Rectifiability and perimeter in the Heisenberg group

In this paper, we fully extend to the Heisenberg group endowed with its intrinsic Carnot-Carathéodory metric and perimeter the classical De Giorgi's rectifiability divergence theorems. Received: 27 March 2000 / Revised version: 13 December 2000 / Published online: 24 September 2001     

Locality of the perimeter in Carnot groups and chain rule

In the class of Carnot groups, we study fine properties of sets of finite perimeter. Improving a recent result by Ambrosio–Kleiner–Le Donne, we show that the perimeter measure is local, i.e., that given any pair of sets of finite perimeter their perimeter measures coincide on the intersection of their essential boundaries. This solves a question left open in Ambrosio et al. (Calculus of variations: topics from mathematical heritage of Ennio De Giorgi. Quad Mat). As a consequence, we prove a general chain rule for BV functions in this setting.     

Compactness for manifolds and integral currents with bounded diameter and volume

By Gromov??s compactness theorem for metric spaces, every uniformly compact sequence of metric spaces admits an isometric embedding into a common compact metric space in which a subsequence converges with respect to the Hausdorff distance. Working in the class of oriented k-dimensional Riemannian manifolds (with boundary) and, more generally, integral currents in metric spaces in the sense of Ambrosio?CKirchheim and replacing the Hausdorff distance with the filling volume or flat distance, we prove an analogous compactness theorem in which however we only assume uniform bounds on volume and diameter.     

Isospectral deformations of metrics on spheres

We construct non-trivial continuous isospectral deformations of Riemannian metrics on the ball and on the sphere in R ⁿ for every n≥9. The metrics on the sphere can be chosen arbitrarily close to the round metric; in particular, they can be chosen to be positively curved. The metrics on the ball are both Dirichlet and Neumann isospectral and can be chosen arbitrarily close to the flat metric. Oblatum 19-VI-2000 & 21-II-2001?Published online: 4 May 2001     

Global attractors for gradient flows in metric spaces

We develop the long-time analysis for gradient flow equations in metric spaces. In particular, we consider two notions of solutions for metric gradient flows, namely energy and generalized solutions. While the former concept coincides with the notion of curves of maximal slope of Ambrosio et al. (2005) [5], we introduce the latter to include limits of time-incremental approximations constructed via the Minimizing Movements approach (De Giorgi, 1993; Ambrosio, 1995 [3], [15]).For both notions of solutions we prove the existence of the global attractor. Since the evolutionary problems we consider may lack uniqueness, we rely on the theory of generalized semiflows introduced in Ball (1997) [7].The notions of generalized and energy solutions are quite flexible, and can be used to address gradient flows in a variety of contexts, ranging from Banach spaces, to Wasserstein spaces of probability measures. We present applications of our abstract results, by proving the existence of the global attractor for the energy solutions, both of abstract doubly nonlinear evolution equations in reflexive Banach spaces, and of a class of evolution equations in Wasserstein spaces, as well as for the generalized solutions of some phase-change evolutions driven by mean curvature.     

Flat convergence for integral currents in metric spaces

In compact local Lipschitz neighborhood retracts in weak convergence for integral currents is equivalent to convergence with respect to the flat distance. This comes as a consequence of the deformation theorem for currents in Euclidean space. Working in the setting of metric integral currents (the theory of which was developed by Ambrosio and Kirchheim) we prove that the equivalence of weak and flat convergence remains true in the more general context of metric spaces admitting local cone type inequalities. These include in particular all Banach spaces and all CAT(κ)-spaces. As an application we obtain the existence of a minimal element in a fixed homology class and show that the weak limit of a sequence of minimizers is itself a minimizer.     

Some results on surface measures in calculus of variations

We study some relations between the concepts of perimeter, Hausdorff measure, and Minkowsky content, when R ^N is endowed with a convex Finsler metric depending in a continuous way on the position. We show some connections with the theory of -convergence and with the anisotropic motion of a smooth hypersurface by mean curvature.This work was partially supported by NSF Grant DMS-9008999, and by MURST (Progetto Nazionale «Equazioni di Evoluzione e Applicazioni Fisico-Matematiche» and «Analisi Numerica e Matematica Computazionale») and CNR (IAN and Contracts 92.00833.01, 93.00564.01) of Italy.     

Local Currents in Metric Spaces

Ambrosio and Kirchheim presented a theory of currents with finite mass in complete metric spaces. We develop a variant of the theory that does not rely on a finite mass condition, closely paralleling the classical Federer–Fleming theory. If the underlying metric space is an open subset of a Euclidean space, we obtain a natural chain monomorphism from general metric currents to general classical currents whose image contains the locally flat chains and which restricts to an isomorphism for locally normal currents. We give a detailed exposition of the slicing theory for locally normal currents with respect to locally Lipschitz maps, including the rectifiable slices theorem, and of the compactness theorem for locally integral currents in locally compact metric spaces, assuming only standard results from analysis and measure theory.     

Some applications of metric currents to complex analysis

The aim of this paper is to extend the theory of metric currents, developed by Ambrosio and Kirchheim, to complex spaces. We define the bidimension of a metric current on a complex space and we discuss the Cauchy–Riemann equation on a particular class of singular spaces. As another application, we investigate the Cauchy–Riemann equation on complex Banach spaces, by means of a homotopy formula.     

Curves of minimal action over metric spaces

Given a metric space X, we consider a class of action functionals, generalizing those considered in Brancolini et al. (J Eur Math Soc 8:415–434, 2006) and Ambrosio and Santambrogio (Atti Accad Naz Lincei Cl Sci Fis Mat Natur Rend Lincei Mat Appl 18: 23–37, 2007), which measure the cost of joining two given points x ₀ and x ₁, by means of an absolutely continuous curve. In the case X is given by a space of probability measures, we can think of these action functionals as giving the cost of some congested/concentrated mass transfer problem. We focus on the possibility to split the mass in its moving part and its part that (in some sense) has already reached its final destination: we consider new action functionals, taking into account only the contribution of the moving part.     

The Dirichlet problem at infinity for harmonic map equations arising from constant mean curvature surfaces in the hyperbolic 3-space

The purpose of this paper is to study some uniqueness, existence and regularity properties of the Dirichlet problem at infinity for proper harmonic maps from the hyperbolic m-space to the open unit n-ball with a specific incomplete metric. When m=n=2, harmonic solutions of this Dirichlet problem yield complete constant mean curvature surfaces in the hyperbolic 3-space. Received: 25 January 2001 / Accepted: 23 February 2001 / Published online: 25 June 2001     

Bochner-Kähler metrics

A Kähler metric is said to be Bochner-Kähler if its Bochner curvature vanishes. This is a nontrivial condition when the complex dimension of the underlying manifold is at least . In this article it will be shown that, in a certain well-defined sense, the space of Bochner-Kähler metrics in complex dimension has real dimension and a recipe for an explicit formula for any Bochner-Kähler metric will be given.

It is shown that any Bochner-Kähler metric in complex dimension  has local (real) cohomogeneity at most . The Bochner-Kähler metrics that can be `analytically continued' to a complete metric, free of singularities, are identified. In particular, it is shown that the only compact Bochner-Kähler manifolds are the discrete quotients of the known symmetric examples. However, there are compact Bochner-Kähler orbifolds that are not locally symmetric. In fact, every weighted projective space carries a Bochner-Kähler metric.

The fundamental technique is to construct a canonical infinitesimal torus action on a Bochner-Kähler metric whose associated momentum mapping has the orbits of its symmetry pseudo-groupoid as fibers.

     

Characterizations of Sets of Finite Perimeter Using Heat Kernels in Metric Spaces

The overarching goal of this paper is to link the notion of sets of finite perimeter (a concept associated with N^1,1-spaces) and the theory of heat semigroups (a concept related to N^1,2-spaces) in the setting of metric measure spaces whose measure is doubling and supports a 1-Poincaré inequality. We prove a characterization of sets of finite perimeter in terms of a short time behavior of the heat semigroup in such metric spaces. We also give a new characterization of BV functions in terms of a near-diagonal energy in this general setting.     

The asymptotic Plateau problem in Gromov hyperbolic manifolds

We solve the asymptotic Plateau problem in every Gromov hyperbolic Hadamard manifold (X,g) with bounded geometry. That is, we prove existence of complete (possibly singular) k-dimensional area minimizing surfaces in X with prescribed boundary data at infinity, for a large class of admissible limit sets and for all . The result also holds with respect to any riemannian metric on X which is lipschitz equivalent to g. Received: 23 January 2001 / Accepted: 25 October 2001 Published online: 28 February 2002     

Hypersurfaces in Hn and the space of its horospheres

A classical theorem, mainly due to Aleksandrov [Al2] and Pogorelov [P], states that any Riemannian metric on S ² with curvature K > —1 is induced on a unique convex surface in H ³ . A similar result holds with the induced metric replaced by the third fundamental form. We show that the same phenomenon happens with yet another metric on immersed surfaces, which we call the horospherical metric.?This result extends in higher dimensions, the metrics obtained are then conformally flat. One can also study equivariant immersions of surfaces or the metrics obtained on the boundaries of hyperbolic 3-manifolds. Some statements which are difficult or only conjectured for the induced metric or the third fundamental form become fairly easy when one considers the horospherical metric, which thus provides a good boundary condition for the construction of hyperbolic metrics on a manifold with boundary.?The results concerning the third fundamental form are obtained using a duality between H ³ and the de Sitter space . In the same way, the results concerning the horospherical metric are proved through a duality between H ⁿ and the space of its horospheres, which is naturally endowed with a fairly rich geometrical structure. Submitted: March 2001, Revised: November 2001.     

Negatively pinched -manifolds admit hyperbolic metrics

We show that any compact 3-manifold carrying a metric with sufficiently pinched negative Ricci curvature admits a hyperbolic metric. This proof is a corrected version of the proof first suggested by Maung Min-Oo. The key insight in this new proof is that the error in Min-Oo's paper does not occur if the type curvature is considered instead of the type curvature.

     

Metric σ-Frames versus Metric Lindelof Spaces

The adjoint relation between the category RegFrm, of regular -frames, Alex, of Alexandroff spaces, are studied in [9]. Here, we introduce the category MFrm, of metric -frames and give the adjoint relation between this category and the category MLSp, of metric Lindelof spaces, and show that MLSp is dually equivalent to the category of Alexandroff metric -frames.AMS Subject Classification: 06D99-54B30     

Benchmarking optimization software with performance profiles

We propose performance profiles — distribution functions for a performance metric — as a tool for benchmarking and comparing optimization software. We show that performance profiles combine the best features of other tools for performance evaluation. Received: February 2001 / Accepted: May 2001?Published online October 2, 2001