arXiv subjects

Fernando C. Marques

Publications and source records attributed to Fernando C. Marques.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Rigidity and non-rigidity of the stable norm on $T^n$

We show that the stable norm of flat metrics on $H_{d}(T^n,\mathbb{R})$ is locally rigid if $1\leq d<n-1$ and locally rigid among metrics of the same volume if $d=n-1$. We also show that the stable norm on $H_{2}(T^3,\mathbb{R})$ is not locally rigid. As applications, we answer negatively a question raised by Bangert in his ICM address, prove local rigidity of the marked $k$-area spectrum of flat metrics for $1\leq k\leq n-2$, and prove a local rigidity result for the volume spectrum of flat metrics on $T^n$.

math.DG↗

arXiv2026

Closed minimal surfaces of index one in Riemannian manifolds

In this paper we prove that an $(n+1)$-manifold, compactly $n$-enlargeable, where $3\leq (n+1)\leq 7$, has connected, immersed Morse index one, closed minimal hypersurfaces with unbounded volumes for bumpy metrics. We prove that in the three-dimensional case the hypersurfaces are geometrically distinct using cyclic coverings of manifolds with boundary. The proof extends to $(n+1)$-fiberings. We prove a scalar curvature rigidity theorem for area-nonincreasing maps of three-dimensional manifolds. The case of stable surfaces is also discussed by using cohomology classes and incompressible surfaces.

math.DG↗

arXiv2026

Counting Minimal Lagrangians Via Mirzakhani Functions

We show that for $k>1$ the number of genus $k$ minimal Lagrangians with area at most $A$ in a product of hyperbolic surfaces grows on the order of $A^{6(k-1)}$, with an explicit leading constant given in terms of the Mirzakhani function, and we obtain a similar result for products of nonpositively curved surfaces. We also prove rigidity of the Lagrangian area spectrum, and obtain analogous counting results for products of a higher genus surface with a circle.

math.DG↗

arXiv2024

Rigidity theorems for the area widths of Riemannian manifolds

The volume spectrum of a compact Riemannian manifold is a sequence of critical values for the area functional, defined in analogy with the Laplace spectrum by Gromov. In this paper we prove that the canonical metric on the two-dimensional projective plane is determined modulo isometries by its volume spectrum. We also prove that the surface Zoll metrics on the three-dimensional sphere are characterized by the equality of the spherical area widths. These widths generalize to the surface case the Lusternik-Schnirelmann lengths of closed geodesics. We prove a new sharp area systolic inequality for metrics on the three-dimensional projective space.

math.DG↗

arXiv2024

Conformal currents and the entropy of negatively curved three-manifolds

In this paper, we describe the intersection between geodesic and conformal currents on closed hyperbolic three-manifolds. We use this to prove some sharp bounds which involve the Liouville entropy of a negatively curved metric, the minimal surface entropy, and the area ratio. Using these ideas we also give a new proof of the Mostow Rigidity Theorem in the three-dimensional case.

math.DG↗

arXiv2022

Multiplicity one and strictly stable Allen-Cahn minimal hypersurfaces

We show that strictly stable components of Allen-Cahn minimal hypersurfaces always occur with multiplicity one. We also establish the uniqueness of solutions converging to nondegenerate hypersurfaces with multiplicity one. Our results work in all dimensions and without variational assumptions on the Allen-Cahn solutions.

math.DG↗

arXiv2021

Riemannian metrics on the sphere with Zoll families of minimal hypersurfaces

In this paper we construct smooth Riemannian metrics on the sphere which admit smooth Zoll families of minimal hypersurfaces. This generalizes a theorem of Guillemin for the case of geodesics. The proof uses the Nash-Moser Inverse Function Theorem in the tame maps setting of Hamilton. This answers a question of Yau on perturbations of minimal hypersurfaces in positive Ricci curvature. We also consider the case of the projective space and characterize those metrics on the sphere with minimal equators.

math.DG↗

arXiv2020

Morse inequalities for the area functional

In this article we prove the strong Morse inequalities for the area functional in codimension one, assuming that the ambient dimension satisfies $3 \leq (n + 1) \leq 7$, in both the closed and the boundary cases.

math.DG↗

arXiv2020

Counting minimal surfaces in negatively curved 3-manifolds

We introduced an asymptotic quantity that counts area-minimizing surfaces in negatively curved closed 3-manifolds and show that quantity to only be minimized, among all metrics of sectional curvature less than or equal -1, by the hyperbolic metric.

math.DG↗

arXiv2019

Morse index of multiplicity one min-max minimal hypersurfaces

In this paper, we prove that the Morse index of a multiplicity one, smooth, min-max minimal hypersurface is generically equal to the dimension of the homology class detected by the families used in the construction. This confirms part of the program (\cite{marques-icm}, \cite{marques-neves-cycles}, \cite{marques-neves-index}, \cite{neves-icm}) proposed by the authors with the goal of developing a Morse theory for the area functional.

math.DG↗

arXiv2018

Equidistribution of minimal hypersurfaces for generic metrics

For almost all Riemannian metrics (in the $C^\infty$ Baire sense) on a closed manifold $M^{n+1}$, $3\leq (n+1)\leq 7$, we prove that there is a sequence of closed, smooth, embedded, connected minimal hypersurfaces that is equidistributed in $M$. This gives a quantitative version of the main result of \cite{irie-marques-neves}, by Irie and the first two authors, that established denseness of minimal hypersurfaces for generic metrics. As in \cite{irie-marques-neves}, the main tool is the Weyl Law for the Volume Spectrum proven by Liokumovich and the first two authors in \cite{liokumovich-marques-neves}.

math.DG↗

arXiv2018

Weyl law for the volume spectrum

Given $M$ a Riemannian manifold with (possibly empty) boundary, we show that its volume spectrum $\{ω_p(M)\}_{p\in\mathbb{N}}$ satisfies a Weyl law that was conjectured by Gromov.

math.DG↗

arXiv2018

Density of minimal hypersurfaces for generic metrics

For almost all Riemannian metrics (in the $C^\infty$ Baire sense) on a closed manifold $M^{n+1}$, $3\leq (n+1)\leq 7$, we prove that the union of all closed, smooth, embedded minimal hypersurfaces is dense. This implies there are infinitely many minimal hypersurfaces thus proving a conjecture of Yau (1982) for generic metrics.

math.DG↗

arXiv2016

Existence of infinitely many minimal hypersurfaces in positive Ricci curvature

In the early 1980s, S. T. Yau conjectured that any compact Riemannian three-manifold admits an infinite number of closed immersed minimal surfaces. We use min-max theory for the area functional to prove this conjecture in the positive Ricci curvature setting. More precisely, we show that every compact Riemannian manifold with positive Ricci curvature and dimension at most seven contains infinitely many smooth, closed, embedded minimal hypersurfaces. In the last section we mention some open problems related with the geometry of these minimal hypersurfaces.

math.DG↗

arXiv2016

Morse index and multiplicity of min-max minimal hypersurfaces

The Min-max Theory for the area functional, started by Almgren in the early 1960s and greatly improved by Pitts in 1981, was left incomplete because it gave no Morse index estimate for the min-max minimal hypersurface. We advance the theory further and prove the first general Morse index bounds for minimal hypersurfaces produced by it. We also settle the multiplicity problem for the classical case of one-parameter sweepouts.

math.DG↗

arXiv2016

The catenoid estimate and its geometric applications

We prove a sharp area estimate for catenoids that allows us to rule out the phenomenon of multiplicity in min-max theory in several settings. We apply it to prove that i) the width of a three-manifold with positive Ricci curvature is realized by an orientable minimal surface ii) minimal genus Heegaard surfaces in such manifolds can be isotoped to be minimal and iii) the "doublings" of the Clifford torus by Kapouleas-Yang can be constructed variationally by an equivariant min-max procedure. In higher dimensions we also prove that the width of manifolds with positive Ricci curvature is achieved by an index 1 orientable minimal hypersurface.

math.DG↗

arXiv2015

Min-max theory and the energy of links

Freedman, He, and Wang, conjectured in 1994 that the Mobius energy should be minimized, among the class of all nontrivial links in Euclidean space, by the stereographic projection of the standard Hopf link. We prove this conjecture using the min-max theory of minimal surfaces.

math.GT↗

arXiv2014

The Willmore conjecture

The Willmore conjecture, proposed in 1965, concerns the quest to find the best torus of all. This problem has inspired a lot of mathematics over the years, helping bringing together ideas from subjects like conformal geometry, partial differential equations, algebraic geometry and geometric measure theory. In this article we survey the history of the conjecture and our recent solution through the min-max approach. We finish with a discussion of some of the many open questions that remain in the field.

math.DG↗