Surface measure on, and the local geometry of, sub-Riemannian manifolds (Q6080088)

This paper fits in the area of geometric measure theory in sub-Riemannian manifolds. It deals with an area formula for the spherical measure of \(C^1\)-hypersurfaces in equi-regular sub-Riemannian manifolds. The main result of the paper is the area formula in Theorem 1.6. This formula expresses the spherical measure (see Definition 6.12) of a \(C^1\)-hypersurface with negligible characteristic points in an oriented equi-regular sub-Riemannian manifold as the integral of an appropriate geometric area factor. The proof relies on the measure-theoretic area formula proved by \textit{G. M. Leccese} and \textit{V. Magnani}, [Ann. Mat. Pura Appl. (4) 201, No. 3, 1505--1524 (2022; Zbl 1528.28010)] (recalled in Theorem 6.4), and a double blow-up theorem in Theorem 1.2. The proof of Theorem 1.2 relies on a delicate double blow-up procedure (of both the hypersurface and the manifold) for which additional technical results are needed. Among these, particular attention deserves Theorem 1.4. This is the \textit{locally uniform} version of a known result in the field which asserts that properly rescaling vector fields defining exponential coordinates (see Definition 2.12) around a regular point in a sub-Riemannian manifold gives raise to a system of vector fields defining a structure of a Carnot group in the tangent. Theorem 1.4 has an interesting consequence: a \textit{locally uniform estimate} on diameters of balls with small radii around regular points of sub-Riemannian manifolds, see Theorem 1.3.