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Stefan Wenger

Publications and source records attributed to Stefan Wenger.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
arXiv2026

Ultralimits of Sobolev maps and stability of Dehn functions

We show that the ultralimit of a bounded sequence of Lipschitz maps into pointed metric spaces extends naturally to $p$-bounded sequences of Sobolev maps and that this ultralimit for Sobolev maps enjoys desirable properties. We use this to prove the stability of Dehn functions under ultraconvergence of pointed length spaces, thus resolving a problem posed by several researchers in the field. As an application, we obtain a simpler proof of a recent result of Stadler--Wenger, previously proved in the locally compact case by Lytchak--Wenger, characterizing spaces of curvature bounded above by $κ$ via an isoperimetric inequality for curves.

math.DG↗
arXiv2025

Energy minimizing harmonic 2-spheres in metric spaces

In their seminal 1981 article, Sacks-Uhlenbeck famously proved the existence of non-trivial harmonic 2-spheres in every closed Riemannian manifold with non-zero second homotopy group. Their arguments heavily rely on PDE techniques. The purpose of the present paper is to develop a conceptually simple metric approach to the existence of harmonic spheres. This allows us to generalize the Sacks-Uhlenbeck result to a large class of compact metric spaces.

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arXiv2023

Geometric and analytic structures on metric spaces homeomorphic to a manifold

We study metric spaces homeomorphic to a closed oriented manifold from both geometric and analytic perspectives. We show that such spaces (which are sometimes called metric manifolds) admit a non-trivial integral current without boundary, provided they satisfy some weak assumptions. The existence of such an object should be thought of as an analytic analog of the fundamental class of the space and can also be interpreted as giving a way to make sense of Stokes' theorem in this setting. Using our existence result, we establish that Riemannian manifolds are Lipschitz-volume rigid among certain metric manifolds and we show the validity of (relative) isoperimetric inequalities in metric $n$-manifolds that are Ahlfors $n$-regular and linearly locally contractible. The former statement is a generalization of a well-known Lipschitz-volume rigidity result in Riemannian geometry and the latter yields a relatively short and conceptually simple proof of a deep theorem of Semmes about the validity of Poincaré inequalities in these spaces. Finally, as a further application, we also give sufficient conditions for a metric manifold to be rectifiable.

math.MG↗
arXiv2023

Isoperimetric inequalities vs. upper curvature bounds

The Dehn function of a metric space measures the area necessary in order to fill a closed curve of controlled length by a disc. As a main result, we prove that a length space has curvature bounded above by $κ$ in the sense of Alexandrov if and only if its Dehn function is bounded above by the Dehn function of the model surface of constant curvature $κ$. This extends work of Lytchak and the second author from locally compact spaces to the general case. A key ingredient in the proof is the construction of minimal discs with suitable properties in certain ultralimits. Our arguments also yield quantitative local and stable versions of our main result. The latter has implications on the geometry of asymptotic cones.

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arXiv2021

Undistorted fillings in subsets of metric spaces

We prove that if a quasiconvex subset $X$ of a metric space $Y$ has finite Nagata dimension and is Lipschitz $k$-connected or admits Euclidean isoperimetric inequalities up to dimension $k$ for some $k$ then $X$ is isoperimetrically undistorted in $Y$ up to dimension $k+1$. This generalizes and strengthens a recent result of the third named author and has several consequences and applications. It yields for example that in spaces of finite Nagata dimension, Lipschitz connectedness implies Euclidean isoperimetric inequalities, and Euclidean isoperimetric inequalities imply coning inequalities. It furthermore allows us to prove an analog of the Federer-Fleming deformation theorem in spaces of finite Nagata dimension admitting Euclidean isoperimetric inequalities.

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arXiv2021

Constructing Hölder maps to Carnot groups

In this paper, we construct Hölder maps to Carnot groups equipped with a Carnot metric, especially the first Heisenberg group $\mathbb{H}$. Pansu and Gromov observed that any surface embedded in $\mathbb{H}$ has Hausdorff dimension at least 3, so there is no $α$-Hölder embedding of a surface into $\mathbb{H}$ when $α>\frac{2}{3}$. Züst improved this result to show that when $α>\frac{2}{3}$, any $α$-Hölder map from a simply-connected Riemannian manifold to $\mathbb{H}$ factors through a metric tree. In the present paper, we show that Züst's result is sharp by constructing $(\frac{2}{3}-ε)$-Hölder maps from $D^2$ and $D^3$ to $\mathbb{H}$ that do not factor through a tree. We use these to show that if $0<α< \frac{2}{3}$, then the set of $α$-Hölder maps from a compact metric space to $\mathbb{H}$ is dense in the set of continuous maps and to construct proper degree-1 maps from $\mathbb{R}^3$ to $\mathbb{H}$ with Hölder exponents arbitrarily close to $\frac{2}{3}$.

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arXiv2021

Quasiconformal almost parametrizations of metric surfaces

We look for minimal conditions on a two-dimensional metric surface $X$ of locally finite Hausdorff $2$-measure under which $X$ admits an (almost) parametrization with good geometric and analytic properties. Only assuming that $X$ is locally geodesic, we show that Jordan domains in $X$ of finite boundary length admit a quasiconformal almost parametrization. If $X$ satisfies some further conditions then such an almost parametrization can be upgraded to a geometrically quasiconformal homeomorphism or a quasisymmetric homeomorphism. In particular, we recover Rajala's recent quasiconformal uniformization theorem in the special case that $X$ is locally geodesic as well as Bonk-Kleiner's quasisymmetric uniformization theorem. On the way we establish the existence of Sobolev discs spanning a given Jordan curve in $X$ under nearly minimal assumptions on $X$ and prove the continuity of energy minimizers.

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arXiv2020

Area minimizing surfaces in homotopy classes in metric spaces

We introduce and study a notion of relative 1-homotopy type for Sobolev maps from a surface to a metric space spanning a given collection of Jordan curves. We use this to establish the existence and local Hölder regularity of area minimizing surfaces in a given relative 1-homotopy class in proper geodesic metric spaces admitting a local quadratic isoperimetric inequality. If the underlying space has trivial second homotopy group then relatively 1-homotopic maps are relatively homotopic. We also obtain an analog for closed surfaces in a given 1-homotopy class. Our theorems generalize and strengthen results of Lemaire, Jost, Schoen-Yau, and Sacks-Uhlenbeck.

math.DG↗
arXiv2019

Morrey's $\varepsilon$-conformality lemma in metric spaces

We provide a simpler proof and slight strengthening of Morrey's famous lemma on $\varepsilon$-conformal mappings. Our result more generally applies to Sobolev maps with values in a complete metric space and we obtain applications to the existence of area minimizing surfaces of higher genus in metric spaces. Unlike Morrey's proof, which relies on the measurable Riemann mapping theorem, we only need the existence of smooth isothermal coordinates established by Korn and Lichtenstein.

math.DG↗
arXiv2019

Area minimizing surfaces of bounded genus in metric spaces

The Plateau-Douglas problem asks to find an area minimizing surface of fixed or bounded genus spanning a given finite collection of Jordan curves in Euclidean space. In the present paper we solve this problem in the setting of proper metric spaces admitting a local quadratic isoperimetric inequality for curves. We moreover obtain continuity up to the boundary and interior Hölder regularity of solutions. Our results generalize corresponding results of Jost and Tomi-Tromba from the setting of Riemannian manifolds to that of proper metric spaces with a local quadratic isoperimetric inequality. The special case of a disc-type surface spanning a single Jordan curve corresponds to the classical problem of Plateau, in proper metric spaces recently solved by Lytchak and the second author.

math.DG↗
arXiv2018

Area minimizing discs in locally non-compact metric spaces

We solve the classical problem of Plateau in every metric space which is $1$-complemented in an ultra-completion of itself. This includes all proper metric spaces as well as many locally non-compact metric spaces, in particular, all dual Banach spaces, some non-dual Banach spaces such as $L^1$, all Hadamard spaces, and many more. Our results generalize corresponding results of Lytchak and the second author from the setting of proper metric spaces to that of locally non-compact ones. We furthermore solve the Dirichlet problem in the same class of spaces. The main new ingredient in our proofs is a suitable generalization of the Rellich-Kondrachov compactness theorem, from which we deduce a result about ultra-limits of sequences of Sobolev maps.

math.MG↗
arXiv2018

Spaces with almost Euclidean Dehn function

We prove that any proper, geodesic metric space whose Dehn function grows asymptotically like the Euclidean one has asymptotic cones which are non-positively curved in the sense of Alexandrov, thus are ${\rm CAT}(0)$. This is new already in the setting of Riemannian manifolds and establishes in particular the borderline case of a result about the sharp isoperimetric constant which implies Gromov hyperbolicity. Our result moreover provides a large scale analog of a recent result of Lytchak and the author which characterizes proper ${\rm CAT}(0)$ in terms of the growth of the Dehn function at all scales. We finally obtain a generalization of this result of Lytchak and the author. Namely, we show that if the Dehn function of a proper, geodesic metric space is sufficiently close to the Euclidean Dehn function up to some scale then the space is not far (in a suitable sense) from being ${\rm CAT}(0)$ up to that scale.

math.DG↗
arXiv2018

Harmonic quasi-isometric maps into Gromov hyperbolic ${\rm CAT}(0)$-spaces

We show that for every quasi-isometric map from a Hadamard manifold of pinched negative curvature to a locally compact, Gromov hyperbolic, ${\rm CAT}(0)$-space there exists an energy minimizing harmonic map at finite distance. This harmonic map is moreover Lipschitz. This generalizes a recent result of Benoist-Hulin.

math.DG↗
arXiv2017

Canonical parametrizations of metric discs

We use the recently established existence and regularity of area and energy minimizing discs in metric spaces to obtain canonical parametrizations of metric surfaces. Our approach yields a new and conceptually simple proof of a well-known theorem of Bonk and Kleiner on the existence of quasisymmetric parametrizations of linearly locally connected, Ahlfors $2$-regular metric $2$-spheres. Generalizations and applications to the geometry of such surfaces are described.

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arXiv2016

Intrinsic structure of minimal discs in metric spaces

We study the intrinsic structure of parametric minimal discs in metric spaces admitting a quadratic isoperimetric inequality. We associate to each minimal disc a compact, geodesic metric space whose geometric, topological, and analytic properties are controlled by the isoperimetric inequality. Its geometry can be used to control the shapes of all curves and therefore the geometry and topology of the original metric space. The class of spaces arising in this way as intrinsic minimal discs is a natural generalization of the class of Ahlfors regular discs, well-studied in analysis on metric spaces.

math.DG↗
arXiv2016

Isoperimetric characterization of upper curvature bounds

We prove that a proper geodesic metric space has non-positive curvature in the sense of Alexandrov if and only if it satisfies the Euclidean isoperimetric inequality for curves. Our result extends to non-geodesic spaces and non-zero curvature bounds.

math.DG↗
arXiv2016

Dehn functions and Hölder extensions in asymptotic cones

The Dehn function measures the area of minimal discs that fill closed curves in a space; it is an important invariant in analysis, geometry, and geometric group theory. There are several equivalent ways to define the Dehn function, varying according to the type of disc used. In this paper, we introduce a new definition of the Dehn function and use it to prove several theorems. First, we generalize the quasi-isometry invariance of the Dehn function to a broad class of spaces. Second, we prove Hölder extension properties for spaces with quadratic Dehn function and their asymptotic cones. Finally, we show that ultralimits and asymptotic cones of spaces with quadratic Dehn function also have quadratic Dehn function. The proofs of our results rely on recent existence and regularity results for area-minimizing Sobolev mappings in metric spaces.

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