Density and spectrum of minimal submanifolds in space forms (Q343162)

Let \(\varphi:M^m\to N^n\) be a minimal proper immersion of the \(m\)-dimensional Riemannian manifold \(M\) into the \(n\)-dimensional Riemannian complete manifold \(N\). The Riemannian manifold \(N\) is supposed to have a pole and its radial sectional curvature sufficiently pinched to that of the constant curvature simply connected model \(N_{n,-k}\) where \(k\geq0\). The density function \(\Theta=\Theta_{M,N,\varphi}\) of the manifold properly immersed \(M\) in \(N\) is defined by \(\Theta(r)=\text{vol}(M\cap B_N(r))/\text{vol}(B_{N_{n,-k}}(r))\) where \(B_X(r)\) denotes a geodesic ball of radius \(r\) centered in some given pole \(x_0\) in \(X\). The paper focuses on the relation between asymptotics of the density function \(\Theta\) and the Laplace-Beltrami spectrum \(\sigma(M)\) of \(M\). The authors prove the equality \(\sigma(M)=\sigma(N_{m,-k})=[(m-1)^2k/4,+\infty)\) provided that the density function \(\Theta\) has controlled growth along a sequence of points in \(M\): \(\liminf_{r\to\infty}[\log\Theta(r)/\log \theta(r)]=0\) with \(\theta(r)=r\) if \(k=0\) (sub-polynomial growth in case of the Euclidean space) and \(\theta(r)=\exp(r)\) if \(k>0\) (sub-exponential growth in case of negative curvature). Such a statement on the Laplace-Beltrami spectrum was known under a decay hypothesis for the second fundamental form \(II=II_{M,N}\) at infinity: \(\|II\|(m)=\varepsilon (m)\) for \(k=0\) and \(\|II\|(m)=o(d^{-1}(m,m_0))\) for \(k>0\). Moreover, the authors prove that the density function \(\Theta\) is bounded at infinity under a decay of the second fundamental form \(II=II_{M,N}\): \(\|II(m)\|\log^a d_M(m,m_0)< Cd_M^{-b}(m,m_0)\) for some \(a>1/2\), a positive \(C\) and where \(b=1/2\) if \(k>0\) and \(b=1\) if \(k=0\). The main result applies to minimal submanifolds constructed by solving the Plateau problem in the hyperbolic space for which the density function is finite at infinity. The second result implies that a minimal submanifold with finite total curvature in the hyperbolic space has also finite density. A thorough discussion of the known results for Euclidean space (\(k=0\)) and in negative curvature (\(k>0\)) show how the both cases share some statements and are different for many others.