Finite index operators on surfaces (Q1935488)

The author deals with the following differential operator \[ L = \Delta + V - a K \] acting on functions on a Riemannian suface \(\Sigma\), where \(\Delta\) is the Laplacian of \(\Sigma\), \(K\) is the Gaussian curvature, \(a\) is a positive constant, and \(V \in C^\infty(\Sigma)\). Note that such an operator \(L\) arises as the stability operator of \(\Sigma\) immersed in a Riemannian \(3\)-manifold with constant mean curvature. Assume that \(V = c+P\) with \(c \geq 0\), and \(P \leq 0\) and \(P \in L^1(\Sigma)\). One of the main results is that if \(L\) is nonpositive acting on functions on \(C^\infty_0(\Sigma)\) and \(a \geq 1/4\), then \(\Sigma\) has quadratic area bound. Moreover, if \(\Sigma\) is complete without boundary, then \(\Sigma\) is conformally equivalent to a compact Riemann surface with a finite number of points removed. In the case \(a >0\), if the area of the geodesic disks goes to infinity as its radius goes to infinity, then the author shows that there exists a constant \(C>0\) such that \(\text{dist}_\Sigma (p, \partial \Sigma) \leq C\), and in particular if \(\Sigma\) is complete without boundary, then either \(\Sigma\) is compact or \(c A(\Sigma) - \| P\|_{L^1} \leq 2a \pi \chi(\Sigma).\) Applying these results, the author obtains the following results: Let \(\Sigma \subset {\mathbb H}^2 \times {\mathbb R}\) be an oriented complete stable \(H\)-surface satisfying one of the following conditions (1) \(H \geq 1/2\) and \(\max \{0, K_e \} \in L^1(\Sigma)\), (2) \(H > 1/2\) and there exists a point \(p_0 \in \Sigma\) and a constant \(M>0\) such that \(|K_e(q)|\leq M/d(p_0, q)\). Then \(H = 1/2\) and \(\Sigma\) is either a vertical horocylinder or an entire vertical graph. Here, \(K_e\) denotes the extrinsic curvature of \(\Sigma\) Also, the author obtains similar results in a simply connected homogeneous \(3\)-manifold with \(4\)-dimensional isometry group. Denote by \({\mathbb E}(\kappa, \tau)\) the simply connected homogeneous \(3\)-manifold with \(4\)-dimensional isometry group, where \(\kappa\) and \(\tau\) are constants satisfying \(\kappa - 4 \tau^2 \neq 0\). Let \(\Sigma \in {\mathbb E}(\kappa, \tau), \tau \neq 0\) be an oriented complete \(H\)-surface so that either \(4H^2 + \kappa \geq 0\) and \(\nu^2 \in L^1(\Sigma)\), or there exists a point \(p_0 \in \Sigma\) and a constant \(M >0\) so that \(|\nu(q)|^2 \leq M/d(p_0, q)\) and \(4H^2 + \kappa >0\). Here, \(\nu\) is the normal component of the unit Killing field of a Killing submersion of a \(3\)-manifold onto \(\Sigma\). Then, (i) in the Berger sphere \({\mathbb S}^3_{\text{Berger}}\), there are no such a stable \(H\)-surface , (ii) in Nil\(_3\), \(H = 0\) and \(\Sigma\) is either a vertical plane or an entire vertical graph, (iii) in \(\widetilde{\text{PSL}(2, {\mathbb R})}\), \(H = \sqrt{-\kappa}/2\) and \(\Sigma\) is either a vertical horocylinder or an entire graph.