Optimal Transport and Ricci Curvature: Wasserstein Space Over the Interval

In this essay, we discuss the notion of optimal transport on geodesic measure spaces and the associated (2-)Wasserstein distance. We then examine displacement convexity of the entropy functional on the space of probability measures. In particular, we give a detailed proof that the Lott-Villani-Sturm notion of generalized Ricci bounds agree with the classical notion on smooth manifolds. We also give the proof that generalized Ricci bounds are preserved under Gromov-Hausdorff convergence. In particular, we examine in detail the space of probability measures over the interval, $P(X)$ equipped with the Wasserstein metric $d^W$. We show that this metric space is isometric to a totally convex subset of a Hilbert space, $L^2[0,1]$, which allows for concrete calculations, contrary to the usual state of affairs in the theory of optimal transport. We prove explicitly that $(P(X),d^W)$ has vanishing Alexandrov curvature, and give an easy to work with expression for the entropy functional on this space. In addition, we examine finite dimensional Gromov-Hausdorff approximations to this space, and use these to construct a measure on the limit space, the entropic measure first considered by Von Renesse and Sturm. We examine properties of the measure, in particular explaining why one would expect it to have generalized Ricci lower bounds. We then show that this is in fact not true. We also discuss the possibility and consequences of finding a different measure which does admit generalized Ricci lower bounds.Comment: 47 pages, 9 figure

Large isoperimetric regions in asymptotically hyperbolic manifolds

We show the existence of isoperimetric regions of sufficiently large volumes in general asymptotically hyperbolic three manifolds. Furthermore, we show that large coordinate spheres in compact perturbations of Schwarzschild-anti-deSitter are uniquely isoperimetric. This is relevant in the context of the asymptotically hyperbolic Penrose inequality. Our results require that the scalar curvature of the metric satisfies $R_{g}\geq -6$, and we construct an example of a compact perturbation of Schwarzschild-anti-deSitter without $R_{g}\geq -6$ so that large centered coordinate spheres are not isoperimetric. The necessity of scalar curvature bounds is in contrast with the analogous uniqueness result proven by Bray for compact perturbations of Schwarzschild, where no such scalar curvature assumption is required. This demonstrates that from the point of view of the isoperimetric problem, mass behaves quite differently in the asymptotically hyperbolic setting compared to the asymptotically flat setting. In particular, in the asymptotically hyperbolic setting, there is an additional quantity, the "renormalized volume," which has a strong effect on the large-scale geometry of volume.Comment: 57 pages, 1 figure. Comments welcome

Uniqueness of asymptotically conical tangent flows

Singularities of the mean curvature flow of an embedded surface in R^3 are expected to be modelled on self-shrinkers that are compact, cylindrical, or asymptotically conical. In order to understand the flow before and after the singular time, it is crucial to know the uniqueness of tangent flows at the singularity. In all dimensions, assuming the singularity is multiplicity one, uniqueness in the compact case has been established by the second-named author, and in the cylindrical case by Colding-Minicozzi. We show here the uniqueness of multiplicity-one asymptotically conical tangent flows for mean curvature flow of hypersurfaces. In particular, this implies that when a mean curvature flow has a multiplicity-one conical singularity model, the evolving surface at the singular time has an (isolated) regular conical singularity at the singular point. This should lead to a complete understanding of how to "flow through" such a singularity.Comment: 40 page

Effective versions of the positive mass theorem

The study of stable minimal surfaces in Riemannian $3$-manifolds $(M, g)$ with non-negative scalar curvature has a rich history. In this paper, we prove rigidity of such surfaces when $(M, g)$ is asymptotically flat and has horizon boundary. As a consequence, we obtain an effective version of the positive mass theorem in terms of isoperimetric or, more generally, closed volume-preserving stable CMC surfaces that is appealing from both a physical and a purely geometric point of view. We also include a proof of the following conjecture of R. Schoen: An asymptotically flat Riemannian $3$-manifold with non-negative scalar curvature that contains an unbounded area-minimizing surface is isometric to flat $\mathbb{R}^3$.Comment: All comments welcome! The final version has appeared in Invent. Mat