T. Riviere proved an energy quantization for Yang-Mills fields defined on n-dimensional Riemannian manifolds, when $n$ is larger than the critical dimension 4. More precisely, he proved that the defect measure of a weakly converging sequence of Yang-Mills fields is quantized, provided the $W^{2,1}$ norm of their curvature is uniformly bounded. In the present paper, we prove a similar quantization phenomenon for the Yamabe problem in a bounded domain $Ω$ of $R^n$.
The Yamabe problem concerns finding a conformal metric on a given closed Riemannian manifold so that it has constant scalar curvature. This paper concerns mainly a fully nonlinear version of the Yamabe problem and the corresponding Liouville type problem.
In this paper, we use less topological restrictions and more geometric and analytic conditions to obtain some sufficient conditions on Yamabe solitons such that their metrics are Yamabe metrics, that is, metrics of constant scalar curvature. More precisely, we use properties of conformal vector fields to find several sufficient conditions on the soliton vector fields of Yamabe solitons under which their metrics are of Yamabe metrics.
In this paper we establish existence and compactness of solutions to a general fully nonlinear version of the Yamabe problem on locally conformally flat Riemannian manifolds with umbilic boundary.
Based on the relations between scattering operators of asymptotically hyperbolic metrics and Dirichlet-to-Neumann operators of uniformly degenerate elliptic boundary value problems, we formulate fractional Yamabe problems that include the boundary Yamabe problem studied by Escobar. We observe an interesting Hopf type maximum principle together with interplays between analysis of weighted trace Sobolev inequalities and conformal structure of the underlying manifolds, which extend the phenomena displayed in the classic Yamabe problem and boundary Yamabe problem.
Let (V,g) and (W,h) be compact Riemannian manifolds of dimension at least 3. We derive a lower bound for the conformal Yamabe constant of the product manifold (V x W, g+h) in terms of the conformal Yamabe constants of (V,g) and (W,h).
We define a new formal Riemannian metric on a conformal classes of four-manifolds in the context of the $σ_2$-Yamabe problem. Exploiting this new variational structure we show that solutions are unique unless the manifold is conformally equivalent to the round sphere.
Given a compact Riemannian manifold, with positive Yamabe quotient, not conformally diffeomorphic to the standard sphere, we prove a priori estimates for solutions to the Yamabe problem. We restrict ourselves to the dimensions less than or equal to 7, where the Positive Mass Theorem is known to be true. We also show that, when the dimension is greater than or equal to 6, the Weyl tensor has to vanish at a point where solutions to the Yamabe equation blow up.
We consider, in the Euclidean setting, a conformal Yamabe-type equation related to a potential generalization of the classical constant scalar curvature problem and which naturally arises in the study of Ricci solitons structures. We prove existence and nonexistence results, focusing on the radial case, under some general hypothesis on the potential.
In conformal geometry, the Compactness Conjecture asserts that the set of Yamabe metrics on a smooth, compact, aspherical Riemannian manifold (M,g) is compact. Established in the locally conformally flat case by Schoen [43,44] and for n\leq 24 by Khuri-Marques-Schoen [26], it has revealed to be generally false for n\geq 25 as shown by Brendle [8] and Brendle-Marques [9]. A stronger version of it, the compactness under perturbations of the Yamabe equation, is addressed here with respect to the linear geometric potential n-2/4(n-1) Scal_g, Scal_g being the Scalar curvature of (M,g). We show that…
Let $(X, g^+)$ be an asymptotically hyperbolic manifold and $(M, [\hat{h}])$ its conformal infinity. Our primary aim in this paper is to introduce the prescribed fractional scalar curvature problem on $M$ and provide solutions under various geometric conditions on $X$ and $M$. We also obtain the existence results for the fractional Yamabe problem in the endpoint case, e.g., $n = 3$, $γ= 1/2$ and $M$ is non-umbilic, etc. Every solution we find turns out to be smooth on $M$.
We will report some results concerning the Yamabe problem and the Nirenberg problem. Related topics will also be discussed. Such studies have led to new results on some conformally invariant fully nonlinear equations arising from geometry. We will also present these results which include some Liouville type theorems, Harnack type inequalities, existence and compactness of solutions to some nonlinear version of the Yamabe problem.
In this article, we make a generalization of classical fixed point theorems by using the concept of half-continuity and then apply it to improve the nonuniqueness result for solutions to the vacuum Einstein conformal equations shown by the author in arxiv.org/abs/1507.01081
Assume that $(X, g^+)$ is an asymptotically hyperbolic manifold, $(M, [\bar{h}])$ is its conformal infinity, $ρ$ is the geodesic boundary defining function associated to $\bar{h}$ and $\bar{g} = ρ^2 g^+$. For any $γ\in (0,1)$, we prove that the solution set of the $γ$-Yamabe problem on $M$ is compact in $C^2(M)$ provided that convergence of the scalar curvature $R[g^+]$ of $(X, g^+)$ to $-n(n+1)$ is sufficiently fast as $ρ$ tends to 0 and the second fundamental form on $M$ never vanishes. Since most of the arguments in blow-up analysis performed here is irrelevant to the geometric assumption i…
On any closed Riemannian manifold of dimension $n\geq 3$, we prove that if a function nearly minimizes the Yamabe energy, then the corresponding conformal metric is close, in a quantitative sense, to a minimizing Yamabe metric in the conformal class. Generically, this distance is controlled quadratically by the Yamabe energy deficit. Finally, we produce an example for which this quadratic estimate is false.
We introduce a fractional Yamabe flow involving nonlocal conformally invariant operators on the conformal infinity of asymptotically hyperbolic manifolds, and show that on the conformal spheres $(\Sn, [g_{\Sn}])$, it converges to the standard sphere up to a Möbius diffeomorphism. This result allows us to obtain extinction profiles of solutions of some fractional porous medium equations. In the end, we use this fractional fast diffusion equation, together with its extinction profile and some estimates of its extinction time, to improve a Sobolev inequality via a quantitative estimate of the rem…
We consider the self-dual conformal classes on n#CP^2 discovered by LeBrun. These depend upon a choice of n points in hyperbolic 3-space, called monopole points. We investigate the limiting behavior of various constant scalar curvature metrics in these conformal classes as the points approach each other, or as the points tend to the boundary of hyperbolic space. There is a close connection to the orbifold Yamabe problem, which we show is not always solvable (in contrast to the case of compact manifolds). In particular, we show that there is no constant scalar curvature orbifold metric in the c…
We review recent compactness and non-compactness results for the Yamabe equation. We also discuss the asymptotic behavior of the parabolic Yamabe flow.
We prove global existence of Yamabe flows on non-compact manifolds $M$ of dimension $m\geq3$ under the assumption that the initial metric $g_0=u_0g_M$ is conformally equivalent to a complete background metric $g_M$ of bounded, non-positive scalar curvature and positive Yamabe invariant with conformal factor $u_0$ bounded from above and below. We do not require initial curvature bounds. In particular, the scalar curvature of $(M,g_0)$ can be unbounded from above and below without growth condition.
Let (M,g) be a compact Riemannian manifold of dimension n \geq 3. The Compactness Conjecture asserts that the set of constant scalar curvature metrics in the conformal class of g is compact unless (M,g) is conformally equivalent to the round sphere. In this paper, we construct counterexamples to this conjecture in dimensions n \geq 52.
We present some results on a fully nonlinear version of the Yamabe problem and a Harnack type inequality for general conformally invariant fully nonlinear second order elliptic equations.
Let $(M,g)$ be a compact connected spin manifold of dimension $n\geq 3$ whose Yamabe invariant is positive. We assume that $(M,g)$ is locally conformally flat or that $n \in \{3,4,5\}$. According to a positive mass theorem of Witten, the constant term in the asymptotic development of the Green's function of the conformal Laplacian is positive if $(M,g)$ is not conformally equivalent to the sphere. In the present article, we will give a proof for this fact which is considerably shorter than previous proofs. Our proof is a modification of Witten's argument, but no analysis on asymtotically flat …
Let $X$ be an asymptotically hyperbolic manifold and $M$ its conformal infinity. This paper is devoted to deduce several existence results of the fractional Yamabe problem on $M$ under various geometric assumptions on $X$ and $M$: Firstly, we handle when the boundary $M$ has a point at which the mean curvature is negative. Secondly, we re-encounter the case when $M$ has zero mean curvature and is either non-umbilic or umbilic but non-locally conformally flat. As a result, we replace the geometric restrictions given by González-Qing (Analysis and PDE, 2013) and González-Wang (arXiv:1503.02862) …
The study of the $k$-th elementary symmetric function of the Weyl-Schouten curvature tensor of a Riemannian metric, the so called $σ_k$ curvature, has produced many fruitful results in conformal geometry in recent years. In these studies, the deforming conformal factor is considered to be a solution of a fully nonlinear elliptic PDE. Important advances have been made in recent years in the understanding of the analytic behavior of solutions of the PDE. However, the singular behavior of these solutions, which is important in describing many important questions in conformal geometry, is little u…
For a given finite subset $S$ of a compact Riemannian manifold $(M,g)$ whose Schouten curvature tensor belongs to a given cone, we establish a necessary and sufficient condition for the existence and uniqueness of a conformal metric on $M \setminus S$ such that each point of $S$ corresponds to an asymptotically flat end and that the Schouten tensor of the conformal metric belongs to the boundary of the given cone. As a by-product, we define a purely local notion of Ricci lower bounds for continuous metrics which are conformal to smooth metrics and prove a corresponding volume comparison theore…
Let $(X^{n+1}, g^+)$ be an $(n+1)$-dimensional asymptotically hyperbolic manifold with a conformal infinity $(M^n, [\hat{h}])$. The fractional Yamabe problem addresses to solve \[P^γ[g^+,\hat{h}] (u) = cu^{n+2γ\over n-2γ}, \quad u > 0 \quad \text{on } M\] where $c \in \mathbb{R}$ and $P^γ[g^+,\hat{h}]$ is the fractional conformal Laplacian whose principal symbol is $(-Δ)^γ$. In this paper, we construct a metric on the half space $X = \mathbb{R}^{n+1}_+$, which is conformally equivalent to the unit ball, for which the solution set of the fractional Yamabe equation is non-compact provided that $…
In this paper we study the problem of finding a conformal metric with the property that the k-th elementary symmetric polynomial of the eigenvalues of its Weyl-Schouten tensor is constant. A new conformal invariant involving maximal volumes is defined, and this invariant is then used in several cases to prove existence of a solution, and compactness of the space of solutions (provided the conformal class admits an admissible metric). In particular, the problem is completely solved in dimension four, and in dimension three if the manifold is not simply connected.
We consider asymptotically hyperbolic manifolds whose metrics have Sobolev-class regularity, and introduce several technical tools for studying PDEs on such manifolds. Our results employ two novel families of function spaces suitable for metrics potentially having a large amount of interior differentiability, but whose Sobolev regularity implies only a Hölder continuous conformal structure at infinity. We establish Fredholm theorems for elliptic operators arising from metrics in these families. To demonstrate the utility of our methods, we solve the Yamabe problem in this category. As a specia…
This paper deals with the conformal deformation of the standard metric in a domain on the sphere to a complete metric with the constant scalar curvature. The problem of description of domains allowing such deformation originates in the works of Loewner and Nirenberg, and Schoen and Yau concerned with the locally conformally flat manifolds. The goal of this work is to apply ideas from the nonlinear potential theory to the problem. They allow, in particular, to solve the problem in the case of the constant negative scalar curvature.
The conformal method has been effective for parametrizing solutions to the Einstein constraint equations on closed 3-manifolds. However, it is still not well-understood; for example, existence of solutions to the conformal equations for zero or negative Yamabe metrics is still unknown without the so-called ``CMC'' or ``near-CMC'' assumptions. The first existence results without such assumptions, termed the ``far-from-CMC'' case, were obtained by Holst, Nagy, and Tsogtgerel in 2008 for positive Yamabe metrics. However, their results are based on topological arguments, and as a result solution u…
Let $Ω$ be a domain on the unit $n$-sphere $ \mathbb S^n$ and $\mathring{g}$ the standard metric of $\mathbb S^n$, $n\ge 3$. We show that there exists a conformal metric $g$ with vanishing scalar curvature $R(g)=0$ such that $(Ω, g)$ is complete if and only if the Bessel capacity $\mathcal C_{α, q}(\mathbb S^n\setminus Ω)=0$, where $α=1+\frac2n$ and $q=\frac n2$. Our analysis utilizes some well known properties of capacity and Wolff potentials, as well as a version of the Hopf-Rinow theorem for the divergent curves.
The fractional Yamabe problem, proposed by González-Qing (2013, Anal. PDE) is a geometric question which concerns the existence of metrics with constant fractional scalar curvature. It extends the phenomena which were discovered in the classical Yamabe problem and the boundary Yamabe problem to the realm of nonlocal conformally invariant operators. We investigate a non-compactness property of the fractional Yamabe problem by constructing bubbling solutions to its small perturbations.
A partial solution of the quaternionic contact Yamabe problem on the quaternionic sphere is given. It is shown that the torsion of the Biquard connection vanishes exactly when the trace-free part of the horizontal Ricci tensor of the Biquard connection is zero and this occurs precisely on 3-Sasakian manifolods. All conformal deformations sending the standard flat torsion-free quaternionic contact structure on the quaternionic Heisenberg group to a quaternionic contact structure with vanishing torsion of the Biquard connection are explicitly described. A '3-Hamiltonian form' of infinitesimal co…
Motivated by recent progress on a spinorial analogue of the Yamabe problem in the geometric literature, we study a conformally invariant spinor field equation on the $m$-sphere, $m\geq2$. Via variational methods, we study analytic aspects of the associated energy functional, culminating in a blow-up analysis.
We study the asymptotic behavior of local solutions to the Yamabe equation near an isolated singularity, when the metric is not conformally flat. We prove that, in dimension $6$, any solution is asymptotically close to a Fowler solution, which is an extension of the same result for lower dimensions by F.C. Marques in 2008.
In this note we prove an existence result for the Einstein conformal constraint equations for metrics with vanishing Yamabe invariant assuming that the TT-tensor is small in $L^2$.
The Gursky-Streets equation are introduced as the geodesic equation of a metric structure in conformal geometry. This geometric structure has played a substantial role in the proof of uniqueness of $σ_2$ Yamabe problem in dimension four. In this paper we solve the Gursky-Streets equations with uniform $C^{1, 1}$ estimates for $2k\leq n$. An important new ingredient is to show the concavity of the operator which holds for all $k\leq n$. Our proof of the concavity heavily relies on Garding's theory of hyperbolic polynomials and results from the theory of real roots for (interlacing) polynomials.…
We prove compactness of solutions of a fully nonlinear Yamabe problem satisfying a lower Ricci curvature bound, when the manifold is not conformally diffeomorphic to the standard sphere. This allows us to prove the existence of solutions when the associated cone $Γ$ satisfies $μ^+_Γ\le 1$, which includes the $σ_k-$Yamabe problem for $k$ not smaller than half of the dimension of the manifold.
We consider two cases of the asymptotically flat scalar-flat Yamabe problem on a non-compact manifold with boundary, in dimension $n\geq3$. First, following arguments of Cantor and Brill in the compact case, we show that given an asymptotically flat metric $g$, there is a conformally equivalent asymptotically flat scalar-flat metric that agrees with $g$ on the boundary. We then replace the metric boundary condition with a condition on the mean curvature: Given a function $f$ on the boundary that is not too large, we show that there is an asymptotically flat scalar-flat metric, conformally equi…
Let $(M^n,g)$ be a closed Riemannian manifold of dimension $n\ge 3$. Assume $[g]$ is a conformal class for which the Conformal Laplacian $L_g$ has at least two negative eigenvalues. We show the existence of a (generalized) metric that maximizes the second eigenvalue of $L_g$ over all conformal metrics (the first eigenvalue is maximized by the Yamabe metric). We also show that a maximal metric defines either a nodal solution of the Yamabe equation, or a harmonic map to a sphere. Moreover, we construct examples of each possibility.
This paper is devoted to the study of the constraint equations of the Lovelock gravity theories. In the case of an empty, compact, conformally flat, time-symmetric, and space-like manifold, we show that the Hamiltonian constraint equation becomes a generalisation of the $σ_k$-Yamabe problem. That is to say, the prescription of a linear combination of the $σ_k$-curvatures of the manifold. We search solutions in a conformal class for a compact manifold. Using the existing results on the $σ_k$-Yamabe problem, we describe some cases in which they can be extended to this new problem. This requires …
We study a particular class of open manifolds. In the category of Riemannian manifolds these are complete manifolds with cylindrical ends. We give a natural setting for the conformal geometry on such manifolds including an appropriate notion of the cylindrical Yamabe constant/invariant. This leads to a corresponding version of the Yamabe problem on cylindrical manifolds. We affirmatively solve this Yamabe problem: we prove the existence of minimizing metrics and analyze their singularities near infinity. These singularities turn out to be of very particular type: either almost conical or almos…
Let (M,g) be a compact Riemannian manifold with boundary. We consider the problem (first studied by Escobar in 1992) of finding a conformal metric with constant scalar curvature in the interior and zero mean curvature on the boundary. Using a local test function construction, we are able to settle most cases left open by Escobar's work. Moreover, we reduce the remaining cases to the positive mass theorem.
In this paper we demonstrate that under general conditions there exists a metric in the conformal class of an arbitrary metric on a smooth, closed Riemannian manifold of dimension greater than four such that the $Q$-curvature of the metric is a constant. Existence of solutions is obtained through the combination of variational methods, second order Sobolev inequalities, and the $W^{2,2}$ blow-up theory developed by Hebey and Robert. Positivity of the solutions is obtained from a novel argument proven here for the first time that is rooted in the conformal covariance property of the Paneitz-Bra…
Let M be a compact Riemannian manifold of dimension n. The k-curvature, for k=1,2,..n, is defined as the k-th elementary symmetric polynomial of the eigenvalues of the Schouten tenser. The k-Yamabe problem is to prove the existence of a conformal metric whose k-curvature is a constant. When k=1, it reduces to the well-known Yamabe problem. Under the assumption that the metric is admissible, the existence of solutions to the k-Yamabe problem was recently proved by Gursky and Viaclovsky for k>n/2. In this paper we prove the existence of solutions for the remaining cases k <n/2, k=n/2, assuming t…
In the first part of this thesis, we study the Yamabe problem with singularities, that we can announce as follow: Given a compact Riemannian manifold $(M,g)$, find a constant scalar curvature metric, conformal to $g$, when $g$ has not necessarily the usual regularity (it can be $C^1$). To solve this problem, we start the study of the Yamabe type equations. We show that all the known properties in the smooth case are still valid. Under some assumptions, we prove the existence and uniqueness of solutions. The second part is dedicated to the Hebey-Vaugon conjecture, stated in their paper about th…
