Hamiltonian dynamics on convex symplectic manifolds

Abstract

We study the dynamics of Hamiltonian diffeomorphisms on convex symplectic manifolds. To this end we first establish the Piunikhin-Salamon-Schwarz isomorphism between the Floer homology and the Morse homology of such a manifold, and then use this isomorphism to construct a biinvariant metric on the group of compactly supported Hamiltonian diffeomorphisms analogous to the metrics constructed by Viterbo and Schwarz. These tools are then applied to prove and reprove results in Hamiltonian dynamics. Our applications comprise a uniform lower estimate for the slow entropy of a compactly supported Hamiltonian diffeomorphism, the existence of infinitely many nontrivial periodic points of a compactly supported Hamiltonian diffeomorphism of a subcritical Stein manifold, old and new cases of the Weinstein conjecture, and, most noteworthy, new existence results for closed orbits of a charge in a magnetic field on almost all small energy levels. We shall also obtain some old and new Lagrangian intersection results. Applications to Hofer's geometry on the group of compactly supported Hamiltonian diffeomorphisms will be given in a sequel.