A proof of the Willmore conjecture is presented. With the help of the global Weierstrass representation the variational problem of the Willmore functional is transformed into a constrained variational problem on the moduli space of all spectral curves corresponding to periodic solutions of the Davey-Stewartson equation. The subsets of this moduli space, which correspond to bounded first integrals, are shown to be compact. With respect to another topology the moduli space is shown to be a Banach manifold. The subset of all periodic solutions of the Davey-Stewartson equation, which correspond to immersion of tori into the three-dimensional Euclidean space, are characterized by a singularity condition on the corresponding spectral curves. This yields a proof of the existence of minimizers for all conformal classes and the determination of the absolute minimum, which is realized by the Clifford torus.
We show that the well-known family of $2$-lobed Delaunay tori $\;f^b\;$ in $\;S^3,\;$ parametrized by $\;b \in \mathbb R_{\geq1},\;$ uniquely minimizes the Willmore energy among all immersions from tori into $3$-space of conformal class $\;(a, b)\;$. As a corollary we obtain an alternate proof of the Willmore conjecture in $3$-space. This new strategy can be generalized to arbitrary codimensions provided a classification of isothermic constrained Willmore tori is possible and all $\;f^b\;$ remain stable in all codimensions.
We provide a computer-assisted proof of the holomorphy of the quartic and the octic meromorphic differentials arising in the main Theorem 4.11 of our paper 'The Classification of Branched Willmore spheres in the $3$-Sphere and the $4$-Sphere' (arXiv:1706.01405), using the free mathematical software Sage.
We introduce a general scheme that permits to generate successive min-max problems for producing critical points of higher and higher indices to Palais-Smale Functionals in normal Banach manifolds equipped with complete Finsler structures. We call the resulting tree of minmax problems a minmax hierarchy. We give several examples and in particular we explain how to implement this scheme in the framework of the viscosity method introduced by the author some years ago in order to give a new proof of the Willmore conjecture after the famous result by Marques and Neves.
We study the geometric significance of Leinster's notion of magnitude for a compact metric space. For a smooth, compact domain in an odd-dimensional Euclidean space, we show that the asymptotic expansion of the magnitude function at infinity determines the Willmore energy of the boundary. This disproves the Leinster-Willerton conjecture for a compact convex body in all odd dimensions.
Uniqueness of equipotential photon surfaces in 4-dimensional static vacuum asymptotically flat spacetimes for positive, negative, and zero mass -- and a new partial proof of the Willmore inequality
The Marques-Neves theorem asserts that among all the torodial (i.e. genus 1) closed surfaces, the Clifford torus has the minimal Willmore energy $\int H^2 \, dA$. % It is a natural conjecture that if one prescribes the isoperimetric Since the Willmore energy is invariant M{ö}bius transformations, it can be shown that there is a one-parameter family, up to homotheties, of genus 1 Willmore minimizers. It is then a natural conjecture that such a minimizer is unique if one prescribes its isoperimetric ratio. In this article, we show that this conjecture can be reduced to the positivity question of…
The Willmore Problem seeks the surface in $\mathbb S^3\subset\mathbb R^4$ of a given topological type minimizing the squared-mean-curvature energy $W = \int |\mathbf{H}_{\mathbb{R}^4}|^2 = \operatorname{area} + \int H_{\mathbb{S}^3}^2$. The longstanding Willmore Conjecture that the Clifford torus minimizes $W$ among genus-$1$ surfaces is now a theorem of Marques and Neves [19], but the general conjecture [10] that Lawson's [16] minimal surface $ξ_{g,1}\subset\mathbb S^3$ minimizes $W$ among surfaces of genus $g>1$ remains open. Here we prove this conjecture under the additional assumption that…
A family of embedded rotationally symmetric tori in the Euclidean 3-space consisting of two opposite signed constant mean curvature surfaces that converge as varifolds to a double round sphere is constructed. Using complete elliptic integrals, it is shown that their Willmore energy lies strictly below $8π$. Combining such a strict inequality with previous works by Keller-Mondino-Rivière and Mondino-Scharrer allows to conclude that for every isoperimetric ratio there exists a smoothly embedded torus minimising the Willmore functional under isoperimetric constraint, thus completing the solution …
