Optimal sweepouts of a Riemannian 2-sphere (Q2416377)

Summary: Given a sweepout of a Riemannian 2-sphere which is composed of curves of length less than \(L\), we construct a second sweepout composed of curves of length less than \(L\) which are either constant curves or simple curves. This result, and the methods used to prove it, have several consequences; we answer a question of \textit{M. H. Freedman} [Contemp. Math. 20, 121--130 (1983; Zbl 0525.57005)] concerning the existence of min-max embedded geodesics, we partially answer a question due to \textit{N. Hingston} and \textit{H.-B. Rademacher} [J. Differ. Geom. 93, No. 1, 133--174 (2013; Zbl 1285.53031)], and we also extend the results of the authors [Geom. Funct. Anal. 24, No. 4, 1080--1100 (2014; Zbl 1305.53044)] concerning converting homotopies to isotopies in an effective way.