Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge / 2013 / iii / Paper 16 (Spectral Geometry)

Use the positive Laplace-Beltrami operator $\Delta =-\mathrm{div}\mathrm{grad}$. A Riemannian submersion is a surjective smooth submersion $\pi :(M,g)\to (N,h)$ for which, at every $p$, the restriction of $d{\pi }_p$ to $H_p=(\ker d{\pi }_p{)}^{\perp }$ is a linear isometry onto $T_{\pi (p)}N$. The spaces $V_p=\ker d{\pi }_p$ and $H_p$ are its vertical and horizontal spaces. Its fibres are totally geodesic submanifolds precisely when ${\nabla }_{U}V$ is vertical for vertical vector fields $U,V$: their second fundamental form vanishes. Equivalently, a geodesic initially tangent to a fibre remains in that fibre while defined.

For a smooth $f:N\to \mathbb{R}$, its basic function $F=f\circ \pi$ is constant along each fibre. The Riemannian gradient of $F$ is the horizontal lift of a vector field through a submersion of ${\mathrm{grad}}_{N}f$, sincefor horizontal $X$, and $dF(U)=0$ for vertical $U$. In particular no derivative of $f$ in a vertical direction occurs.

Here is the needed connection fact, which also follows directly from the Koszul formula: for horizontal lifts $X,Y$ of vector fields $\bar{X},\bar{Y}$ on $N$, the horizontal component of ${\nabla }_{X}Y$ projects to ${\nabla }_{\bar{X}}^N\bar{Y}$. To see this, pair the Koszul formula with a third horizontal lift $Z$. The horizontal inner products are pulled back from $N$, and the horizontal components of their Lie brackets of vector fields project to the brackets on $N$. Thus all six terms are the pullbacks of the corresponding terms on $N$.

Choose an adapted Riemannian orthonormal frame $X_1,\dots ,X_n,U_1,\dots ,U_r$, with the $X_a$ horizontal lifts. Using $\mathrm{Hess}F(A,A)=A(AF)-({\nabla }_{A}A)F$, the connection fact givesFor a vertical $U_b$, both $U_{b}F=0$ and $({\nabla }_{U_b}{U}_b)F=0$, the latter because the fibres are totally geodesic submanifolds. Taking the negative metric trace of the Riemannian Hessian therefore proves the basic-function Laplacian identityThis identity is local and does not require compactness. Vanishing mean curvature of the fibres would already suffice; total geodesicity makes each vertical summand vanish separately.

For the discrete eigenspace assertion, assume the two Riemannian manifolds are closed manifolds. Without a discrete spectral realization, an unrestricted noncompact version need not have an eigenbasis. The projections of the Riemannian product $M\times N$ are Riemannian submersions with totally geodesic submanifolds as fibres. Its Levi-Civita connection splits into the two factor connections. Consequently its positive Laplace-Beltrami operator isThe cross term in the product rule for the positive Laplace-Beltrami operator is zero because the two factor Riemannian gradients are orthogonal.

We use the standard compact elliptic compact elliptic spectral theorem: the positive Laplace-Beltrami operator on a closed manifold is self-adjoint, has compact resolvent, and has a complete orthonormal eigenbasis of smooth eigenfunctions, with finite-dimensional eigenspaces and eigenvalues tending to infinity. Let ${\Delta }_M{u}_i={\mu }_i{u}_i$ and ${\Delta }_N{v}_j={\nu }_j{v}_j$. Fubini's theorem and completeness on each factor show that $u_i(x)v_j(y)$ form a complete orthonormal basis of $L^2(M\times N)$. For example, a function orthogonal to all these products has, for each $i$, zero $u_i$-coefficient as an $L^2(N)$ function, hence is zero.

The displayed operator identity makes $u_i{v}_j$ an eigenfunction with eigenvalue ${\mu }_i+{\nu }_j$. Conversely, if $\Delta w=\lambda w$, self-adjointness of the positive Laplace-Beltrami operator givesAll other coefficients vanish. Only finitely many pairs can have ${\mu }_i+{\nu }_j=\lambda$, since both spectra are nonnegative and have finitely many eigenvalues below any fixed bound. Thus the product Laplacian eigenspace decomposition isThe tensor product summands are mutually orthogonal; their elements are actual smooth eigenfunctions, so this is an equality of eigenspaces, not just a formal expansion.

Construct the Euclidean lattices in an orthogonal coordinate system whose squared axis lengths areThus an integer coordinate vector $z$ has squared norm ${\sum }_i{a}_i{z}_i^2$. These four numbers are linearly independent over $\mathbb{Q}$: the four sign changes of $\sqrt{2},\sqrt{3}$ in their field extension isolate the four coefficients of a rational relation. The independence will distinguish the two flat tori; equality of their length spectra will hold for every positive choice of axis weights.

LetHere and below these integer coordinates are interpreted in the weighted orthogonal axes. Direct multiplication gives $S^T=-S$, $S^2=-3I$, andIn particular both $L_{\pm }$ are full-rank Euclidean lattices. Denote their four generator columns by $v_i^{\pm }$. Modulo $3$ the two matrices have the same columns, and the nonzero words of the given ternary tetracode $T$ are exactlyThese are the reductions of $\pm v_i^{\pm }$, respectively. The first and fourth displayed words are the specified generators, and the middle two arise from their sum and difference, up to sign. Thus reduction modulo $3$ maps either Euclidean lattice onto precisely $T$.

To construct a length-preserving correspondence, find the kernels $M_{\pm }=L_{\pm }\cap 3{\mathbb{Z}}^4$ of this reduction. The inverse matrix is $A_{\pm }^{-1}=A_{\pm }^T/12$. Hence $3w\in L_{\pm }$ exactly when $A_{\pm }^{T}w\equiv 0(\mathrm{mod}4)$. These congruences are equivalent toFor clarity, the first $+$ congruence is $-(w_1+w_2+w_3+w_4)=0(\mathrm{mod}4)$; subtracting the others gives evenness of each required pair sum. For the $-$ matrix the first congruence is $2w_1-(w_1+w_2+w_3+w_4)=0(\mathrm{mod}4)$; the remaining congruences again give equality of the four parities. Substitution proves the converse in each case.

Let $R_i$ be the orthogonal reflection changing only coordinate $i$. If the coordinates of $w$ are even, this changes their sum by a multiple of $4$; if all are odd, it changes the sum by $2$ modulo $4$. ThereforeEach Euclidean lattice is the disjoint union of its kernel and the eight cosets $\pm v_i^{\pm }+M_{\pm }$, since $T$ has nine words. Define a map $\Phi :L_{+}\to L_{-}$ by using $R_1$ on $M_{+}$ and $R_i$ on each of $v_i^{+}+M_{+}$ and $-v_i^{+}+M_{+}$. Each piece maps bijectively onto the corresponding $-$ coset. Thus $\Phi$ is a bijection satisfyingIt also commutes with $z\mapsto -z$. The closed geodesics of a flat torus have lengths $\Vert z\Vert$ for nonzero translation vectors $z$ in its Euclidean lattice. Consequently the two length spectra agree, including the multiplicities of translation classes and with either consistent orientation convention. If only primitive closed geodesics are counted, the same conclusion follows by removing iterates in increasing order of length: the total multiplicity at $\ell$ is the sum of primitive multiplicities at $\ell /k$, and there are only finitely many such contributions below any fixed length. The correspondence need not itself preserve primitiveness to give this conclusion.

It remains to prove the two flat tori are not isometric. An isometry of flat tori lifts to an affine Euclidean isometry; its linear part of an affine map must carry $L_{+}$ onto $L_{-}$. In integer coordinates write this part as $B$. For every $z\in L_{+}$, both $z$ and $Bz$ have integer coordinates and have equal squared norms. Rational independence of the $a_i$ impliesApply this to $z=A_{+}n$ for all $n\in {\mathbb{Z}}^4$. Two squared linear forms agreeing on all integer points agree as polynomials; their difference factors, so one form is the other or its negative. Since $A_{+}$ is invertible, $B$ is consequently a diagonal sign change $D=\mathrm{diag}({\epsilon }_1,\dots ,{\epsilon }_4)$.

Modulo $3$, such a $D$ must preserve $T$. Each nonzero word of $T$ has exactly three nonzero coordinates, and for each choice of zero coordinate there are just two such words, differing by an overall sign. Preserving these words forces the three signs on each support to agree. The four overlapping supports then force ${\epsilon }_1={\epsilon }_2={\epsilon }_3={\epsilon }_4$. Thus only $D=I$ and $D=-I$ are possible. Neither changes $L_{+}$.

Finally $v_1^{+}\notin L_{-}$: it has the same ternary word as $v_1^{-}$, but their difference is $6e_1=3(2,0,0,0)$, which fails the congruence defining $M_{-}$. Hence $L_{+}\ne L_{-}$ and no such linear isometry exists. This completes the tetracode length-isospectral lattice construction.

Let $M$ be a closed manifold with a Riemannian metric and use $\Delta =-\mathrm{div}\mathrm{grad}$, the positive Laplace-Beltrami operator. This is the setting in which the final discrete eigenfunction expansion applies without additional boundary or noncompact spectral hypotheses. A Riemannian heat kernel is a smooth $H(t,x,y)$ for $t>0$ such thatfor every smooth initial function $f$. Here $\nu$ solves the heat equation. The limit is the statement that the initial kernel is the Dirac delta distribution on the diagonal. In the closed setting this uniquely determines the heat kernel; it is symmetric, preserves constants, is nonnegative, and satisfies the semigroup property.

A heat parametrix $P(t,x,y)$ is an approximate version with the same delta initial limit and with errorregular enough at $t=0$ to correct by a convergent integral series. One may construct it by the local Gaussian ansatzwhere $\chi =1$ near the diagonal and is supported in a convex normal neighborhood, and the smooth coefficients solve the usual radial transport equations. The leading coefficient accounts for the Riemannian volume form. Taking $q$ sufficiently large makes the residual extend continuously, with any prescribed finite number of derivatives, to $t=0$. Alternatively a smooth asymptotic summation of all transport coefficients gives a residual vanishing to every order. These local construction, extension and differentiability facts are used here as subsidiary results, as permitted.

For the correction proof take a heat parametrix whose residual is smooth up to $t=0$ on a short interval $[0,T]$. We also use its uniform integral bound ${\sup }_{0<t\le T,x}{\int }_M|P(t,x,y)|d{V}_y<\infty$, its approximate-identity limit, and the following standard differentiability property: convolution with a smooth time-dependent kernel gives a smooth kernel for $t>0$, and differentiating it yields the identity below. These properties follow from the Gaussian estimates and the delta initial limit; no conclusion about the final exact heat kernel is assumed.

Define the Volterra convolution of kernels byIt is associative wherever these integrals converge. The delta term at the upper endpoint givesSeek $H=P+P\ast Q$. Then its error vanishes exactly when $Q+R+R\ast Q=0$. The solution is the Volterra parametrix correctionThe signs matter: the first correction is $-P\ast R$.

To prove convergence, let $|R|\le C$ and $V=\mathrm{vol}(M)$. The time variables in $R^{\ast k}$ range over a simplex of volume $t^{k-1}/(k-1)!$, soThe series for $Q$ therefore converges uniformly on $[0,T]\times M\times M$. Derivatives obey analogous bounds, with polynomial factors in $k$, by the quoted residual extension and differentiation properties. Thus the series can be convolved and differentiated as above. Associativity and absolute convergence give $Q+R+R\ast Q=0$, proving $({\partial }_t+{\Delta }_x)H=0$. The correction $P\ast Q$ has integral norm $O(t)$ by the integral bound on $P$ and boundedness of $Q$. It has zero initial limit, so $H$ has precisely the required delta initial data.

For uniqueness, a smooth solution $w$ with zero initial data satisfies the heat equation energy identityIts initial norm is zero, hence $w=0$. Applying uniqueness to consecutive evolutions proves the semigroup property. Choose $s_0<T$ and, for arbitrary $t>0$, compose enough kernels $H(t/r)$ that $t/r<s_0$. The resulting kernel is independent of the subdivision by uniqueness, is smooth for positive time by the quoted differentiability property, and extends the construction to every $t>0$. This proves a parametrix determines the global heat kernel in the closed setting. The heat equation maximum principle gives nonnegativity and applying uniqueness to the constant initial function gives conservation of total mass. Self-adjointness of the positive Laplace-Beltrami operator $\Delta$ gives symmetry.

Finally let $\{{\varphi }_j\}$ be a complete complex orthonormal eigenbasis of $\Delta$, with eigenvalues ${\lambda }_j\ge 0$, repeated by multiplicity. As subsidiary analytic facts we use the compact elliptic compact elliptic spectral theorem, elliptic regularity bounds making each fixed derivative of ${\varphi }_j$ grow at most polynomially in $1+{\lambda }_j$, and a polynomial eigenvalue-counting bound. The spectral expansion of the Riemannian heat kernel converges because exponential decay makes the following series converge with every derivative when $t\ge \epsilon >0$:Indeed, evolving initial data ${\varphi }_j$ gives $e^{-t{\lambda }_j}{\varphi }_j$ by direct substitution into the heat equation and uniqueness. For general $f\in L^2(M)$, completeness and the heat equation energy identity giveThe smoothly convergent kernel series represents this same operator, and equality for all smooth $f$ identifies it pointwise with the constructed heat kernel. The complex conjugate is required by the inner product; for a real eigenbasis it may be omitted. A noncompact Riemannian manifold may instead require a spectral integral, and the unqualified discrete formula should not be asserted there.

In this context a nowhere locally homogeneous metric, also called a bumpy metric, is a smooth Riemannian metric for which no two distinct nonempty open subsets are isometric with their induced metrics. Equivalently every local isometry between open subsets is the identity wherever defined: a nonidentity local isometry sends some point $x$ to a distinct point, and restriction to sufficiently small disjoint neighborhoods would violate the first formulation. This is the local-isometry meaning of the terminology here; degeneracy of periodic geodesics is a different use of the word bumpy.

Sunada's local isometry lemma states that on a compact smooth manifold without boundary of dimension $m\ge 2$ the nowhere locally homogeneous metrics contain a residual set in the space of smooth Riemannian metrics with its $C^{\infty }$ topology. In particular they are dense, by the Baire category theorem. A residual set is a countable intersection of open dense sets. The dimension assumption matters: every one-dimensional Riemannian metric is locally $d{s}^2$ in arclength coordinates and has local translations.

The jet bundle of maps $J^k(M,N)$ consists of equivalence classes $j_x^{k}f$ of smooth maps near $x$, where two maps agree to order $k$ at $x$ in coordinate charts. Its projection to $M\times N$ sends $j_x^{k}f$ to $(x,f(x))$. For a multi-index $\alpha$ in $m$ variables there are $\left(\genfrac{}{}{0ex}{}{m+r-1}{r}\right)$ derivatives of order $r$. Thus a coordinate chart consists of the source point, the target point, and $n$ coefficients for every derivative order $1$ through $k$. Summing the counts givesThis includes $J^0(M,N)=M\times N$. The fibre over $(x,y)$ is the space of truncated Taylor maps with fixed constant term $y$, locally modeled onFor $k=1$ its identification with $\mathrm{Hom}(T_{x}M,T_{y}N)$ is canonical. For higher $k$, changes of target coordinates mix derivatives of different orders, so this is a coordinate or connection-dependent description, not a canonical vector-bundle identification. The truncation $J^k\to J^{k-1}$ is an affine bundle modeled on the pullback of ${\mathrm{Sym}}^k(T^{\ast }M)\otimes TN$ over $M\times N$.

For the density assertion put $A={\overline{U}}_i$ and $B={\overline{U}}_j$. Their closures must be distinct. If $A=B$, the identity is an isometry for every Riemannian metric, and the requested complement is empty. Under the intended distinct-domain assumption, the smooth closed-ball hypothesis makes $A$ and $B$ regular closed domains, equal to the closures of their interiors. After interchanging them if necessary, there is a nonempty open set $W$ with compact closure in $\mathrm{int}(A)\setminus B$. Otherwise each interior would be contained in the other closure, forcing $A=B$.

Take any smooth Riemannian metric $g$. If ${\mathrm{vol}}_g(A)\ne {\mathrm{vol}}_g(B)$, it already lies outside ${\mathcal{S}}_{ij}$, because an isometry preserves the Riemannian volume form. If the volumes agree, choose a nonzero nonnegative smooth bump function $\eta$ supported in $W$ and setThese are positive definite Riemannian metrics, they agree with $g$ on $B$, and $g_t\to g$ in $C^{\infty }$ as $t\downarrow 0$, since every derivative of $g_t-g$ is $t$ times a fixed compactly supported smooth tensor. Their Riemannian volume forms satisfyHence ${\mathrm{vol}}_{g_t}(B)={\mathrm{vol}}_g(B)$ whereas ${\mathrm{vol}}_{g_t}(A)>{\mathrm{vol}}_g(A)$ for every $t>0$. In particularThe two domains cannot be isometric for $g_t$. Every $C^{\infty }$ neighborhood of $g$ therefore meets the complement of ${\mathcal{S}}_{ij}$, provingThis localized volume perturbation proves the requested density even when the two domains overlap, and works in every positive dimension. It does not by itself prove the stronger residual local-isometry statement: fixed isometric closures and arbitrary isometric open subsets are different conditions.

Use the unique curvature $-1$ hyperbolic metric on a closed Riemann surface of genus $g\ge 2$, supplied by the uniformization theorem. This is the implicit setting for the partition and spectral theorems; a genus-zero or genus-one surface does not have this hyperbolic metric.

A partition is a pants decomposition by disjoint essential simple closed geodesics, whose complement is a union of pairs of pants. A pair of pants is a sphere with three disks removed, furnished here with geodesic boundary. Its Euler characteristic is $-1$, so there must be $2g-2$ pants. Every pant has three boundaries and every cutting curve occurs twice, giving $3g-3$ cutting curves. The Bers pants decomposition theorem asserts that a constant $B_g$ depending only on $g$ bounds the lengths of all cuffs in some such pants decomposition of every closed genus-$g$ hyperbolic surface.

To see what geometry the cuffs determine, cut each pair of pants along its three perpendicular seams into two congruent right-angled hyperbolic hexagons. The three alternate sides are ${\ell }_1/2,{\ell }_2/2,{\ell }_3/2$, where the ${\ell }_i>0$ are its boundary lengths. The right-angled hyperbolic hexagon identity determines the seam $s_i$ opposite the half-cuff ${\ell }_i/2$ byWe use the standard existence and uniqueness theorem for a right-angled hyperbolic hexagon with prescribed positive alternating side lengths. Thus the three boundary lengths determine the pair of pants up to isometry.

Fix a topological pants decomposition, label its cuffs, and choose reference seam endpoints and orientations. Gluing two boundaries of the same length requires a translation along that boundary; its signed distance is a twist ${\tau }_i$. The gluing graph, the $3g-3$ positive cuff lengths, and the $3g-3$ twists therefore determine the unmarked hyperbolic surface up to isometry. A full boundary translation has period ${\ell }_i$, so for an unmarked gluing one may take $0\le {\tau }_i<{\ell }_i$, with endpoints identified. For a marked surface the whole real twist records the number of Dehn twists, and the Fenchel–Nielsen coordinates areThe topological gluing data are necessary when the decomposition is not fixed. Different markings or decomposition graphs can describe the same unmarked surface.

Teichmüller space ${\mathcal{T}}_g$ consists of pairs $(X,f)$, where $X$ is a closed genus-$g$ Riemann surface and $f:{\Sigma }_g\to X$ is an orientation-preserving marking, modulo the equivalence $(X,f)\sim (Y,h)$ when a conformal orientation-preserving map $a:X\to Y$ has $a\circ f$ homotopic to $h$. The Fenchel–Nielsen coordinates identify it with ${\mathbb{R}}_{>0}^{3g-3}\times {\mathbb{R}}^{3g-3}$, of real dimension $6g-6$. The moduli space of Riemann surfaces forgets the marking by quotienting by the mapping class group.

The Wolpert generic spectral rigidity theorem says that the locus of closed genus-$g$ hyperbolic surfaces possessing an isospectral but nonisometric partner lies in a locally real-analytic exceptional locus of lower dimension in Teichmüller space. Thus a generic surface is determined, up to isometry, by its unmarked length spectrum, equivalently by its Laplacian spectrum. Here an isometry may reverse orientation; the length spectrum cannot distinguish the two orientations of the same metric. The equivalence of the two spectra is the compact hyperbolic Selberg trace formula.

The simplifying result is the Buser finite length spectrum theorem: for every $g\ge 2$ and $\epsilon >0$ there is $L=L(g,\epsilon )$ such that two closed genus-$g$ hyperbolic surfaces with hyperbolic systoles at least $\epsilon$ have the same entire unmarked length spectrum if their length multisets up to $L$ agree. Multiplicities are included. We will count primitive unoriented closed geodesics; counting all iterates is equivalent by successively removing shorter iterates. The theorem is uniform on the thick part of moduli space, not merely a cutoff chosen separately for a particular pair.

Here is a proof using compactness and polynomial trace equations. We state the subsidiary facts and explain their role. First, Mumford's compactness theorem makes the genus-$g$ thick moduli space compact. It can also be seen from the Bers pants decomposition theorem: cuffs in a Bers decomposition lie in $[\epsilon ,B_g]$, there are finitely many pants decomposition graphs, and unmarked twists may be reduced modulo their cuff lengths. These data lie in finitely many compact boxes of Fenchel–Nielsen coordinates and cover the thick moduli space.

Second, these finite compact boxes give a compact family $K$ of marked hyperbolic structures on a fixed smooth surface ${\Sigma }_g$ representing every member of the thick moduli space. We use the standard smooth dependence of the glued metrics and their hyperbolic holonomy representations on Fenchel–Nielsen coordinates. Choose smooth representatives over finitely many parameter neighborhoods and conjugate the hyperbolic holonomy representation using a fixed lifted Riemannian orthonormal frame. Passing to finite compact subboxes gives a compact set of representations, together with a compact family of representative smooth metrics. Changing the markings between boxes causes no problem: all are markings from the same fixed ${\Sigma }_g$, and the union is finite.

Third, uniformization theorem identifies each marked hyperbolic surface with ${\mathbb{H}}^2/\rho ({\pi }_1{\Sigma }_g)$ for a faithful discrete hyperbolic holonomy representation into ${\mathrm{PSL}}_2(\mathbb{R})$. We use the standard lifting fact that a closed orientable hyperbolic holonomy representation admits a lift to ${\mathrm{SL}}_2(\mathbb{R})$, and lifts may be chosen continuously on small parameter neighborhoods. Choose lifts on finitely many such neighborhoods, allowing the finitely many possible sign choices. A representation is described by the matrices of $2g$ standard fundamental group generators. The polynomial encoding of hyperbolic geodesic lengths uses, for each fixed group word $w$, its squared matrix traceis a polynomial in their entries: products are polynomial, and the inverse of a determinant-one matrix is its polynomial adjugate. For a nontrivial hyperbolic word, the hyperbolic translation length obeysThus equality of the positive lengths is exactly equality of these trace polynomials, independent of lift signs.

Fourth, the length spectrum of a closed hyperbolic surface is locally finite with finite multiplicities. We need the uniform finiteness of short geodesic classes across the compact marked family. More uniformly, for each finite $b$, only finitely many unoriented primitive conjugacy classes can have length at most $b$ in any metric of $K$. To justify uniformity, compactness of the smooth metrics gives a common bilipschitz equivalence comparison with one fixed metric $h_0$ on ${\Sigma }_g$. If ${\ell }_h(\alpha )\le b$, the minimizing geodesic has $h_0$ length at most $Cb$, so ${\ell }_{h_0}(\alpha )\le Cb$. Local finiteness for $h_0$ then gives a finite list. Local finiteness itself follows from proper discontinuity of the cocompact group of the hyperbolic holonomy representation: conjugate a geodesic axis to meet a fixed compact fundamental set, and a bounded-length axis gives a group element moving that compact set a bounded distance, of which there are only finitely many.

Finally, the Hilbert basis theorem says that a polynomial ring in finitely many real variables is Noetherian. Consequently a decreasing sequence of sets cut out by polynomial equations eventually stabilizes. Indeed, their vanishing ideals form an increasing chain and stabilize. Finite unions of such sets are still algebraic: one can take all products of one defining polynomial from each component. This finiteness fact is the engine that turns arbitrarily many spectral comparisons into finitely many.

Enumerate the primitive unoriented conjugacy classes as ${\alpha }_1,{\alpha }_2,\dots$. For each $n$ letand let $F_n$ be the finite set of primitive classes that can have length at most $b_n$ anywhere in $K$. Define $Z_n$ in the finite-dimensional space of pairs of generator matrices as follows: it consists of pairs $(\rho ,\sigma )$ for which there exists an injectionand also an injection satisfying the analogous equations with $\rho$ and $\sigma$ interchanged. There are only finitely many injections. Each choice imposes finitely many polynomial equations; taking their finite unions and then intersecting the two directions proves that $Z_n$ is a real affine algebraic set. On determinant-one representations these equations are exactly the desired matching of lengths. Defining the polynomials on the ambient matrix-entry space is harmless; the argument will only apply them to representations in $K$.

Put $W_n=Z_1\cap \cdots \cap Z_n$. The sets $W_n$ form a decreasing chain of affine algebraic sets, hence for some $N$,For representations in $K$, membership in this intersection is equivalent to equality of the full length spectra. One direction follows by matching equal lengths, including their multiplicities. For the other, fix a length $\ell$. All primitive classes of length $\ell$ on the first surface occur in some finite initial segment. Its injective matching shows that the second surface has at least that multiplicity at $\ell$; the reverse injection gives the reverse inequality. Local finiteness makes both multiplicities finite. Doing this for every $\ell$ proves multiset equality.

TakeIf two surfaces in $K$ have equal length multisets up to $L$, each initial segment through $n\le N$ can be matched injectively on the other surface. Its matching classes lie in $F_n$, since the matched lengths are at most $b_n$. The reverse matching is available as well. Thus the pair belongs to $W_N$, hence to every $W_n$, and the preceding paragraph yieldsAll choices of the compact family were made using only $g$ and $\epsilon$, so the resulting cutoff has the asserted dependence. If the thick family is empty the assertion is vacuous. This proves Buser's finite length spectrum theorem without claiming that equal full length spectra always force isometry; exceptional isospectral pairs are compatible with the theorem and are precisely why Wolpert's theorem is a generic statement.