Constrained deformations of positive scalar curvature metrics

TL;DR

This paper characterizes 3-manifolds supporting positive scalar curvature metrics with mean-convex boundary, showing the moduli space is path-connected and constructing continuous metric paths with minimal boundary.

Contribution

It provides a complete topological classification of such 3-manifolds and demonstrates the path-connectedness of their metric moduli space using advanced geometric techniques.

Findings

Topological classification of 3-manifolds with positive scalar curvature and mean-convex boundary.

Proof that the moduli space of these metrics is path-connected.

Construction of continuous paths of metrics with minimal boundary.

Abstract

We present a series of results concerning the interplay between the scalar curvature of a manifold and the mean curvature of its boundary. In particular, we give a complete topological characterization of those compact 3-manifolds that support Riemannian metrics of positive scalar curvature and mean-convex boundary and, in any such case, we prove that the associated moduli space of metrics is path-connected. The methods we employ are flexible enough to allow the construction of continuous paths of positive scalar curvature metrics with minimal boundary, and to derive similar conclusions in that context as well. Our work relies on a combination of earlier fundamental contributions by Gromov-Lawson and Schoen-Yau, on the smoothing procedure designed by Miao, and on the interplay of Perelman's Ricci flow with surgery and conformal deformation techniques introduced by Cod\'a Marques in dealing with the closed case.