The $\sigma_k$-Yamabe problem revisited

TL;DR

This paper proves the existence of conformal metrics with constant $\sigma_k$-scalar curvature on certain manifolds, specifically for the case $k=2$, under positive Yamabe constant conditions.

Contribution

It establishes the achievement of the $\sigma_2$-Yamabe constant on manifolds with positive Yamabe constant, solving the $\sigma_2$-Yamabe problem under these conditions.

Findings

The $\sigma_2$-Yamabe constant is achieved by a conformal metric under positive Yamabe conditions.

The infimum of the $\sigma_2$-scalar curvature functional is equal whether or not the positivity condition is explicitly enforced.

Removing the $R_g>0$ condition can lead to failure of these results.

Abstract

In this paper we revisit the $\sigma_k$-Yamabe problem on $M^n$, namely, finding a conformal metric with constant $\sigma_k$-scalar curvature. We prove that on a closed manifold $\left(M,\left[g_0\right]\right)$ with positive Yamabe constant $Y_1\left(M,\left[g_0\right]\right)>0$, the $\sigma_2$-Yamabe constant $$ Y_2\left(M,\left[g_0\right]\right):=\inf _{g \in\left[g_0\right], R_g>0} \frac{\int_M \sigma_2(g) d \operatorname{vol}(g)}{\operatorname{vol}(g)^{\frac{n-4}{n}}} $$ is achieved by a conformal metric $g \in\left[g_0\right]$, which in particular solves the $\sigma_2$-Yamabe problem, assuming $Y_2\left(M,\left[g_0\right]\right)>0$. As a consequence, for any $\left(M, g_0\right)$ with $Y_1\left(M,\left[g_0\right]\right)>$ 0 and $Y_2\left(M,\left[g_0\right]\right)>0$ one has $$ \inf _{g \in\left[g_0\right], R_g>0} \frac{\int_M \sigma_2(g) d \operatorname{vol}(g)}{\operatorname{vol}(g)^{\frac{n-4}{n}}}=\inf _{g \in\left[g_0\right], R_g>0, \sigma_2(g)>0} \frac{\int_M \sigma_2(g) d \operatorname{vol}(g)}{\operatorname{vol}(g)^{\frac{n-4}{n}}} . $$ We also show that these conclusions can fail if the condition $R_g>0$ is removed.