The dynamics theorem for properly embedded minimal surfaces (Q303592)

Two main results are proved in this paper. In Theorem~1, the authors consider a complete constant mean curvature surface \(M\) embedded in a homogeneously regular \(3\)-dimensional manifold \(N\) (i.e., there exists \(\varepsilon>0\) such that metric balls of radius \(\varepsilon\) in \(N\) are \(C^2\) uniformly close to Euclidean balls in \({\mathbb R}^3\) of the same radius). Under the assumption that the second fundamental form \(\sigma_M\) of \(M\) is unbounded, they find a sequence of points \(p_n\in M\) with \(\lambda_n=|\sigma_M(p_n)|\) and a sequence of radii \(\varepsilon_n\to 0\) (\(\lambda_n\varepsilon_n\to\infty\)) such that a connected, properly embedded minimal surface \(M_\infty\) in \({\mathbb R}^3\) satisfying \(0\in M_\infty\), \(|\sigma_{M_\infty}|\leq 1\) and \(|\sigma_{M_\infty}(0)|=1\), is obtained as a \(C^k\) limit of the sequence formed by the connected component of \(\lambda_n(M\cap \overline{B}_N(p_n,\varepsilon_n))\) containing \(p_n\). The proof of this result is obtained by blowing up \(M\) at points of \textit{almost-maximal curvature} (defined in the proof of Theorem 1), and by choosing a sequence \(q_n\in M\) such that \(|\sigma_M(q_n)|\to\infty\) and carefully taking \(p_n\in B_M(q_n,1)\) maximizing the function \(h_n=|\sigma_M| d_N(\cdot,\partial B_M(q_n,1))\) (the ambient manifold \(N\) has been previously scaled so that its injectivity radius is larger than one). Applications of Theorem~1 to limits of sequences of minimal surfaces (Theorem~5) and to \(a\)-stable minimal surfaces (Theorem~6) are given in \S~4. As for Theorem~2, the authors consider a non-flat, properly embedded minimal surface \(M\subset {\mathbb R}^3\), and the space \(D(M)\) of \(C^2\) limits of sequences \(\{\lambda_n(M-p_n)\}_{n}\), where \(\lambda_n>0\) and the sequence \(\{p_n\}_n\) diverges. They prove in this result, called Dynamics Theorem in the manuscript, some properties on the structure of the space \(D(M)\). As indicated by the authors, Theorem~2 was generalized to constant mean curvature (not necessarily zero) surfaces in [\textit{W. H. Meeks} and \textit{G. Tinaglia}, J. Differ. Geom. 85, No. 1, 141--173 (2010; Zbl 1203.53009)].