Local calibration of mass and systolic geometry (Q1865772)

Let \(X\) be an orientable \(n\)-dimensional manifold, and let \(C_X\) be the space of arbitrary Riemannian metrics on \(X.\) The choice of \(g\in C_X\) gives the total volume \(\text{ vol}_n(g),\) as well as all the \(k\)-volumes of \(k\)-dimensional submanifolds of \(X.\) Given an integer homology class \(\alpha\in H_k(X,{\mathbb{Z}}),\) let \(\text{ vol}_k(\alpha):=\inf_{x\in\alpha}\text{ vol}(x),\) where the infimum is taken over Lipschitz cycles. (The volume of an integer \(k\)-cycle \(x=\sum_ir_i\sigma_i\) is \(\text{ vol}(x)=\sum_i|r_i|\text{ vol}(\sigma_i),\) while the volume of a Lipschitz singular chain \(\sigma_i\colon\Delta\rightarrow X\) is obtained by integration over the standard \(k\)-simplex \(\Delta\) of the ``volume form'' of the pull-back \(\sigma_i^*(g)\).) The \(k\)-{systole} of \((X,g)\) is defined by \(\text{sys}_k(g):=\inf\left\{\text{vol}_k(\alpha); \alpha\in H_k(X,{\mathbb{Z}}), \alpha\not=0 \right\}.\) The author considers here the following problem posed by M. Gromov: {What is the image of the ``systolic'' map \(S\colon C_X\rightarrow{\mathbb{R}}^n,\) \(S\colon g\mapsto(\text{sys}_1(g), \dots, \text{sys}_n(g))?\)} In general, the image of \(S\) is described through inequalities satisfied by the various systoles. The absence of such inequalities is called {systolic freedom}. If one lets \(k\) be an integer with \(1\leq k<n/2,\) one says that \(X\) is {simultaneously} \((k,n-k)\)- {and} \((k-1,n-k+1)\)-{systolically free} if \[ \inf_{g\in C_X}\text{ vol}(g)\Bigl({1\over{\text{ sys}_k(g)\text{ sys}_{n-k}(g)}}+ {1\over{\text{ sys}_{k-1}(g)\text{ sys}_{n-k+1}(g)}}\Bigr)=0. \] In this paper the author proves that when \(X\) is simply connected, then \(X\) is simultaneously \((k,n-k)\) and \((k-1,n-k+1)\)-systolically free, for \(k<n/2.\) The main tool is the calibration of differential forms in a neighborhood of a submanifold and the use of the monotonicity formula for minimizing rectifiable currents.