Acta Mathematica Sinica, New Series

1990, Vol.6, No.l, pp. 18-- 23

,)
A Index Theory
Wang Zhiqiang ( Y_ ~ ~_~ )
Department of Mathematics, Pbking University

Received November 7, 1 9 8 7 Revised May 19, 1988

Abstract. In this paper, we introduce a Zp index theory. For any given positive integer p, we
introduce a subset Ep of positive integers and define a family of index mappings an, Vn E Ep 9 We
prove that this index theory possesses the similar properties as Z2 and S l index theories do. In par-
ticular, by means of a Zp Borsuk-Ulam theorem given in one of our recent t ~ e r s we prove that
under some suitable conditions this theory also possesses dimensional property which is important in
applications.As a simple application ,we study the bifurcation problem of periodic solutions of
nonautonomous Hamiltonian systems.

In this paper, we shall define a Zp index theory. And under some suitable
conditions itpossesses the same properties as those for Z~ and S ~ index theories.
Let X be a Banach space and T be a linear isometric action of Zp on X ,
where Zp is a cyclic group with order p. A subset A c X is called an invariant
~ubset if T ( A ) c A . A map f : X ~ X is called equivariant i f f ( T u ) = T f ( u ) for
any u ~ X. In the following all maps we consider are continuous. For simplicity
we only call them maps instead of continuous maps. Set
Y' = { A c X I A is closed andinvariant }.
For nonnegative integers m, n,( m , n ) d e n o t e s the greatest common divisor,
and m In denotes that m is a factor of n. For u ~ X, [ u ] denotes the orbit of u,
i.e. [ u] ={T' u[ l= 1 , 2 , . . - , P } . G , = {TtlT~u=u,l<~l<<.p} is the isotropy group
of u. In the following we fix an integer p > 1, and write it as
p=p~t ... Psr $ '
where p~ <pz < " " <ps are prime factors of p, rj are integers > 0, j = 1, 2 ,..., s 9
Set
Ep = { n ~ N [ n = p l l , . . ~ , tj~>0, j = l , 2 , . - - , s } .
We shall define a family of index mappings for Zp action. Given n ~ Ep, de-
fine an index mapping a, :
a,:Z -"N U {+•},

where N = the set of nonnegative integers. For A ~ Z ,

a, ( A ) = min { a ~ N [ there are a group of integers { k~ }~'=~which are
relatively prime to p and a map q~:A--,- Ca\{ 0 } satisfying
~ot (Tu )=e ikl"2~/p ~ot(u), l= 1,2,... ,a },

*) This Research was Supported in part by the National Postdoctoral Science Fund.
 A Zp Index Theory 19

where we say ~ is relatively prime to p if ( p, I kj I > = 1. If A = 95 , set o-.(,4)= 0,

and if no such map exists define a. ( A ) = + o0.
Proposition 1. Let A ~ , A 2 6 ~ , u ~ X and n ~ Ep. Then
(i) I f there is an equivariant map ~k : Al - " A2, we have

a. (At ) <~a,, (A2 );

(ii) a,(Aiu A: ) < ~ a , ( A t ) + a , ( A 2 ) ;
(iii) If K~ ~ is a compact subset, there is a 6 > 0 such that

a,(N6 ( K ) ) = a , ( K ) ,

where Nr ( K ) = { u 6 X I dist ( u , K ) <~6 };

( i v ) I f m ~ Ep and n I m, we have r
( v ) Assume that the generator o f Q is T 7 and set m = p / - [ . l f m l n , then
a.([u])=l, and a..([u] ) = + o o , i f otherwise;
( v i ) I f 1 < a. (A~ ) < + oo, At contains infinitely many orbits and the number
P
o f points on each orbit is a multiple o f ( p , n ) "

Lemma 1. Let A ~ ~, and cO: A - " r176 such that

cOt(Tu)=ei~l"2"/PcOl(u), V u ~ A and l= 1,2,--.,a. (*)

Then there exists a ~ 9 X--" @~ such that ~ satisfies (*) and "~la =cO.
Proof. Firstly, by Tietze's extension theorem there is a ~O- X ~ ~a such
that ~, IA =cO 9 Define
__1 e-i~l"iz~/P~Ol(TJu), l = 1 , 2 , ' " , a.
~'/(u)= P j=t
It is easy to check that ~" satisfies (*) and ~'1A =q~.
Proof of Proposition 1. By means of Lemma 1, the proofs of (i) (ii), ( i i i )
are similar to those of the corresponding properties for Z2 and S~ indexes (cf.[ 1],
[2] ,[5], etc. ).
( i v ) Assume o ' , ( A ~ ) = r < + ~ . Then there exist a map cO 9A~ --'- C r \ { O }
and integers {k~ }i-~ which are relatively prime to p such that

cOt(Tu)=e~kt"2~/PcOt(u), /=1,2,-.-,,.
Define
;: G'\{0},
cO"],(u)= COU"(u), /=1,2,..., r.
From

CO~( T u ) = (COt( T u ) )"/" = e ikt"2"/P "/" (cOt(u) )"/" = e ikt ,.z~/p "~1(u)
 20 Wang Zhiqiang

and definition, we have am(Al) ~ r .

( v ) Firstly, we prove am([U] ) = 1. In fact, define ~0 : [ u] ~ Cl\{0} by
~o(Tlu)=e "m2"/p, l = 1 , 2 ,... , p .
F o r a positive integer t ,
r (TtTu)=eitT~2n/p=eit2~ = 1 =q~ (u).
So ~o is well defined. F u r t h e r m o r e ,
rp ( T T l u ) = e i(t+l)m2x/p : e im2~/p (p (Ttu).

It follows that a,, ( [ u] )~< 1, and then O"m ( In] ) = |.

Whenmln, f r o m ( i v ) a,,([u])~a,,([u])=l. So it must be a n ( [ u ] )
=l.
W h e n m'~n, and if on( [ u ] ) = r < + o o , t h e r e exist a m a p rp:[u]~C'\{O}
and a group of integers { k~ }[= ~ which are relatively prime to p such that
q~l(Tu)=eil'tn2"/p qgt(u).
Then
q~t (u )=q~t (T?u )= eit'tTn 2'~/prpt (u ).

Since not all q~(u) are zero, we obtain p I-in. This implies mln, a contradiction.
( v i ) If the conclusion is not true, assume At = { [ u I }, ..., [Ur] }, r < + ~ .
We declare
an([Uj])=l, j=l, 2,---, r.
Otherwise, from ( i i ) and ( v ) we know that there is a uj such that o-, ( [ u j ] )
= + or. And from (i), an(At) = + oo, a contradiction.
N o w from ( v ) and its proof, there exist mj~ Ep such that mjln and
amj([uj])= 1, and a m a p % . : [ u j ] - - ' - C~\{O} satisfying
~oi(Ttuj)=ei"J t ~ ' / p , j = l , 2 , . . . , r , l=l,2,...,p.
Set nj =n/mj and define ~o: At--" C \ { 0 } by
q~(Truj )=[~oj (Tluj)]"J , j = 1 , 2 , -.. , r, l = 1 , 2 , --. , p .
From
~o(TTtu.i)= [ q~j(T 1+1 uj )] nj =ei~t+l~n2,,/p=ei,,2,,/pq~(Ttui ),
we have a n (At)~< 1, which contradicts a n ( A t ) > 1. Therefore, At contains infinitely
m a n y orbits.
Assume that u ~ A~ and [ u ] contains 7 points. It is easy to see that T 7 is a
generator of G~. F r o m ( v ) , p/1 is a factor of n, i . e , p l - [ n , which implies
p l l ( p , n ). The:l p/(p, n ) is a factor of 7.
Next, our attent:,on will be t u m e d to the dimensional property, which is one
 A Zp Index Theory 21

of the most important properties of an index theory in applications. The purpose

is to estimate the indexes of some invariant subsets.
Assume that Y is a 2a-dimensional Z, invariant linear subspace. We identify
Y with @a and assume that the Zp action on Y is given by
z ~ Tz = ( e i m l 2 n / P z I , " " , eirna2n/PZa ),
where mj ~ 0 are integers.
We denote the greatest common divisor and the smallest common multiple of
{Imj] }7=1 by M and m respectively. And we write them as

M=M. p~ ...p~s, m = m .p]~ ...pJ~

in which M and ~ are relatively prime to p .
Proposition 2. Let f~ = Y be a bounded open invariant neighbourhood of
the origin 0 in Y. Assume that there exists a ~ ~ N, 1 <~~ <~s, such that
r, - ( r~ /~ l~ ) > (t~ -I~ ) . a , (**)

where r~ /k l ~ = rain {r~, l~}. Then

a,(Of~ ) = a ,
in which n=p'~t ... P'S is the same as that in the decomposition of m .
, it

Proof. Set my = m'j 9 m j ' , in which mj is relatively prime to p and mj ~ E~.

Definecp" Of~ ~ r " \ { 0 } b y
tr

~pj(z)=z]/"J , j=l,2,---,a.
Then
q~j (Tz)=ei")"z"/P~oj(z), j = l , 2 , ... , a .

Hence it follows from the definition that a, (O f~ )~< a .

If o',(0 f~ ) < a , then there exist a map r 9 Of~ --,- @ ~ } ( b < a ) , and in-
tegers { kj}j~l which are relatively prime to p such t h a t

~pj(Tz)=e 'ky"z"/p r (z), j = 1 , 2 , ... , b.

In order to obtain a contradiction we apply a Zp- Borsuk- Ulam theorem given in

[7]. In this situation we have l ~ t p (in fact, all lj~< t j , j = l , 2, .--, s ) , so
(**) exactly corresponds to the assumption of Theorem 2 in [7] . Applying this
theorem, we have 0 ~ ~p(0 f~), a contradiction. Hence, a, (0 f~) = a .
Remark 1. In Proposition 2, the condition (**) is a restriction on a . But
for some concrete applications, there often exists some /~ such that t~=0 or
t~ = l~ . If t~ = 0 there is no restrictions on a ; if tp = l ~ , then (**) is reduced
to r~ > t~.
Remark 2. There have been lots of work on index theories of group actions
(see [1], [2], [3], [4], [5], [6] and their references).However, only Zz and
S~ index theories are well used in applications to nonlinear problems. The key
 22 Wang Zhiqiang

point is that people do not know whether or not the dimensional property holds
for other group actions. Here, under some conditions our Z , - index theory pos-
sesses the dimensional property (Proposition 2 ) . And then, under suitable
conditions many results obtained by Z2 or S~ index theory can be parallelly gener-
alized to the case of Zp-action.
In the following we consider an example and give a simple applicaion to the
periodic solution problem of nonautonomous Hamiltonian systems.
Let S~= {eitlt~ [0, 27r)} and X = L 2 ( S ~ R2"). Identify R z" with @" and
,

then identify L2(S ~ , R 2" ) with U ( S ~, 9 ) . u =(u~ , . . . , u 2 , ) e L2(S ~, R 2")cor"

responds to u = (u~ + iu,+l , ..., u, + iu2, )e L z ( 5 ~ , C" ).
Now, introduce a Zp action on X:

u ~-~ T u , (Tu)(t)=u(t+ 2~
).p

It is easy to see that T p = I d and T is linear isometric action. There is a

normalized orthogonal basis on X (see [5] ):

e - i,,, ~oj , { ~oj }]=~ is the normalized orthogonal

basis on C", m= 0, + 1, __+2 ,-..

Then for m : ~ 0 , X , , = { ~ cje-i"'~0jl cj ~ C } is a 2n-dimensional (real)

j=l

subspace of X and it is Zp- invariant. For u ~ X , , , T u = e-im~/P u 9 Now, for

m ~ 0 , write m = m ' . m", where m' is relatively prime to p and m " ~ E p .
Lemma 2. Let f~ c X , , be a bounded open invariant neighbourhood o f the
origin O. Suppose
(Iml, p) <p.
Then Crm ., ( O f~ ) = n .
In fact, in this situation (we use the same notations as in Proposition 2 )
lj = tj, j = 1 , 2 , ..-, s. Furthermore, ( [m I, p ) <p implies that there exists a/~,
1 ~/~ ~<s, such that
r p - (rp /~ l ~ ) > 0 .
So the result follows from Proposition 2 immediately.
Using this example, we can give a new result on the multiple bifurcations of
periodic solutions of nonautonomous Hamiltonian systems. Consider the following
problem ( P ) :
J~=2 VzH(z, t), Z6 R 2" , t ~ [ 0 , 2re), 2 ~ R ,
(P) {
z(O )= z (2rc ),
where
j=(0
--/d n 0
 A Zp Index Theory 23

is the standard symplectic matrix. We assume

(1) H s C : ( R Z " x R , R), and
V.H(O, t)=O, V=H(O, t ) = I d 2 , ,

(2) H(z,t+ 2n
t )=
~ H ( zR, t ) , . Vz~R2",
p

By (2) we know that (P) is equivariant under Z, action T, i. e. if z is a solution

of(P ), Tz is also a solution of(P ). We call the two solutions of(P )geometrically
different if they are in different obrits. Now we give the result.
Theorem Assume that H satisfies (1) , (2), and let 2 = m ~ Z \ { O } satisfy
([ m [,p)<p. Then (0,2) is a bifurcation point of(P), and for any small e>0, (P)pos-
sesses at least n geometrically different bifurcation solutions z such that II z II H~csl~.~ = e.
The proof is just to combine our index theory a,,,. with the standard arguments
about Zz or St index theory (see [ 1], [2], [5] etc. ).
Remark 3. Since for any n ~ E, we have an index mapping a, ,we may choose a
suitable n E Ep for a given concrete problem. This depends on the specific representa-
tions of the actions. We have further developed this index theory to cover
the applications to other problems (cf. [8] for details).
Added. A speical case of our index theory, which is exactly o'~ in our notations,
was independently introduced in [9].

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