Equilibrium maps between metric spaces (Q1327492): Difference between revisions

During the past five years there have been substantial applications of harmonic maps to rigidity questions and Teichmüller theory. Some of these have required maps \(\varphi: M \to Y\) into singular spaces \(Y\) for which (a) any two points can be joined by a path whose length equals the distance between them; and (b) a triangle comparison property, characterizing nonpositive curvature. The required harmonic theory was developed by \textit{R. M. Schoen} [J. Differ. Geom., Suppl. 1, 201-241 (1991; Zbl 0791.53003)] and \textit{M. Gromov} and \textit{R. M. Schoen} [Publ. Math., Inst. Hautes Étud. Sci. 76 (1992)] in case \(Y\) is a Riemannian polyhedron. And in general by \textit{N. Korevaar} and \textit{R. M. Schoen} [Anal. Geom. 1 (1993)] and the author. Both Korevaar-Schoen (KS) and the author have defined the energy of a map \(\varphi: M \to Y\), and developed its key properties. Both obtained a version of the existence theorem of Eells-Sampson: KS have used the direct method, whereas the author has applied a discrete evolution process. KS have shown that the \(E\)-minimum is Lipschitz and even more has been shown by Gromov-Schoen for special \(Y\). With a further local convexity condition on a compact \(Y\) satisfying (a), the author proves the existence of an \(E\)-minimum in a homotopy class of maps \(\varphi: M \to Y\) of a compact Riemann surface \(M\), provided \(\pi_ 2(Y) = 0\). The author also proposes and develops a further extension, taking for domain \(M\) a metric space with certain families of measures.