Lifting generic maps to embeddings

Given a generic PL map or a generic smooth fold map $f:N^n\to M^m$, where $m\ge n$ and $2(m+k)\ge 3(n+1)$, we prove that $f$ lifts to a PL or smooth embedding $N\to M\times\mathbb R^k$ if and only if its double point locus $(f\times f)^{-1}(\Delta_M)\setminus\Delta_N$ admits an equivariant map to $S^{k-1}$. As a corollary we answer a 1990 question of P. Petersen on whether the universal coverings of the lens spaces $L(p,q)$, $p$ odd, lift to embeddings in $L(p,q)\times\mathbb R^3$. We also show that if a non-degenerate PL map $N\to M$ lifts to a topological embedding in $M\times\mathbb R^k$ then it lifts to a PL embedding in there. The Appendix extends the 2-multi-0-jet transversality over the usual compactification of $M\times M\setminus\Delta_M$ and Section 3 contains an elementary theory of stable PL maps.Comment: 37 pages. v4: Added a discussion of stable PL maps (in Section 3) and the general case of the extended 2-multi-0-jet transversality theorem (in the end of the Appendix

Hodge cohomology of gravitational instantons

We study the space of L^2 harmonic forms on complete manifolds with metrics of fibred boundary or fibred cusp type. These metrics generalize the geometric structures at infinity of several different well-known classes of metrics, including asymptotically locally Euclidean manifolds, the (known types of) gravitational instantons, and also Poincar\'e metrics on Q-rank 1 ends of locally symmetric spaces and on the complements of smooth divisors in K\"ahler manifolds. The answer in all cases is given in terms of intersection cohomology of a stratified compactification of the manifold. The L^2 signature formula implied by our result is closely related to the one proved by Dai [dai] and more generally by Vaillant [Va], and identifies Dai's tau invariant directly in terms of intersection cohomology of differing perversities. This work is also closely related to a recent paper of Carron [Car] and the forthcoming paper of Cheeger and Dai [CD]. We apply our results to a number of examples, gravitational instantons among them, arising in predictions about L^2 harmonic forms in duality theories in string theory.Comment: 45 pages; corrected final version. To appear in Duke Math. Journa

Excitation of a Kaluza-Klein mode by parametric resonance

In this paper we investigate a parametric resonance phenomenon of a Kaluza-Klein mode in a $D$-dimensional generalized Kaluza-Klein theory. As the origin of the parametric resonance we consider a small oscillation of a scale of the compactification around a today's value of it. To make our arguments definite and for simplicity we consider two classes of models of the compactification: those by $S_{d}$ ($d=D-4$) and those by $S_{d_{1}}\times S_{d_{2}}$ ($d_1\ge d_2$, $d_{1}+d_{2}=D-4$). For these models we show that parametric resonance can occur for the Kaluza-Klein mode. After that, we give formulas of a creation rate and a number of created quanta of the Kaluza-Klein mode due to the parametric resonance, taking into account the first and the second resonance band. By using the formulas we calculate those quantities for each model of the compactification. Finally we give conditions for the parametric resonance to be efficient and discuss cosmological implications.Comment: 36 pages, Latex file, Accepted for publication in Physical Review