\; \backslash cdots\; \backslash right\; )$

where the $a\_\{i,j\}$ and $b\_\{i,j\}$ are arbitrary , and the omitted terms are of degree at least two in x and y. We can calculate the Jacobian matrix at 0:

:

We see that g is a local diffeomorphism at 0 if, and only if,

: $a\_\{1,0\}b\_\{0,1\}\; -\; a\_\{0,1\}b\_\{1,0\}\; \backslash neq\; 0,$

i.e. the linear terms in the components of g are linearly independent as .

• Let

: $h(x,y)\; =\; \backslash left\; (\backslash sin(x^2\; +\; y^2),\; \backslash cos(x^2\; +\; y^2)\; \backslash right\; ).$

We can calculate the Jacobian matrix:

:

The Jacobian matrix has zero determinant everywhere! In fact we see that the image of h is the unit circle.

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Surface deformations In mechanics, a stress-induced transformation is called a deformation and may be described by a diffeomorphism. A diffeomorphism $f:U\backslash to\; V$ between two surfaces $U$ and $V$ has a Jacobian matrix $Df$ that is an invertible matrix. In fact, it is required that for $p$ in $U$, there is a neighborhood of $p$ in which the Jacobian $Df$ stays non-singular. Suppose that in a chart of the surface, $f(x,y)\; =\; (u,v).$

The total differential of u is

$du\; =\; \backslash frac\{\backslash partial\; u\}\{\backslash partial\; x\}\; dx\; +\; \backslash frac\{\backslash partial\; u\}\{\backslash partial\; y\}\; dy$, and similarly for v.

Then the image $(du,\; dv)\; =\; (dx,\; dy)\; Df$ is a linear transformation, fixing the origin, and expressible as the action of a complex number of a particular type. When ( dx,  dy) is also interpreted as that type of complex number, the action is of complex multiplication in the appropriate complex number plane. As such, there is a type of angle (angle, hyperbolic angle, or slope) that is preserved in such a multiplication. Due to Df being invertible, the type of complex number is uniform over the surface. Consequently, a surface deformation or diffeomorphism of surfaces has the conformal property of preserving (the appropriate type of) angles.

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Diffeomorphism group Let $M$ be a differentiable manifold that is second-countable and Hausdorff space. The diffeomorphism group of $M$ is the group of all $C^r$ diffeomorphisms of $M$ to itself, denoted by $\backslash text\{Diff\}^r(M)$ or, when $r$ is understood, $\backslash text\{Diff\}(M)$. This is a "large" group, in the sense that—provided $M$ is not zero-dimensional—it is not locally compact.

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Topology The diffeomorphism group has two natural topologies: weak and strong . When the manifold is Compact space, these two topologies agree. The weak topology is always Metrizable space. When the manifold is not compact, the strong topology captures the behavior of functions "at infinity" and is not metrizable. It is, however, still Baire space.

Fixing a Riemannian metric on $M$, the weak topology is the topology induced by the family of metrics

$d\_K(f,g)\; =\; \backslash sup\backslash nolimits\_\{x\backslash in\; K\}\; d(f(x),g(x))\; +\; \backslash sum\backslash nolimits\_\{1\backslash le\; p\backslash le\; r\}\; \backslash sup\backslash nolimits\_\{x\backslash in\; K\}\; \backslash left\; \backslash |D^pf(x)\; -\; D^pg(x)\; \backslash right\; \backslash |$

as $K$ varies over compact subsets of $M$. Indeed, since $M$ is $\backslash sigma$-compact, there is a sequence of compact subsets $K\_n$ whose union is $M$. Then:

$d(f,g)\; =\; \backslash sum\backslash nolimits\_n\; 2^\{-n\}\backslash frac\{d\_\{K\_n\}(f,g)\}\{1+d\_\{K\_n\}(f,g)\}.$

The diffeomorphism group equipped with its weak topology is locally homeomorphic to the space of $C^r$ vector fields . Over a compact subset of $M$, this follows by fixing a Riemannian metric on $M$ and using the exponential map for that metric. If $r$ is finite and the manifold is compact, the space of vector fields is a Banach space. Moreover, the transition maps from one chart of this atlas to another are smooth, making the diffeomorphism group into a Banach manifold with smooth right translations; left translations and inversion are only continuous. If $r=\backslash infty$, the space of vector fields is a Fréchet space. Moreover, the transition maps are smooth, making the diffeomorphism group into a Fréchet manifold and even into a regular Fréchet Lie group. If the manifold is $\backslash sigma$-compact and not compact the full diffeomorphism group is not locally contractible for any of the two topologies. One has to restrict the group by controlling the deviation from the identity near infinity to obtain a diffeomorphism group which is a manifold; see .

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Lie algebra The Lie algebra of the diffeomorphism group of $M$ consists of all on $M$ equipped with the Lie bracket of vector fields. Somewhat formally, this is seen by making a small change to the coordinate $x$ at each point in space:

$x^\{\backslash mu\}\; \backslash mapsto\; x^\{\backslash mu\}\; +\; \backslash varepsilon\; h^\{\backslash mu\}(x)$

so the infinitesimal generators are the vector fields

$L\_\{h\}\; =\; h^\{\backslash mu\}(x)\backslash frac\{\backslash partial\}\{\backslash partial\; x^\backslash mu\}.$

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Examples

• When $M=G$ is a Lie group, there is a natural inclusion of $G$ in its own diffeomorphism group via left-translation. Let $\backslash text\{Diff\}(G)$ denote the diffeomorphism group of $G$, then there is a splitting $\backslash text\{Diff\}(G)\backslash simeq\; G\backslash times\backslash text\{Diff\}(G,e)$, where $\backslash text\{Diff\}(G,e)$ is the subgroup of $\backslash text\{Diff\}(G)$ that fixes the identity element of the group.
• The diffeomorphism group of Euclidean space $\backslash R^n$ consists of two components, consisting of the orientation-preserving and orientation-reversing diffeomorphisms. In fact, the general linear group is a deformation retract of the subgroup $\backslash text\{Diff\}(\backslash R^n,0)$ of diffeomorphisms fixing the origin under the map $f(x)\backslash to\; f(tx)/t,\; t\backslash in(0,1]$. In particular, the general linear group is also a deformation retract of the full diffeomorphism group.
• For a finite set of points, the diffeomorphism group is simply the symmetric group. Similarly, if $M$ is any manifold there is a group extension $0\backslash to\backslash text\{Diff\}\_0(M)\backslash to\backslash text\{Diff\}(M)\backslash to\backslash Sigma(\backslash pi\_0(M))$. Here $\backslash text\{Diff\}\_0(M)$ is the subgroup of $\backslash text\{Diff\}(M)$ that preserves all the components of $M$, and $\backslash Sigma(\backslash pi\_0(M))$ is the permutation group of the set $\backslash pi\_0(M)$ (the components of $M$). Moreover, the image of the map $\backslash text\{Diff\}(M)\backslash to\backslash Sigma(\backslash pi\_0(M))$ is the bijections of $\backslash pi\_0(M)$ that preserve diffeomorphism classes.

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Transitivity For a connected manifold $M$, the diffeomorphism group acts transitively on $M$. More generally, the diffeomorphism group acts transitively on the configuration space $C\_k\; M$. If $M$ is at least two-dimensional, the diffeomorphism group acts transitively on the configuration space $F\_k\; M$ and the action on $M$ is multiply transitive .

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Extensions of diffeomorphisms In 1926, Tibor Radó asked whether the Poisson integral of any homeomorphism or diffeomorphism of the unit circle to the unit disc yields a diffeomorphism on the open disc. An elegant proof was provided shortly afterwards by Hellmuth Kneser. In 1945, Gustave Choquet, apparently unaware of this result, produced a completely different proof.

The (orientation-preserving) diffeomorphism group of the circle is pathwise connected. This can be seen by noting that any such diffeomorphism can be lifted to a diffeomorphism $f$ of the reals satisfying $f(x+1)=f(x)+1$; this space is convex and hence path-connected. A smooth, eventually constant path to the identity gives a second more elementary way of extending a diffeomorphism from the circle to the open unit disc (a special case of the Alexander trick). Moreover, the diffeomorphism group of the circle has the homotopy-type of the orthogonal group $O(2)$.

The corresponding extension problem for diffeomorphisms of higher-dimensional spheres $S^\{n-1\}$ was much studied in the 1950s and 1960s, with notable contributions from René Thom, John Milnor and Stephen Smale. An obstruction to such extensions is given by the finite abelian group $\backslash Gamma\_n$, the "group of twisted spheres", defined as the Quotient group of the abelian component group of the diffeomorphism group by the subgroup of classes extending to diffeomorphisms of the ball $B^n$.

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Connectedness For manifolds, the diffeomorphism group is usually not connected. Its component group is called the mapping class group. In dimension 2 (i.e. surfaces), the mapping class group is a finitely presented group generated by ; this has been proved by Max Dehn, W. B. R. Lickorish, and Allen Hatcher). Max Dehn and Jakob Nielsen showed that it can be identified with the outer automorphism group of the fundamental group of the surface.

William Thurston refined this analysis by classifying elements of the mapping class group into three types: those equivalent to a periodic diffeomorphism; those equivalent to a diffeomorphism leaving a simple closed curve invariant; and those equivalent to pseudo-Anosov diffeomorphisms. In the case of the torus $S^1\backslash times\; S^1=\backslash R^2/\backslash Z^2$, the mapping class group is simply the modular group $\backslash text\{SL\}(2,\backslash Z)$ and the classification becomes classical in terms of elliptic, parabolic and hyperbolic matrices. Thurston accomplished his classification by observing that the mapping class group acted naturally on a compactification of Teichmüller space; as this enlarged space was homeomorphic to a closed ball, the Brouwer fixed-point theorem became applicable. Smale that if $M$ is an oriented smooth closed manifold, the identity component of the group of orientation-preserving diffeomorphisms is Simple group. This had first been proved for a product of circles by Michel Herman; it was proved in full generality by Thurston.

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Homotopy types

• The diffeomorphism group of $S^2$ has the homotopy-type of the subgroup $\backslash mathrm\{O\}(3)$. This was proven by Steve Smale.
• The diffeomorphism group of the torus has the homotopy-type of its linear : $S^1\backslash times\; S^1\backslash times\backslash text\{GL\}(2,\backslash Z)$.
• The diffeomorphism groups of orientable surfaces of genus $g>1$ have the homotopy-type of their mapping class groups (i.e. the components are contractible).
• The homotopy-type of the diffeomorphism groups of 3-manifolds are fairly well understood via the work of Ivanov, Hatcher, Gabai and Rubinstein, although there are a few outstanding open cases (primarily 3-manifolds with finite fundamental groups).
• The homotopy-type of diffeomorphism groups of $n$-manifolds for $n>3$ are poorly understood. For example, it is an open problem whether or not $\backslash mathrm\{Diff\}(S^4)$ has more than two components. Via Milnor, Kahn and Antonelli, however, it is known that provided $n>6$, $\backslash mathrm\{Diff\}(S^n)$ does not have the homotopy-type of a finite CW-complex.

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Homeomorphism and diffeomorphism Since every diffeomorphism is a homeomorphism, given a pair of manifolds which are diffeomorphic to each other they are in particular homeomorphic to each other. The converse is not true in general.

While it is easy to find homeomorphisms that are not diffeomorphisms, it is more difficult to find a pair of homeomorphic manifolds that are not diffeomorphic. In dimensions 1, 2 and 3, any pair of homeomorphic smooth manifolds are diffeomorphic. In dimension 4 or greater, examples of homeomorphic but not diffeomorphic pairs exist. The first such example was constructed by John Milnor in dimension 7. He constructed a smooth 7-dimensional manifold (called now Milnor's sphere) that is homeomorphic to the standard 7-sphere but not diffeomorphic to it. There are, in fact, 28 oriented diffeomorphism classes of manifolds homeomorphic to the 7-sphere (each of them is the total space of a fiber bundle over the 4-sphere with the 3-sphere as the fiber).

More unusual phenomena occur for 4-manifolds. In the early 1980s, a combination of results due to Simon Donaldson and Michael Freedman led to the discovery of exotic $\backslash R^4$: there are Uncountable set pairwise non-diffeomorphic open subsets of $\backslash R^4$ each of which is homeomorphic to $\backslash R^4$, and also there are uncountably many pairwise non-diffeomorphic differentiable manifolds homeomorphic to $\backslash R^4$ that do not embed smoothly in $\backslash R^4$.

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See also

• Anosov diffeomorphism such as Arnold's cat map
• Diffeo anomaly also known as a gravitational anomaly, a type anomaly in quantum mechanics
• Diffeology, smooth parameterizations on a set, which makes a diffeological space
• Diffeomorphometry, metric study of shape and form in computational anatomy
• Étale morphism
• Large diffeomorphism
• Local diffeomorphism
• supermanifold

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Notes

• (2025). 9781461459804 ISBN 9781461459804

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