Progress in Surface Theory

The theory of surfaces is interpreted these days as a prototype of submanifold geometry and is characterized by the substantial application of PDE methods and methods from the theory of integrable systems, in addition to the more classical techniques from real and/or complex analysis. In addition, surfaces with singularities are studied intensively. In this workshop we brought together all the main strands of modern surface theory

Three-manifolds and Kaehler groups

We give a simple proof of a result originally due to Dimca and Suciu: a group that is both Kaehler and the fundamental group of a closed three-manifold is finite. We also prove that a group that is both the fundamental group of a closed three-manifold and of a non-Kaehler compact complex surface is infinite cyclic or the direct product of an infinite cyclic group and a group of order two.Comment: 6 pages; corrected statement of Theorem 6; final version to appear in Ann. Inst. Fourie

The Spinor Representation of Minimal Surfaces

The spinor representation is developed and used to investigate minimal surfaces in {\bfR}^3 with embedded planar ends. The moduli spaces of planar-ended minimal spheres and real projective planes are determined, and new families of minimal tori and Klein bottles are given. These surfaces compactify in $S^3$ to yield surfaces critical for the M\"obius invariant squared mean curvature functional $W$. On the other hand, all $W\!$-critical spheres and real projective planes arise this way. Thus we determine at the same time the moduli spaces of $W\!$-critical spheres and real projective planes via the spinor representation.Comment: 63 pages, dvi file only, earlier version is GANG preprint III.27 available via http://www.gang.umass.edu

A quantitative version of a theorem by Jungreis

A fundamental result by Gromov and Thurston asserts that, if M is a closed hyperbolic n-manifold, then the simplicial volume |M| of M is equal to vol(M)/v_n, where v_n is a constant depending only on the dimension of M. The same result also holds for complete finite-volume hyperbolic manifolds without boundary, while Jungreis proved that the ratio vol(M)/|M| is strictly smaller than v_n if M is compact with non-empty geodesic boundary. We prove here a quantitative version of Jungreis' result for n>3, which bounds from below the ratio |M|/vol(M) in terms of the ratio between the volume of the boundary of M and the volume of M. As a consequence, we show that a sequence {M_i} of compact hyperbolic n-manifolds with geodesic boundary is such that the limit of vol(M_i)/|M_i| equals v_n if and only if the volume of the boundary of M_i grows sublinearly with respect to the volume of the boundary of M_i. We also provide estimates of the simplicial volume of hyperbolic manifolds with geodesic boundary in dimension three.Comment: 2 figures, formerly part of arXiv:1208.054

The Spinor Representation of Surfaces in Space

The spinor representation is developed for conformal immersions of Riemann surfaces into space. We adapt the approach of Dennis Sullivan, which treats a spin structure on a Riemann surface M as a complex line bundle S whose square is the canonical line bundle K=T(M). Given a conformal immersion of M into \bbR^3, the unique spin strucure on S^2 pulls back via the Gauss map to a spin structure S on M, and gives rise to a pair of smooth sections (s_1,s_2) of S. Conversely, any pair of sections of S generates a (possibly periodic) conformal immersion of M under a suitable integrability condition, which for a minimal surface is simply that the spinor sections are meromorphic. A spin structure S also determines (and is determined by) the regular homotopy class of the immersion by way of a \bbZ_2-quadratic form q_S. We present an analytic expression for the Arf invariant of q_S, which decides whether or not the correponding immersion can be deformed to an embedding. The Arf invariant also turns out to be an obstruction, for example, to the existence of certain complete minimal immersions. The later parts of this paper use the spinor representation to investigate minimal surfaces with embedded planar ends. In general, we show for a spin structure S on a compact Riemann surface M with punctures at P that the space of all such (possibly periodic) minimal immersions of M\setminus P into \bbR^3 (upto homothety) is the the product of S^1\times H^3 with the Grassmanian of 2-planes in a complex vector space \calK of meromorphic sections of S. An important tool -- a skew-symmetric form \Omega defined by residues of a certain meromorphic quadratic differential on M -- lets us compute how \calK varies as M and P are varied. Then we apply this to determine the moduli spaces of planar-ended minimal spheres and real projective planes, and also to construct a new family of minimal tori and a minimal Klein bottle with 4 ends. These surfaces compactify in S^3 to yield surfaces critical for the \Moebius invariant squared mean curvature functional W. On the other hand, Robert Bryant has shown all W-critical spheres and real projective planes arise this way. Thus we find at the same time the moduli spaces of W-critical spheres and real projective planes via the spinor representation.Comment: latex, 37 pages plus appendice