Equilibrium maps between metric spaces (Q1327492)

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.