arXiv subjects

Andrea Mondino

Publications and source records attributed to Andrea Mondino.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources

arXiv2021

Cheeger bounds on spin-two fields

We consider gravity compactifications whose internal space consists of small bridges connecting larger manifolds, possibly noncompact. We prove that, under rather general assumptions, this leads to a massive spin-two field with very small mass. The argument involves a recently-noticed relation to Bakry--Émery geometry, a version of the so-called Cheeger constant, and the theory of synthetic Ricci lower bounds. The latter technique allows generalizations to non-smooth spaces such as those with D-brane singularities. For AdS$_d$ vacua with a bridge admitting an AdS$_{d+1}$ interpretation, the holographic dual is a CFT$_d$ with two CFT$_{d-1}$ boundaries. The ratio of their degrees of freedom gives the graviton mass, generalizing results obtained by Bachas and Lavdas for $d=4$. We also prove new bounds on the higher eigenvalues. These are in agreement with the spin-two swampland conjecture in the regime where the background is scale-separated; in the opposite regime we provide examples where they are in naive tension with it.

hep-th↗

arXiv2021

An optimal transport formulation of the Einstein equations of general relativity

The goal of the paper is to give an optimal transport formulation of the full Einstein equations of general relativity, linking the (Ricci) curvature of a space-time with the cosmological constant and the energy-momentum tensor. Such an optimal transport formulation is in terms of convexity/concavity properties of the Shannon-Bolzmann entropy along curves of probability measures extremizing suitable optimal transport costs. The result gives a new connection between general relativity and optimal transport; moreover it gives a mathematical reinforcement of the strong link between general relativity and thermodynamics/information theory that emerged in the physics literature of the last years.

math-ph↗

arXiv2021

A strict inequality for the minimisation of the Willmore functional under isoperimetric constraint

Inspired by previous work of Kusner and Bauer-Kuwert, we prove a strict inequality between the Willmore energies of two surfaces and their connected sum in the context of isoperimetric constraints. Building on previous work by Keller-Mondino-Rivière, our strict inequality leads to existence of minimisers for the isoperimetric constrained Willmore problem in every genus, provided the minimal energy lies strictly below $8π$. Besides the geometric interest, such a minimisation problem has been studied in the literature as a simplified model in the theory of lipid bilayer cell membranes.

math.DG↗

arXiv2021

The equality case in Cheeger's and Buser's inequalities on $\mathsf{RCD}$ spaces

We prove that the sharp Buser's inequality obtained in the framework of $\mathsf{RCD}(1,\infty)$ spaces by the first two authors is rigid, i.e. equality is obtained if and only if the space splits isomorphically a Gaussian. The result is new even in the smooth setting. We also show that the equality in Cheeger's inequality is never attained in the setting of $\mathsf{RCD}(K,\infty)$ spaces with finite diameter or positive curvature, and we provide several examples of spaces with Ricci curvature bounded below where these assumptions are not satisfied and the equality is attained.

math.FA↗

arXiv2021

A Talenti-type comparison theorem for $\mathrm{RCD}(K,N)$ spaces and applications

We prove pointwise and $L^{p}$-gradient comparison results for solutions to elliptic Dirichlet problems defined on open subsets of a (possibly non-smooth) space with positive Ricci curvature (more precisely of an $\mathrm{RCD}(K,N)$ metric measure space, with $K>0$ and $N\in (1,\infty)$). The obtained Talenti-type comparison is sharp, rigid and stable with respect to $L^{2}$/measured-Gromov-Hausdorff topology; moreover, several aspects seem new even for smooth Riemannian manifolds. As applications of such Talenti-type comparison, we prove a series of improved Sobolev-type inequalities, and an $\mathrm{RCD}$ version of the St.~Venant-Pólya torsional rigidity comparison theorem (with associated rigidity and stability statements). Finally, we give a probabilistic interpretation (in the setting of smooth Riemannian manifolds) of the aforementioned comparison results, in terms of exit time from an open subset for the Brownian motion.

math.AP↗

arXiv2020

On the topology and the boundary of N-dimensional RCD(K,N) spaces

We establish topological regularity and stability of N-dimensional RCD(K,N) spaces (up to a small singular set), also called non-collapsed RCD(K,N) in the literature. We also introduce the notion of a boundary of such spaces and study its properties, including its behavior under Gromov-Hausdorff convergence.

math.MG↗

arXiv2020

Existence and Regularity of Spheres Minimising the Canham-Helfrich Energy

We prove existence and regularity of minimisers for the Canham-Helfrich energy in the class of weak (possibly branched and bubbled) immersions of the $2$-sphere. This solves (the spherical case) of the minimisation problem proposed by Helfrich in 1973, modelling lipid bilayer membranes. On the way to prove the main results we establish the lower semicontinuity of the Canham-Helfrich energy under weak convergence of (possibly branched and bubbled) weak immersions.

math.DG↗

arXiv2020

Sharp Cheeger-Buser type inequalities in $ \mathsf{RCD}(K,\infty)$ spaces

The goal of the paper is to sharpen and generalise bounds involving the Cheeger's isoperimetric constant $h$ and the first eigenvalue $λ_{1}$ of the Laplacian. A celebrated lower bound of $λ_{1}$ in terms of $h$, $λ_{1}\geq h^{2}/4$, was proved by Cheeger in 1970 for smooth Riemannian manifolds. An upper bound on $λ_{1}$ in terms of $h$ was established by Buser in 1982 (with dimensional constants) and improved (to a dimension-free estimate) by Ledoux in 2004 for smooth Riemannian manifolds with Ricci curvature bounded below. The goal of the paper is two fold. First: we sharpen the inequalities obtained by Buser and Ledoux obtaining a dimension-free sharp Buser inequality for spaces with (Bakry-Émery weighted) Ricci curvature bounded below by $K\in {\mathbb R}$ (the inequality is sharp for $K>0$ as equality is obtained on the Gaussian space). Second: all of our results hold in the higher generality of (possibly non-smooth) metric measure spaces with Ricci curvature bounded below in synthetic sense, the so-called $ \mathsf{RCD}(K,\infty)$ spaces.

math.FA↗

arXiv2019

New formulas for the Laplacian of distance functions and applications

The goal of the paper is to prove an exact representation formula for the Laplacian of the distance (and more generally for an arbitrary 1-Lipschitz function) in the framework of metric measure spaces satisfying Ricci curvature lower bounds in a synthetic sense (more precisely in essentially non-branching MCP(K,N)-spaces). Such a representation formula makes apparent the classical upper bounds and also some new lower bounds, together with a precise description of the singular part. The exact representation formula for the Laplacian of 1-Lipschitz functions (in particular for distance functions) holds also (and seems new) in a general complete Riemannian manifold. We apply these results to prove the equivalence of CD(K,N) and a dimensional Bochner inequality on signed distance functions. Moreover we obtain a measure-theoretic Splitting Theorem for infinitesimally Hilbertian essentially non-branching spaces verifying MCP(0,N).

math.MG↗

arXiv2019

Polya-Szego inequality and Dirichlet $p$-spectral gap for non-smooth spaces with Ricci curvature bounded below

We study decreasing rearrangements of functions defined on (possibly non-smooth) metric measure spaces with Ricci curvature bounded below by $K>0$ and dimension bounded above by $N\in (1,\infty)$ in a synthetic sense, the so called $CD(K,N)$ spaces. We first establish a Polya-Szego type inequality stating that the $W^{1,p}$-Sobolev norm decreases under such a rearrangement and apply the result to show sharp spectral gap for the $p$-Laplace operator with Dirichlet boundary conditions (on open subsets), for every $p\in (1,\infty)$. This extends to the non-smooth setting a classical result of Bérard-Meyer and Matei; remarkable examples of spaces fitting out framework and for which the results seem new include: measured-Gromov Hausdorff limits of Riemannian manifolds with Ricci$\geq K>0$, finite dimensional Alexandrov spaces with curvature$\geq K>0$, Finsler manifolds with Ricci$\geq K>0$. In the second part of the paper we prove new rigidity and almost rigidity results attached to the aforementioned inequalities, in the framework of $RCD(K,N)$ spaces, which seem original even for smooth Riemannian manifolds with Ricci$\geq K>0$.

math.FA↗

arXiv2018

Homotopy properties of horizontal loop spaces and applications to closed sub-riemannian geodesics

Given a manifold $M$ and a proper sub-bundle $Δ\subset TM$, we study homotopy properties of the horizontal base-point free loop space $Λ$, i.e. the space of absolutely continuous maps $γ:S^1\to M$ whose velocities are constrained to $Δ$ (for example: legendrian knots in a contact manifold). A key technical ingredient for our study is the proof that the base-point map $F:Λ\to M$ (the map associating to every loop its base-point) is a Hurewicz fibration for the $W^{1,2}$ topology on $Λ$. Using this result we show that, even if the space $Λ$ might have deep singularities (for example: constant loops form a singular manifold homeomorphic to $M$), its homotopy can be controlled nicely. In particular we prove that $Λ$ (with the $W^{1,2}$ topology) has the homotopy type of a CW-complex, that its inclusion in the standard base-point free loop space (i.e. the space of loops with no non-holonomic constraint) is a homotopy equivalence, and consequently its homotopy groups can be computed as $π_k(Λ)\simeq π_k(M) \ltimes π_{k+1}(M)$ for all $k\geq 0.$ These topological results are applied, in the second part of the paper, to the problem of the existence of closed sub-riemannian geodesics. In the general case we prove that if $(M, Δ)$ is a compact sub-riemannian manifold, each non trivial homotopy class in $π_1(M)$ can be represented by a closed sub-riemannian geodesic. In the contact case, we prove a min-max result generalizing the celebrated Lyusternik-Fet theorem: if $(M, Δ)$ is a compact, contact manifold, then every sub-riemannian metric on $Δ$ carries at least one closed sub-riemannian geodesic. This result is based on a combination of the above topological results with a delicate study of the Palais-Smale condition in the vicinity of abnormal loops (singular points of $Λ$).

math.DG↗

arXiv2018

Foliation by area-constrained Willmore spheres near a non-degenerate critical point of the scalar curvature

Let $(M,g)$ be a 3-dimensional Riemannian manifold. The goal of the paper it to show that if $P_{0}\in M$ is a non-degenerate critical point of the scalar curvature, then a neighborhood of $P_{0}$ is foliated by area-constrained Willmore spheres. Such a foliation is unique among foliations by area-constrained Willmore spheres having Willmore energy less than $32π$, moreover it is regular in the sense that a suitable rescaling smoothly converges to a round sphere in the Euclidean three-dimensional space. We also establish generic multiplicity of foliations and the first multiplicity result for area-constrained Willmore spheres with prescribed (small) area in a closed Riemannian manifold. The topic has strict links with the Hawking mass.

math.DG↗

arXiv2018

Sectional and intermediate Ricci curvature lower bounds via Optimal Transport

The goal of the paper is to give an optimal transport characterization of sectional curvature lower (and upper) bounds for smooth $n$-dimensional Riemannian manifolds. More generally we characterize, via optimal transport, lower bounds on the so called $p$-Ricci curvature which corresponds to taking the trace of the Riemann curvature tensor on $p$-dimensional planes, $1\leq p\leq n$. Such characterization roughly consists on a convexity condition of the $p$-Renyi entropy along $L^{2}$-Wasserstein geodesics, where the role of reference measure is played by the $p$-dimensional Hausdorff measure. As application we establish a new Brunn-Minkowski type inequality involving $p$-dimensional submanifolds and the $p$-dimensional Hausdorff measure.

math.DG↗

arXiv2018

Almost euclidean Isoperimetric Inequalities in spaces satisfying local Ricci curvature lower bounds

Motivated by Perelman's Pseudo Locality Theorem for the Ricci flow, we prove that if a Riemannian manifold has Ricci curvature bounded below in a metric ball which moreover has almost maximal volume, then in a smaller ball (in a quantified sense) it holds an almost-euclidean isoperimetric inequality. The result is actually established in the more general framework of non-smooth spaces satisfying local Ricci curvature lower bounds in a synthetic sense via optimal transportation.

math.DG↗

arXiv2018

Global Conformal Invariants of Submanifolds

The goal of the present paper is to investigate the algebraic structure of global conformal invariants of submanifolds. These are defined to be conformally invariant integrals of geometric scalars of the tangent and normal bundle. A famous example of a global conformal invariant is the Willmore energy of a surface. In codimension one we classify such invariants, showing that under a structural hypothesis (more precisely we assume the integrand depends separately on the intrinsic and extrinsic curvatures, and not on their derivatives) the integrand can only consist of an intrinsic scalar conformal invariant, an extrinsic scalar conformal invariant and the Chern-Gauss-Bonnet integrand. In particular, for codimension one surfaces, we show that the Willmore energy is the unique global conformal invariant, up to the addition of a topological term (the Gauss curvature, giving the Euler Characteristic by the Gauss Bonnet Theorem). A similar statement holds also for codimension two surfaces, once taking into account an additional topological term given by the Chern-Gauss-Bonnet integrand of the normal bundle. We also discuss existence and properties of natural higher dimensional (and codimensional) generalizations of the Willmore energy.

math.DG↗

arXiv2018

Isoperimetric inequalities for finite perimeter sets under lower Ricci curvature bounds

We prove that the results regarding the Isoperimetric inequality and Cheeger constant formulated in terms of the Minkowski content, obtained by the authors in previous papers in the framework of essentially non-branching metric measure spaces verifying the local curvature dimension condition, also hold in the stronger formulation in terms of the perimeter.

math.MG↗

arXiv2017

Embedded area-constrained Willmore tori of small area in Riemannian three-manifolds I: Minimization

We construct embedded Willmore tori with small area constraint in Riemannian three-manifolds under some curvature condition used to prevent Möbius degeneration. The construction relies on a Lyapunov-Schmidt reduction; to this aim we establish new geometric expansions of exponentiated small symmetric Clifford tori and analyze the sharp asymptotic behavior of degenerating tori under the action of the Möbius group. In this first work we prove two existence results by minimizing or maximizing a suitable reduced functional, in particular we obtain embedded area-constrained Willmore tori (or, equivalently, toroidal critical points of the Hawking mass under area-constraint) in compact 3-manifolds with constant scalar curvature and in the double Schwarzschild space. In a forthcoming paper new existence theorems will be achieved via Morse theory.

math.DG↗

arXiv2017

Structure Theory of Metric-Measure Spaces with Lower Ricci Curvature Bounds

We prove that a metric measure space $(X,d,m)$ satisfying finite dimensional lower Ricci curvature bounds and whose Sobolev space $W^{1,2}$ is Hilbert is rectifiable. That is, a $RCD^*(K,N)$-space is rectifiable, and in particular for $m$-a.e. point the tangent cone is unique and euclidean of dimension at most $N$. The proof is based on a maximal function argument combined with an original Almost Splitting Theorem via estimates on the gradient of the excess. To this aim we also show a sharp integral Abresh-Gromoll type inequality on the excess function and an Abresh-Gromoll-type inequality on the gradient of the excess. The argument is new even in the smooth setting.

math.DG↗