An equation of Monge-Ampère type in conformal geometry, and four-manifolds of positive Ricci curvature (Q1871554)

The setting of this paper is four dimensional, emphasizing certain parallels between conformal geometry in two and four dimensions. The analogy is illustrated by discussing the Gauss-Bonnet formula for compact surfaces and the Chern-Gauss-Bonnet integrand in four dimensions. This leads to the conjecture that, on a compact four-manifold, the positivity of conformal invariants and the Yamabe invariant implies the existence of a conformal metric with strictly positive Ricci curvature. The conjecture is resolved in the affirmative way. The proof involves the study of a fully nonlinear equation of Monge-Ampère type and the application of heat equation techniques.