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arXiv · 2603.21214

A new approach towards the construction of initial data in general relativity with positive Yamabe invariant and arbitrary mean curvature

Armand Coudray·Romain Gicquaud
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Abstract

This paper revisits the classical construction of initial data using the conformal method, as originally proposed by Holst, Nagy, and Tsogtgerel and later refined by Maxwell. We demonstrate that the existence of the solution can be proven using the Banach fixed point theorem, whereas the original proof relied on the Schauder fixed point theorem. This new approach has two main advantages: it guarantees the uniqueness of the solution to the equations of the conformal method as soon as one imposes a bound on the physical volume of it and it provides an explicit construction of the solution.

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Armand Coudray, Romain Gicquaud. 2026-03-22. A new approach towards the construction of initial data in general relativity with positive Yamabe invariant and arbitrary mean curvature. https://arxiv.org/abs/2603.21214

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