Désingularisation de métriques d’Einstein. I

We find a new obstruction for a real Einstein 4-orbifold with an A ₁-singularity to be a limit of smooth Einstein 4-manifolds. The obstruction is a curvature condition at the singular point. For asymptotically hyperbolic metrics, with boundary at infinity a conformal metric, we prove that if the obstruction vanishes, one can desingularize Einstein orbifolds with such singularities. The Dirichlet problem consists in finding Einstein metrics with given conformal infinity on the boundary: we prove that our obstruction defines a wall in the space of conformal metrics on the boundary, and that all the Einstein metrics must have their conformal infinity on one side of the wall.     

On the structure of conformally compact Einstein metrics

Let M be an (n + 1)-dimensional manifold with non-empty boundary, satisfying π ₁(M, ? M) = 0. The main result of this paper is that the space of conformally compact Einstein metrics on M is a smooth, infinite dimensional Banach manifold, provided it is non-empty. We also prove full boundary regularity for such metrics in dimension 4 and a local existence and uniqueness theorem for such metrics with prescribed metric and stress–energy tensor at conformal infinity, again in dimension 4. This result also holds for Lorentzian–Einstein metrics with a positive cosmological constant.     

On the volume functional of compact manifolds with boundary with constant scalar curvature

We study the volume functional on the space of constant scalar curvature metrics with a prescribed boundary metric. We derive a sufficient and necessary condition for a metric to be a critical point, and show that the only domains in space forms, on which the standard metrics are critical points, are geodesic balls. In the zero scalar curvature case, assuming the boundary can be isometrically embedded in the Euclidean space as a compact strictly convex hypersurface, we show that the volume of a critical point is always no less than the Euclidean volume bounded by the isometric embedding of the boundary, and the two volumes are equal if and only if the critical point is isometric to a standard Euclidean ball. We also derive a second variation formula and apply it to show that, on Euclidean balls and “small” hyperbolic and spherical balls in dimensions 3 ≤ n ≤ 5, the standard space form metrics are indeed saddle points for the volume functional.     

Hodge cohomology of some foliated boundary and foliated cusp metrics

For fibred boundary and fibred cusp metrics, Hausel, Hunsicker, and Mazzeo identified the space of L² harmonic forms of fixed degree with the images of maps between intersection cohomology groups of an associated stratified space obtained by collapsing the fibres of the fibration at infinity onto its base. In the present paper, we obtain a generalization of this result to situations where, rather than a fibration at infinity, there is a Riemannian foliation with compact leaves admitting a resolution by a fibration. If the associated stratified space (obtained now by collapsing the leaves of the foliation) is a Witt space and if the metric considered is a foliated cusp metric, then no such resolution is required.     

Comparison between Teichmuller and Lipschitz metrics

We study the Lipschitz metric on a Teichmüller space (definedby Thurston) and compare it with the Teichmüller metric.We show that in the thin part of the Teichmüller spacethe Lipschitz metric is approximated up to a bounded additivedistortion by the sup-metric on a product of lower-dimensionalspaces (similar to the Teichmüller metric as shown by Minsky).In the thick part, we show that the two metrics are equal upto a bounded additive error. However, these metrics are notcomparable in general; we construct a sequence of pairs of pointsin the Teichmüller space, with distances that approachzero in the Lipschitz metric while they approach infinity inthe Teichmüller metric.     

Métriques autoduales sur la boule

A conformal metric on a 4-ball induces on the boundary 3-sphere a conformal metric and a trace-free second fundamental form. Conversely, such a data on the 3-sphere is the boundary of a unique selfdual conformal metric, defined in a neighborhood of the sphere. In this paper we characterize the conformal metrics and trace-free second fundamental forms on the 3-sphere (close to the standard round metric) which are boundaries of selfdual conformal metrics on the whole 4-ball. When the data on the boundary is reduced to a conformal metric (the trace-free part of the second fundamental form vanishes), one may hope to find in the conformal class of the filling metric an Einstein metric, with a pole of order 2 on the boundary. We determine which conformal metrics on the 3-sphere are boundaries of such selfdual Einstein metrics on the 4-ball. In particular, this implies the Positive Frequency Conjecture of LeBrun. The proof uses twistor theory, which enables to translate the problem in terms of complex analysis; this leads us to prove a criterion for certain integrable CR structures of signature (1,1) to be fillable by a complex domain. Finally, we solve an analogous, higher dimensional problem: selfdual Einstein metrics are replaced by quaternionic-K?hler metrics, and conformal structures on the boundary by quaternionic contact structures (previously introduced by the author); in contrast with the 4-dimensional case, we prove that any small deformation of the standard quaternionic contact structure on the (4m−1)-sphere is the boundary of a quaternionic-K?hler metric on the (4m)-ball. Oblatum 29-XI-2000 & 7-XI-2001?Published online: 1 February 2002     

Metrics and entropy for non-compact spaces

We investigate Bowen’s metric definition of topological entropy for homeomorphisms of non-compact spaces. Different equivalent metrics may assign to the homeomorphism different entropies. We show that the infimum of the metric entropies is greater than or equal to the supremum of the measure theoretic entropies. An example shows that it may be strictly greater. If the entropy of the homeomorphism can vary as the metrics vary we see that the supremum is infinity.     

Boundary regularity, uniqueness and non-uniqueness for AH Einstein metrics on 4-manifolds

This paper studies several aspects of asymptotically hyperbolic (AH) Einstein metrics, mostly on 4-manifolds. We prove boundary regularity (at infinity) for such metrics and establish uniqueness under natural conditions on the boundary data. By examination of explicit black hole metrics, it is shown that neither uniqueness nor finiteness holds in general for AH Einstein metrics with a prescribed conformal infinity. We then describe natural conditions which are sufficient to ensure finiteness.     

Autodual Einstein Versus Kähler–Einstein

Any strictly pseudoconvex domain in carries a complete Kähler-Einstein metric, the Cheng–Yau metric, with “conformal infinity” the CR structure of the boundary.It is well known that not all CR structures on S³ arise in this way. In this paper, we study CR structures on the 3-sphere satisfying a different filling condition: boundaries at infinity of (complete) selfdual Einstein metrics. We prove that (modulo contactomorphisms) they form an infinite dimensional manifold, transverse to the space of CR structures which are boundaries of complex domains (and therefore of Kähler–Einstein metrics).Received: March 2004 Revision: July 2004 Accepted: August 2004     

The Yamabe Constant on Noncompact Manifolds

We prove several facts about the Yamabe constant of Riemannian metrics on general noncompact manifolds and about S. Kim’s closely related “Yamabe constant at infinity”. In particular, we show that the Yamabe constant depends continuously on the Riemannian metric with respect to the fine C ²-topology, and that the Yamabe constant at infinity is even locally constant with respect to this topology. We also discuss to what extent the Yamabe constant is continuous with respect to coarser topologies on the space of Riemannian metrics.     

Uniqueness of smooth radial balanced metrics on the disc

We show that the usual Poincaré metric is the only radial balanced metric on the disc with not too wild boundary behaviour. Additionally, we identify explicitly all radial metrics with such boundary behaviour which satisfy the balanced condition as far as germs at the boundary are concerned. Related results for the annulus and the punctured disc are also established.     

Ricci curvature in the neighborhood of rank-one symmetric spaces

We study the Ricci curvature of a Riemannian metric as a differential operator acting on the space of metrics close (in a weighted functional spaces topology) to the standard metric of a rank-one noncompact symmetric space. We prove that any symmetric bilinear field close enough to the standard may be realized as the Ricci curvature of a unique close metric if its decay rate at infinity (its weight) belongs to some precisely known interval. We also study what happens if the decay rate is too small or too large.     

Length spectra and the Teichmüller metric for surfaces with boundary

We consider some metrics and weak metrics defined on the Teichmüller space of a surface of finite type with nonempty boundary, that are defined using the hyperbolic length spectrum of simple closed curves and of properly embedded arcs, and we compare these metrics and weak metrics with the Teichmüller metric. The comparison is on subsets of Teichmüller space which we call “ε ₀-relative e{\epsilon}-thick parts”, and whose definition depends on the choice of some positive constants ε ₀ and e{\epsilon}. Meanwhile, we give a formula for the Teichmüller metric of a surface with boundary in terms of extremal lengths of families of arcs.     

On a class of conformal metrics arising in the work of Seiberg and Witten

We examine a class of conformal metrics arising in the “N = 2 supersymmetric Yang-Mills theory” of Seiberg and Witten. We provide several alternate characterizations of this class of metrics and proceed to examine issues of existence and boundary behavior and to parameterize the collection of Seiberg-Witten metrics with isolated non-essential singularities on a fixed compact Riemann surface. In consequence of these results, the Riemann sphere does not admit a Seiberg-Witten metric, but for all there is a conformal metric on of regularity which is Seiberg-Witten off of a finite set. Received August 18, 1998     

An anomaly formula for Ray–Singer metrics on manifolds with boundary

Using the heat kernel, we derive first a local Gauss–Bonnet–Chern theorem for manifolds with a non-product metric near the boundary. Then we establish an anomaly formula for Ray–Singer metrics defined by a Hermitian metric on a flat vector bundle over a Riemannian manifold with boundary, not assuming that the Hermitian metric on the flat vector bundle is flat nor that the Riemannian metric has product structure near the boundary. Received: January 2004; Revision: February 2005; Accepted: September 2005     

Localized gluing of Riemannian metrics in interpolating their scalar curvature

We show that two smooth nearby Riemannian metrics can be glued interpolating their scalar curvature. The resulting smooth metric is the same as the starting ones outside the gluing region and has scalar curvature interpolating between the original ones. One can then glue metrics while maintaining inequalities satisfied by the scalar curvature. We also glue asymptotically Euclidean metrics to Schwarzschild ones and the same for asymptotically Delaunay metrics, keeping bounds on the scalar curvature, if any. This extends the Corvino gluing near infinity to non-constant scalar curvature metrics.     

Necessary and sufficient conditions for unique determination of plane domains

We say that a domain U ? ?ⁿ is uniquely determined from the relative metric of its Hausdorff boundary (the relative metric is the extension by continuity of the intrinsic metric of the domain to the boundary) if every domain V ? ?ⁿ with the Hausdorff boundary isometric in the relative metric to the Hausdorff boundary of U is isometric to U too (in the Euclidean metrics). In this article we state some necessary and sufficient conditions for a plane domain to be uniquely determined from the relative metric of its Hausdorff boundary.     

Riemannian metrics of positive scalar curvature on compact manifolds with boundary

We prove that any metric of positive scalar curvature on a manifold X extends to the trace of any surgery in codim > 2 on X to a metric of positive scalar curvature which is product near the boundary. This provides a direct way to construct metrics of positive scalar curvature on compact manifolds with boundary. We also show that the set of concordance classes of all metrics with positive scalar curvature on S ⁿ is a group.     

Further Results on the Fractional Yamabe Problem: The Umbilic Case

We prove some existence results for the fractional Yamabe problem in the case that the boundary manifold is umbilic, thus covering some of the cases not considered by González and Qing. These are inspired by the work of Coda-Marques on the boundary Yamabe problem but, in addition, a careful understanding of the behavior at infinity for asymptotically hyperbolic metrics is required.     

Enveloppes inférieures de fonctions admissibles sur l'espace projectif complexe. Cas symétrique

We prove that admissible functions for Fubini-Study metric on the complex projective space PmC of complex dimension m, invariant by a convenient automorphisms group, are lower bounded by a function going to minus infinity on the boundary of usual charts of PmC. A similar lower bound holds on some projective manifolds. This gives an optimal constant in a Hörmander type inequality on these manifolds, which allows us, using Tian's invariant, to establish the existence of Einstein-Kähler metrics on them.