Conformal Ricci flow on asymptotically hyperbolic manifolds

In this article, we study the short-time existence of conformal Ricci flow on asymptotically hyperbolic manifolds. We also prove a local Shi's type curvature derivative estimate for conformal Ricci flow.     

On deformation of Riemannian metrics quadratic in the Ricci tensor

We prove a theorem on the short-time existence of a flow quadratic in the Ricci tensor for Riemannian metrics on compact manifolds under certain conditions. Also, we construct formulas of the deformation of the Ricci curvature tensor for this flow.     

Short-time existence for the network flow

This paper contains a new proof of the short-time existence for the flow by curvature of a network of curves in the plane. Appearing initially in metallurgy and as a model for the evolution of grain boundaries, this flow was later treated by Brakke using varifold methods. There is good reason to treat this problem by a direct PDE approach, but doing so requires one to deal with the singular nature of the PDE at the vertices of the network. This was handled in cases of increasing generality by Bronsard-Reitich, Mantegazza-Novaga-Tortorelli and eventually, in the most general case of irregular networks by Ilmanen-Neves-Schulze. Although the present paper proves a result similar to the one in Ilmanen et al., the method here provides substantially more detailed information about how an irregular network “resolves” into a regular one. Either approach relies on the existence of self-similar expanding solutions found in Mazzeo and Saez. As a precursor to the main theorem, we also prove an unexpected regularity result for the mixed Cauchy-Dirichlet boundary problem for the linear heat equation on a manifold with boundary.     

Spectral gap on Riemannian path space over static and evolving manifolds

In this article, we continue the discussion of Fang–Wu (2015) to estimate the spectral gap of the Ornstein–Uhlenbeck operator on path space over a Riemannian manifold of pinched Ricci curvature. Along with explicit estimates we study the short-time asymptotics of the spectral gap. The results are then extended to the path space of Riemannian manifolds evolving under a geometric flow. Our paper is strongly motivated by Naber's recent work (2015) on characterizing bounded Ricci curvature through stochastic analysis on path space.     

A geometric introduction to the two-loop renormalization group flow

The Ricci flow has been of fundamental importance in mathematics, most famously through its use as a tool for proving the Poincaré conjecture and Thurston’s geometrization conjecture. It has a parallel life in physics, arising as the first-order approximation of the renormalization group flow for the nonlinear sigma model of quantum field theory. There recently has been interest in the second-order approximation of this flow, called the RG-2 flow, which mathematically appears as a natural nonlinear deformation of the Ricci flow. A curvature flow arising from quantum field theory seems to us to capture the spirit of Yvonne Choquet-Bruhat’s extensive work in mathematical physics, and so in this commemorative article we give a geometric introduction to the RG-2 flow. A number of new results are presented as part of this narrative: short-time existence and uniqueness results in all dimensions if the sectional curvatures K _ij satisfy certain inequalities; the calculation of fixed points for n =  3 dimensions; a reformulation of constant curvature solutions in terms of the Lambert W function; a classification of the solutions that evolve only by homothety; an analogue for RG flow of the 2-dimensional Ricci flow solution known to mathematicians as the cigar soliton, and discussed in the physics literature as Witten’s black hole. We conclude with a list of open problems whose resolutions would substantially increase our understanding of the RG-2 flow both physically and mathematically.     

On the HSL-flow

We introduce a natural geometric fourth order flow associated to Hamiltonian stationary submanifolds in Kähler–Einstein manifolds. Afterwards we study some of its properties and show short-time existence. In case of Hamiltonian stationary submanifolds with bounded second fundamental form evolving in flat space we obtain an existence time estimate (Theorem 3.7).     

Mean Curvature Motion of Triple Junctions of Graphs in Two Dimensions

We consider a system of three surfaces, graphs over a bounded domain in ?², intersecting along a time-dependent curve and moving by mean curvature while preserving the pairwise angles at the curve of intersection (equal to 2π/3.) For the corresponding two-dimensional parabolic free boundary problem we prove short-time existence of classical solutions (in parabolic Hölder spaces), for sufficiently regular initial data satisfying a compatibility condition.     

Hyperbolic mean curvature flow

In this paper we introduce the hyperbolic mean curvature flow and prove that the corresponding system of partial differential equations is strictly hyperbolic, and based on this, we show that this flow admits a unique short-time smooth solution and possesses the nonlinear stability defined on the Euclidean space with dimension larger than 4. We derive nonlinear wave equations satisfied by some geometric quantities related to the hyperbolic mean curvature flow. Moreover, we also discuss the relation between the equations for hyperbolic mean curvature flow and the equations for extremal surfaces in the Minkowski space-time.     

Short-Time Existence for Some Higher-Order Geometric Flows

We establish short-time existence and regularity for higher-order flows generated by a class of polynomial natural tensors that, after an adjustment by the Lie derivative of the metric with respect to a suitable vector field, have strongly parabolic linearizations. We apply this theorem to flows by powers of the Laplacian of the Ricci tensor, and to flows generated by the ambient obstruction tensor. As a special case, we prove short-time existence for a type of Bach flow.     

Existence of solution of the logarithmic diffusion equation with bounded above Gauss curvature

We give a simple proof of an extension of the existence results of Ricci flow of Giesen and Topping (2010, 2011) [15], [20], on incomplete surfaces with bounded above Gauss curvature without using the difficult Shi’s existence theorem of Ricci flow on complete non-compact surfaces and the pseudolocality theorem of Perelman [7] on Ricci flow. We will also give a simple proof of a special case of the existence theorem of Topping (2010) [16] without using the existence theorem of Shi (1989) [9].     

Collapsing in the L 2 Curvature Flow

We show some results for the L² curvature flow linked by the theme of addressing collapsing phenomena. First we show long time existence and convergence of the flow for SO(3)-invariant initial data on S³, as well as a long time existence and convergence statement for three-manifolds with initial L² norm of curvature chosen small with respect only to the diameter and volume, which are both necessary dependencies for a result of this kind. In the critical dimension n = 4 we show a related low-energy convergence statement with an additional hypothesis. Finally we exhibit some finite time singularities in dimension n ≥ 5, and show examples of finite time singularities in dimension n ≥ 6 which are collapsed on the scale of curvature.     

Energy functionals and soliton equations for G2-forms

We extend short-time existence and stability of the Dirichlet energy flow as proven in a previous article by the authors to a broader class of energy functionals. Furthermore, we derive some monotonely decreasing quantities for the Dirichlet energy flow and investigate an equation of soliton type. In particular, we show that nearly parallel G₂-structures satisfy this soliton equation and study their infinitesimal soliton deformations.     

Area-preserving mean curvature flow of rotationally symmetric hypersurfaces with free boundaries

We consider the area-preserving mean curvature flow with free Neumann boundaries. We show that a rotationally symmetric n-dimensional hypersurface in R~(n+1)between two parallel hyperplanes will converge to a cylinder with the same area under this flow. We use the geometric properties and the maximal principle to obtain gradient and curvature estimates, leading to long-time existence of the flow and convergence to a constant mean curvature surface.     

A maximum principle for combinatorial Yamabe flow

This article studies a discrete geometric structure on triangulated manifolds and an associated curvature flow (combinatorial Yamabe flow). The associated evolution of curvature appears to be like a heat equation on graphs, but it can be shown to not satisfy the maximum principle. The notion of a parabolic-like operator is introduced as an operator which satisfies the maximum principle, but may not be parabolic in the usual sense of operators on graphs. A maximum principle is derived for the curvature of combinatorial Yamabe flow under certain assumptions on the triangulation, and hence the heat operator is shown to be parabolic-like. The maximum principle then allows a characterization of the curvature as well was a proof of long term existence of the flow.     

Injectivity radius bound of Ricci flow with positive Ricci curvature and applications

We study the injectivity radius bound for 3-d Ricci flow with bounded curvature. As applications, we show the long time existence of the Ricci flow with positive Ricci curvature and with curvature decay condition at infinity. We partially settle a question of Chow-Lu-Ni [Hamilton’s Ricci Flow, p. 302].     

Volume-preserving mean curvature flow of revolution hypersurfaces in a Rotationally Symmetric Space

In an ambient space with rotational symmetry around an axis (which include the Hyperbolic and Euclidean spaces), we study the evolution under the volume-preserving mean curvature flow of a revolution hypersurface M generated by a graph over the axis of revolution and with boundary in two totally geodesic hypersurfaces (tgh for short). Requiring that, for each time t ≥ 0, the evolving hypersurface M _t meets such tgh orthogonally, we prove that: (a) the flow exists while M _t does not touch the axis of rotation; (b) throughout the time interval of existence, (b1) the generating curve of M _t remains a graph, and (b2) the averaged mean curvature is double side bounded by positive constants; (c) the singularity set (if non-empty) is finite and lies on the axis; (d) under a suitable hypothesis relating the enclosed volume to the n-volume of M, we achieve long time existence and convergence to a revolution hypersurface of constant mean curvature.     

The Webster scalar curvature flow on CR sphere. Part II

This is the second of two papers, in which we study the problem of prescribing Webster scalar curvature on the CR sphere as a given function f. Using the Webster scalar curvature flow, we prove an existence result under suitable assumptions on the Morse indices of f.     

Curvature Estimates of Hypersurfaces in the Minkowski Space

A class of curvature estimates of spacelike admissible hypersurfaces related to translating solitons of the higher order mean curvature flow in the Minkowski space is obtained,which may ofer an idea to study an open question of the existence of hypersurfaces with the prescribed higher mean curvature in the Minkowski space.     

Generalized Solution of a Kind of Nonparametric Curvature Evolution with Boundary Condition

The existence and uniqueness of the generalized solution for a kind of nonparametric curvature flow problem are obtained. This kind of curvature flow problem describes the evolution of graphs with speed depending on the reciprocal of the Gauss curvature.