Global Analysis of Minimal Surfaces

Global Analysis of Minimal Surfaces PDF Author: Ulrich Dierkes
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 3642117066
Category : Mathematics
Languages : en
Pages : 547

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Book Description
Many properties of minimal surfaces are of a global nature, and this is already true for the results treated in the first two volumes of the treatise. Part I of the present book can be viewed as an extension of these results. For instance, the first two chapters deal with existence, regularity and uniqueness theorems for minimal surfaces with partially free boundaries. Here one of the main features is the possibility of "edge-crawling" along free parts of the boundary. The third chapter deals with a priori estimates for minimal surfaces in higher dimensions and for minimizers of singular integrals related to the area functional. In particular, far reaching Bernstein theorems are derived. The second part of the book contains what one might justly call a "global theory of minimal surfaces" as envisioned by Smale. First, the Douglas problem is treated anew by using Teichmüller theory. Secondly, various index theorems for minimal theorems are derived, and their consequences for the space of solutions to Plateau ́s problem are discussed. Finally, a topological approach to minimal surfaces via Fredholm vector fields in the spirit of Smale is presented.

Global Analysis of Minimal Surfaces

Global Analysis of Minimal Surfaces PDF Author: Ulrich Dierkes
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 3642117066
Category : Mathematics
Languages : en
Pages : 547

Get Book

Book Description
Many properties of minimal surfaces are of a global nature, and this is already true for the results treated in the first two volumes of the treatise. Part I of the present book can be viewed as an extension of these results. For instance, the first two chapters deal with existence, regularity and uniqueness theorems for minimal surfaces with partially free boundaries. Here one of the main features is the possibility of "edge-crawling" along free parts of the boundary. The third chapter deals with a priori estimates for minimal surfaces in higher dimensions and for minimizers of singular integrals related to the area functional. In particular, far reaching Bernstein theorems are derived. The second part of the book contains what one might justly call a "global theory of minimal surfaces" as envisioned by Smale. First, the Douglas problem is treated anew by using Teichmüller theory. Secondly, various index theorems for minimal theorems are derived, and their consequences for the space of solutions to Plateau ́s problem are discussed. Finally, a topological approach to minimal surfaces via Fredholm vector fields in the spirit of Smale is presented.

The Global Theory of Minimal Surfaces in Flat Spaces

The Global Theory of Minimal Surfaces in Flat Spaces PDF Author: W.H. III Meeks
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 3540456090
Category : Mathematics
Languages : en
Pages : 124

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Book Description
In the second half of the twentieth century the global theory of minimal surface in flat space had an unexpected and rapid blossoming. Some of the classical problems were solved and new classes of minimal surfaces found. Minimal surfaces are now studied from several different viewpoints using methods and techniques from analysis (real and complex), topology and geometry. In this lecture course, Meeks, Ros and Rosenberg, three of the main architects of the modern edifice, present some of the more recent methods and developments of the theory. The topics include moduli, asymptotic geometry and surfaces of constant mean curvature in the hyperbolic space.

Minimal Surfaces from a Complex Analytic Viewpoint

Minimal Surfaces from a Complex Analytic Viewpoint PDF Author: Antonio Alarcón
Publisher: Springer Nature
ISBN: 3030690563
Category : Mathematics
Languages : en
Pages : 430

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Book Description
This monograph offers the first systematic treatment of the theory of minimal surfaces in Euclidean spaces by complex analytic methods, many of which have been developed in recent decades as part of the theory of Oka manifolds (the h-principle in complex analysis). It places particular emphasis on the study of the global theory of minimal surfaces with a given complex structure. Advanced methods of holomorphic approximation, interpolation, and homotopy classification of manifold-valued maps, along with elements of convex integration theory, are implemented for the first time in the theory of minimal surfaces. The text also presents newly developed methods for constructing minimal surfaces in minimally convex domains of Rn, based on the Riemann–Hilbert boundary value problem adapted to minimal surfaces and holomorphic null curves. These methods also provide major advances in the classical Calabi–Yau problem, yielding in particular minimal surfaces with the conformal structure of any given bordered Riemann surface. Offering new directions in the field and several challenging open problems, the primary audience of the book are researchers (including postdocs and PhD students) in differential geometry and complex analysis. Although not primarily intended as a textbook, two introductory chapters surveying background material and the classical theory of minimal surfaces also make it suitable for preparing Masters or PhD level courses.

A Course in Minimal Surfaces

A Course in Minimal Surfaces PDF Author: Tobias Holck Colding
Publisher: American Mathematical Society
ISBN: 1470476401
Category : Mathematics
Languages : en
Pages : 330

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Book Description
Minimal surfaces date back to Euler and Lagrange and the beginning of the calculus of variations. Many of the techniques developed have played key roles in geometry and partial differential equations. Examples include monotonicity and tangent cone analysis originating in the regularity theory for minimal surfaces, estimates for nonlinear equations based on the maximum principle arising in Bernstein's classical work, and even Lebesgue's definition of the integral that he developed in his thesis on the Plateau problem for minimal surfaces. This book starts with the classical theory of minimal surfaces and ends up with current research topics. Of the various ways of approaching minimal surfaces (from complex analysis, PDE, or geometric measure theory), the authors have chosen to focus on the PDE aspects of the theory. The book also contains some of the applications of minimal surfaces to other fields including low dimensional topology, general relativity, and materials science. The only prerequisites needed for this book are a basic knowledge of Riemannian geometry and some familiarity with the maximum principle.

A Survey of Minimal Surfaces

A Survey of Minimal Surfaces PDF Author: Robert Osserman
Publisher: Courier Corporation
ISBN: 0486167690
Category : Mathematics
Languages : en
Pages : 224

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Book Description
Newly updated accessible study covers parametric and non-parametric surfaces, isothermal parameters, Bernstein’s theorem, much more, including such recent developments as new work on Plateau’s problem and on isoperimetric inequalities. Clear, comprehensive examination provides profound insights into crucial area of pure mathematics. 1986 edition. Index.

Introduction to Global Analysis: Minimal Surfaces in Riemannian Manifolds

Introduction to Global Analysis: Minimal Surfaces in Riemannian Manifolds PDF Author: John Douglas Moore
Publisher: American Mathematical Soc.
ISBN: 1470429500
Category : Electronic books
Languages : en
Pages : 368

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Book Description
During the last century, global analysis was one of the main sources of interaction between geometry and topology. One might argue that the core of this subject is Morse theory, according to which the critical points of a generic smooth proper function on a manifold determine the homology of the manifold. Morse envisioned applying this idea to the calculus of variations, including the theory of periodic motion in classical mechanics, by approximating the space of loops on by a finite-dimensional manifold of high dimension. Palais and Smale reformulated Morse's calculus of variations in terms of infinite-dimensional manifolds, and these infinite-dimensional manifolds were found useful for studying a wide variety of nonlinear PDEs. This book applies infinite-dimensional manifold theory to the Morse theory of closed geodesics in a Riemannian manifold. It then describes the problems encountered when extending this theory to maps from surfaces instead of curves. It treats critical point theory for closed parametrized minimal surfaces in a compact Riemannian manifold, establishing Morse inequalities for perturbed versions of the energy function on the mapping space. It studies the bubbling which occurs when the perturbation is turned off, together with applications to the existence of closed minimal surfaces. The Morse-Sard theorem is used to develop transversality theory for both closed geodesics and closed minimal surfaces. This book is based on lecture notes for graduate courses on “Topics in Differential Geometry”, taught by the author over several years. The reader is assumed to have taken basic graduate courses in differential geometry and algebraic topology.

Minimal Surfaces

Minimal Surfaces PDF Author: Ulrich Dierkes
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 3642116981
Category : Mathematics
Languages : en
Pages : 692

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Book Description
Minimal Surfaces is the first volume of a three volume treatise on minimal surfaces (Grundlehren Nr. 339-341). Each volume can be read and studied independently of the others. The central theme is boundary value problems for minimal surfaces. The treatise is a substantially revised and extended version of the monograph Minimal Surfaces I, II (Grundlehren Nr. 295 & 296). The first volume begins with an exposition of basic ideas of the theory of surfaces in three-dimensional Euclidean space, followed by an introduction of minimal surfaces as stationary points of area, or equivalently, as surfaces of zero mean curvature. The final definition of a minimal surface is that of a nonconstant harmonic mapping X: \Omega\to\R^3 which is conformally parametrized on \Omega\subset\R^2 and may have branch points. Thereafter the classical theory of minimal surfaces is surveyed, comprising many examples, a treatment of Björling ́s initial value problem, reflection principles, a formula of the second variation of area, the theorems of Bernstein, Heinz, Osserman, and Fujimoto. The second part of this volume begins with a survey of Plateau ́s problem and of some of its modifications. One of the main features is a new, completely elementary proof of the fact that area A and Dirichlet integral D have the same infimum in the class C(G) of admissible surfaces spanning a prescribed contour G. This leads to a new, simplified solution of the simultaneous problem of minimizing A and D in C(G), as well as to new proofs of the mapping theorems of Riemann and Korn-Lichtenstein, and to a new solution of the simultaneous Douglas problem for A and D where G consists of several closed components. Then basic facts of stable minimal surfaces are derived; this is done in the context of stable H-surfaces (i.e. of stable surfaces of prescribed mean curvature H), especially of cmc-surfaces (H = const), and leads to curvature estimates for stable, immersed cmc-surfaces and to Nitsche ́s uniqueness theorem and Tomi ́s finiteness result. In addition, a theory of unstable solutions of Plateau ́s problems is developed which is based on Courant ́s mountain pass lemma. Furthermore, Dirichlet ́s problem for nonparametric H-surfaces is solved, using the solution of Plateau ́s problem for H-surfaces and the pertinent estimates.

Geometry V

Geometry V PDF Author: Robert Osserman
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 3662034840
Category : Mathematics
Languages : en
Pages : 279

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Book Description
Few people outside of mathematics are aware of the varieties of mathemat ical experience - the degree to which different mathematical subjects have different and distinctive flavors, often attractive to some mathematicians and repellant to others. The particular flavor of the subject of minimal surfaces seems to lie in a combination of the concreteness of the objects being studied, their origin and relation to the physical world, and the way they lie at the intersection of so many different parts of mathematics. In the past fifteen years a new component has been added: the availability of computer graphics to provide illustrations that are both mathematically instructive and esthetically pleas ing. During the course of the twentieth century, two major thrusts have played a seminal role in the evolution of minimal surface theory. The first is the work on the Plateau Problem, whose initial phase culminated in the solution for which Jesse Douglas was awarded one of the first two Fields Medals in 1936. (The other Fields Medal that year went to Lars V. Ahlfors for his contributions to complex analysis, including his important new insights in Nevanlinna Theory.) The second was the innovative approach to partial differential equations by Serge Bernstein, which led to the celebrated Bernstein's Theorem, stating that the only solution to the minimal surface equation over the whole plane is the trivial solution: a linear function.

Minimal Surfaces I

Minimal Surfaces I PDF Author: Ulrich Dierkes
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 3662027917
Category : Mathematics
Languages : en
Pages : 528

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Book Description
Minimal surfaces I is an introduction to the field of minimal surfaces and apresentation of the classical theory as well as of parts of the modern development centered around boundary value problems. Part II deals with the boundary behaviour of minimal surfaces. Part I is particularly apt for students who want to enter this interesting area of analysis and differential geometry which during the last 25 years of mathematical research has been very active and productive. Surveys of various subareas will lead the student to the current frontiers of knowledge and can alsobe useful to the researcher. The lecturer can easily base courses of one or two semesters on differential geometry on Vol. 1, as many topics are worked out in great detail. Numerous computer-generated illustrations of old and new minimal surfaces are included to support intuition and imagination. Part 2 leads the reader up to the regularity theory fornonlinear elliptic boundary value problems illustrated by a particular and fascinating topic. There is no comparably comprehensive treatment of the problem of boundary regularity of minimal surfaces available in book form. This long-awaited book is a timely and welcome addition to the mathematical literature.

Global Differential Geometry and Global Analysis

Global Differential Geometry and Global Analysis PDF Author: Dirk Ferus
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 354046445X
Category : Mathematics
Languages : en
Pages : 289

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Book Description
All papers appearing in this volume are original research articles and have not been published elsewhere. They meet the requirements that are necessary for publication in a good quality primary journal. E.Belchev, S.Hineva: On the minimal hypersurfaces of a locally symmetric manifold. -N.Blasic, N.Bokan, P.Gilkey: The spectral geometry of the Laplacian and the conformal Laplacian for manifolds with boundary. -J.Bolton, W.M.Oxbury, L.Vrancken, L.M. Woodward: Minimal immersions of RP2 into CPn. -W.Cieslak, A. Miernowski, W.Mozgawa: Isoptics of a strictly convex curve. -F.Dillen, L.Vrancken: Generalized Cayley surfaces. -A.Ferrandez, O.J.Garay, P.Lucas: On a certain class of conformally flat Euclidean hypersurfaces. -P.Gauduchon: Self-dual manifolds with non-negative Ricci operator. -B.Hajduk: On the obstruction group toexistence of Riemannian metrics of positive scalar curvature. -U.Hammenstaedt: Compact manifolds with 1/4-pinched negative curvature. -J.Jost, Xiaowei Peng: The geometry of moduli spaces of stable vector bundles over Riemannian surfaces. - O.Kowalski, F.Tricerri: A canonical connection for locally homogeneous Riemannian manifolds. -M.Kozlowski: Some improper affine spheres in A3. -R.Kusner: A maximum principle at infinity and the topology of complete embedded surfaces with constant mean curvature. -Anmin Li: Affine completeness and Euclidean completeness. -U.Lumiste: On submanifolds with parallel higher order fundamental form in Euclidean spaces. -A.Martinez, F.Milan: Convex affine surfaces with constant affine mean curvature. -M.Min-Oo, E.A.Ruh, P.Tondeur: Transversal curvature and tautness for Riemannian foliations. -S.Montiel, A.Ros: Schroedinger operators associated to a holomorphic map. -D.Motreanu: Generic existence of Morse functions on infinite dimensional Riemannian manifolds and applications. -B.Opozda: Some extensions of Radon's theorem.