Plateau's problem for integral currents in locally non-compact metric spaces (Q2443309)

The author studies the generalized Plateau problem in the context of locally non-compact metric spaces. The existence of an \((m+1)\)-dimensional generalized surface of least volume with prescribed \(m\)-dimensional boundary in a given metric space is studied. Such a notion of surface can be provided by the theory of integral currents. Some results concerning the study of this problem have been obtained before by Federer-Fleming, Ambrosio-Kirchheim, U.Lang, Ambrosio-Schmidt. In the present paper the author removes the separability condition made in the study of the problem in the case of a dual Banach space. The generalized Plateau problem can be solved for non-compact boundaries in a class of metric spaces which includes all dual Banach spaces, all injective metric spaces and all Hadamard spaces. The author considers the results of Ambrosio and Kirchheim, Ambrosio and Schmidt and S. Wenger, and studies them in the context of the generalization of weak*-compactness theorems to the setting of dual spaces of separable Banach spaces. Let \(X\) be a complete metric space and \(m\geq 0\). Denote by \(\mathbf{M}_m(X)\) and \(\mathbf{I}_m(X)\) be the spaces of metric \(m\)-currents of finite mass and of integral \(m\)-currents in the sense of Ambrosio-Kirchheim. For \(T\in \mathbf{M}_m(X)\), the mass of \(T\) is denoted by \(\mathbf{M}(T)\). Theorem 1.1. Let \(X\) be a Banach space which is \(1\)-complemented in a dual Banach space. Then, for \(m\geq 0\): (i) for every \(S\in \mathbf{I}_m(X)\) with \(\partial S=0\) there exists \(T\in \mathbf{I}_{m+1}(X)\) with \( \partial T=S\) such that \(\mathbf{M}(T)\leq \mathbf{M}(T^\prime)\) for all \(T^\prime\in \mathbf{I}_{m+1}(X)\) with \(\partial T^{\prime}=S\), (ii) for every \(S\in \mathbf{M}_m(X)\) there exists \(T\in \mathbf{I}_{m+1}(X)\) such that \(\mathbf{M}(T)+\mathbf{M}(\partial T-S)\leq \mathbf{M}(T^\prime)+ \mathbf{M}(\partial T^\prime-S)\) for all \(T^\prime \in \mathbf{I}_{m+1}(X)\). Theorem 1.2. Let \(X\) be either a reflexive Banach space or the dual space of a separable Banach space. Let \(m\geq 0\) and let \(\{T_n\}\subset \mathbf{I}_m(X)\) be a sequence satisfying \(\sup_n[\mathbf{M}(T_n)+ \mathbf{M(\partial T_n)}]<\infty \) and \(\lim_{r \to \infty}[\sup_n\|T_n\|(X\setminus B(0,r))]=0\). Then there exists a subsequence \(T_{n_j}\) which \(w^*\)-converges to some \(T\in \mathbf{I}_m(X)\). Finally the author studies the metric spaces without a vector space structure. Theorem 1.3. Let \(X\) be a Hadarmard space or an injective metric space and let \(M\geq 0\). The assertions (i) and (ii) of theorem 1.1. hold for \(X\).