Published online by Cambridge University Press: 07 September 2017
Let $M$ be an analytic connected 2-manifold with empty boundary, over the ground field $\mathbb{F}=\mathbb{R}$ or $\mathbb{C}$. Let $Y$ and $X$ denote differentiable vector fields on $M$. We say that $Y$ tracks $X$ if $[Y,X]=fX$ for some continuous function $f:\,M\rightarrow \mathbb{F}$. A subset $K$ of the zero set $\mathsf{Z}(X)$ is an essential block for $X$ if it is non-empty, compact and open in $\mathsf{Z}(X)$, and the Poincaré–Hopf index $\mathsf{i}_{K}(X)$ is non-zero. Let ${\mathcal{G}}$ be a finite-dimensional Lie algebra of analytic vector fields that tracks a non-trivial analytic vector field $X$. Let $K\subset \mathsf{Z}(X)$ be an essential block. Assume that if $M$ is complex and $\mathsf{i}_{K}(X)$ is a positive even integer, no quotient of ${\mathcal{G}}$ is isomorphic to $\mathfrak{s}\mathfrak{l}(2,\mathbb{C})$. Then ${\mathcal{G}}$ has a zero in $K$ (main result). As a consequence, if $X$ and $Y$ are analytic, $X$ is non-trivial, and $Y$ tracks $X$, then every essential component of $\mathsf{Z}(X)$ meets $\mathsf{Z}(Y)$. Fixed-point theorems for certain types of transformation groups are proved. Several illustrative examples are given.