Lectures on Minimal Surface Theory

An article based on a four-lecture introductory minicourse on minimal surface theory given at the 2013 summer program of the Institute for Advanced Study and the Park City Mathematics Institute.Comment: 46 pages, 6 figures. Some references added/corrected on August 2, 2014. A few minor corrections on October 16, 2015. Additional typos corrected on January 17, 201

Rectifiability of flat chains

We prove (without using Federer's structure theorem) that a finite-mass flat chain over any coefficient group is rectifiable if and only if almost all of its 0-dimensional slices are rectifiable. This implies that every flat chain of finite mass and finite size is rectifiable. It also leads to a simple necessary and sufficient condition on the coefficient group in order for every finite-mass flat chain to be rectifiable.Comment: 20 pages, published versio

Currents and Flat Chains Associated to Varifolds, with an Application to Mean Curvature Flow

We prove under suitable hypotheses that convergence of integral varifolds implies convergence of associated mod 2 flat chains and subsequential convergence of associated integer-multiplicity rectifiable currents. The convergence results imply restrictions on the kinds of singularities that can occur in mean curvature flow.Comment: 16 pages. Revised to correct one typo (in equation (12)