Scalar curvature, metric degenerations and the static vacuum Einstein equations on 3-manifolds. I (Q1964139)

The author proves that degenerations of sequences of Yamabe metrics on 3-manifolds are modeled or described by solutions to the static vacuum Einstein equations. The basic theorems imply some surprising results, as the following one: ``blow-up limits of degenerations of sequences of Yamabe metrics satisfy a strong, in particular a determined, set of equations''. This is quite surprising, since Yamabe metrics themselves satisfy no such rigid equations; the equation defining a Yamabe metric is highly underdetermined. There are some examples in the paper ilustrating applications of the main theorems.