Polar foliations on symmetric spaces and mean curvature flow (Q2082104)

A \textit{polar foliation} \(\mathcal{F}\) on a complete Riemannian manifold \(M\) is a singular Riemannian foliation such that each point \(x\in M\) is contained in a totally geodesic submanifold, called a \textit{section}, which meets all leaves of \(\mathcal{F}\) and intersects them orthogonally. Polar foliations share many properties of \textit{isoparametric foliations}, which are foliations determined by an isoparametric submanifold [\textit{E. Heintze} et al., AMS/IP Stud. Adv. Math. 36, 151--234 (2006; Zbl 1104.53052)]. The authors study polar foliations on simply connected symmetric spaces with non-negative sectional curvature and, in the first part of the paper, they prove the following results. \textbf{Theorem 1.} Every polar foliation \((M,\mathcal{F})\) on a simply connected symmetric space with non-negative curvature is isoparametric. \textbf{Theorem 2.} Let \((M,\mathcal{F})\) be a polar foliation on a simply connected symmetric space with non-negative curvature. Then there is a unique splitting \((M,\mathcal{F})=(M_c,\mathcal{F}_c)\times (M_e,\mathcal{F}_e)\), where \(M_c/\mathcal{F}_c\) is compact, \(M_e\) is a Euclidean space, and \((M_e,\mathcal{F}_e)\) is an isoparametric foliation with compact leaves. Theorem 1 is false for foliations on manifolds with negative sectional curvature [\textit{D. Töben}, Math. Z. 255, No. 2, 427--436 (2007; Zbl 1188.53022)]. A different decomposition of a polar foliation on a simply connected non-negatively curved symmetric space, as a product of hyperpolar foliations, polar foliations with spherical sections and trivial foliations, was given by \textit{A. Lytchak} [Geom. Funct. Anal. 24, No. 4, 1298--1315 (2014; Zbl 1311.53025)]. (a \textit{hyperpolar} foliation is a polar foliation with flat sections). In the remaining part of the paper, the authors focus on the mean curvature flow (MCF in short) for regular leaves of a polar foliation. Recall that the MCF of a submanifold \(L\) in a Riemannian manifold \(M\) is a map \(f\colon I\times L\to M\) satisfying \(\frac{\partial f}{\partial t}=H(t,\cdot),\,\) where \(I\) is an interval and \(H(t,\cdot)\) is the mean curvature vector field of \(L_t:=f(t,\cdot)\). \textit{Ancient} solutions of the MCF are the ones which are defined for all \(t\le T\), for some \(T\ge 0\). \textbf{Theorem 3.} Let \((M,\mathcal{F})\) be a polar foliation on a compact simply connected, non-negatively curved symmetric space, with \(M/\mathcal{F}\) compact. Then for any regular leaf \(L\) in \(\mathcal{F}\), the solution of MCF \(L_t\) with initial data \(L_0=L\) is always an ancient solution and it converges to a minimal leaf as \(t\to -\infty\). Furthermore, if \((M,\mathcal{F})\) does not split a trivial factor \((M',\{pts\})\) then the minimal leaf is unique. In particular, in view of Theorem 2 and the results about the MCF of isoparametric submanifolds given in [\textit{X. Liu} and \textit{C.-L. Terng}, Duke Math. J. 147, No. 1, 157--179 (2009; Zbl 1172.53044); \textit{X. Liu} and \textit{C.-L. Terng}, Math. Ann. 378, No. 1--2, 289--315 (2020; Zbl 1448.53088)], it follows that the solutions of the MCF starting at regular leaves of a polar foliation on a complete simply connected non-negatively curved symmetric space are ancient. The above Theorem 3 is a corollary of the following one, which applies to more general Riemannian manifolds. \textbf{Theorem 4.} Let \((M,\mathcal{F})\) be an isoparametric foliation on a simply connected Riemannian manifold, with \(M/\mathcal{F}\) compact. If \(\mathrm{Ric}_M(x)>\mathrm{Ric}_\Sigma(x)\), for every regular point \(p\) and every vector \(x\in T_pM\) tangent to the section \(\Sigma\), then there exists a unique minimal regular leaf \(L_{\min}\). Furthermore, for every regular leaf \(L\) in \(\mathcal{F}\) the solution of MCF \(L_t\) with initial data \(L_0=L\) is always an ancient solution converging to \(L_{\min}\) as \(t\) goes to \(1\).