Higher genus Riemann minimal surfaces (Q2385049): Difference between revisions

The study of embedded minimal surfaces in Euclidean \(3\)-space can be traced back to B. Riemann who had constructed [\textit{B. Riemann}, Œuvres Mathématiques: Gauthier-Villars et Fils. (1898; JFM 29.0009.02)] a one-parameter family of periodic embedded minimal surfaces with infinitely many parallel ends. The classification of such surfaces, however, is still far from our reach even under certain geometric or topological constraints such as bounds for the numbers of ends and the genus. \textit{W. H. Meeks III, J. Perez} and \textit{A. Ros} [Invent. Math. 133, 107--132 (1998; Zbl 0916.53004); J. Differ. Geom. 66, No. 1, 1--45 (2004; Zbl 1068.53012); Invent. Math. 158, No. 2, 323--341 (2004, Zbl 1070.53003)] have made some progress in classifying genus zero embedded minimal surfaces that have infinitely many ends. It was conjectured in [J. Differ. Geom. 66, No. 1, 1--45 (2004)] that any embedded minimal surface of finite genus and with infinite number of ends is asymptotic to some middle planar ends and to two halves of a Riemann's surface. The paper under review gives a construction that produces, for any \(k\leq 37\), a one-parameter family of properly embedded minimal surfaces of genus \(k\) mentioned in the above conjecture. Their construction is actually a surgery on the Riemann's family part which can be understood as infinitely many horizontal planes at distance 1 from each other such that any two consecutive planes are connected by a slightly bent catenoid. The key idea is to replace one of the slightly bent catenoids by a genus \(k\) Costa-Hoffman-Meeks surface (a complete, properly embedded minimal surface with two catenoidal ends and one planar end). The main difficulty in the surgery is to bend the upper and lower end of the genus \(k\) Costa-Hoffman-Meeks surface and keep the middle end asymptotic to the horizontal plane at the same time. They use the moduli space theory for minimal surfaces with catenoidal ends and a nondegeneracy result of [\textit{S. Nayatani}, Comment. Math. Helv. 68, No. 4, 511--537 (1993; Zbl 0797.58018)] to show that the surgery is possible for \(k\leq 37\).