The singular structure and regularity of stationary varifolds (Q2216737)

Summary: If one considers an integral varifold \(I^m\subseteq M\) with bounded mean curvature, and if \(S^k(I)\equiv\{x\in M:\) no tangent cone at \(x\) is \(k+1\)-symmetric\} is the standard stratification of the singular set, then it is well known that \(\text{dim } S^k (I) \leq k\). In complete generality nothing else is known about the singular sets \(S^k(I)\). In this paper we prove for a general integral varifold with bounded mean curvature, in particular a stationary varifold, that every stratum \(S^k(I)\) is \(k\)-rectifiable. In fact, we prove for \(k\)-a.e. point \(x\in S^k(I)\) that there exists a unique \(k\)-plane \(V^k\) such that \textit{every} tangent cone at \(x\) is of the form \(V\times C\) for some cone \(C\). In the case of minimizing hypersurfaces \(I^{n-1}\subseteq M^n\) we can go further. Indeed, we can show that the singular set \(S(I)\), which is known to satisfy \(\text{dim } S(I)\leq n-8\), is in fact \(n-8\) rectifiable with uniformly \textit{finite} \(n-8\) measure. An effective version of this allows us to prove that the second fundamental form \(A\) has a \textit{priori} estimates in \(L^7_{\text{weak}}\) on \(I\), an estimate which is sharp as \(|A|\) is not in \(L^7\) for the Simons cone. In fact, we prove the much stronger estimate that the regularity scale \(r_I\) has \(L^7_{weak}\)-estimates. The above results are in fact just applications of a new class of estimates we prove on the quantitative stratifications \(S^k_{\epsilon,r}\) and \(S^k_{\epsilon}\equiv S^k_{\epsilon,0}\). Roughly, \(x\in S^k_{\epsilon}\subseteq I\) if no ball \(B_r(x)\) is \(\epsilon \)-close to being \(k+1\)-symmetric. We show that \(S^k_\epsilon\) is \(k\)-rectifiable and satisfies the Minkowski estimate \(\text{Vol}(B_r (S_\epsilon^k))\leq C_\epsilon r^{n-k} \). The proof requires a new \(L^2\)-subspace approximation theorem for integral varifolds with bounded mean curvature, and a \(W^{1,p} \)-Reifenberg type theorem proved by the authors in [Ann. Math. (2) 185, No. 1, 131--227 (2017; Zbl 1393.58009)].