The curve shortening problem associated to a density (Q2628983)

The authors study the mean curvature flow of a hypersurface \(M\) immersed into a Riemannian manifold equipped with a density. The mean curvature in this context is the gradient of the \(n\)-volume with respect to this density. Particular emphasis is put on the Euclidean plane equipped with a density of the form \(\psi(| x |)\) (a ``radial density''). Under some assumptions, the authors are able to give a fairly precise description of the limiting behaviour of curves under the mean curvature flow. The intersection points of \(\psi'\) and \(-1/r\) play a crucial role in their discussion. A second relevant result pertains to the subconvergence to a closed minimal curve under some general assumptions in orientable 2-manifolds. Two special densities are studied in more detail in an appendix.