Scalar and mean curvature comparison via \(\mu\)-bubbles (Q6169094)

Let \(X\) be a compact connected manifold with boundary \(\partial X\). A band is a choice of boundary decomposition \(\partial X = \partial_-X\cup \partial_+X\) where \(\partial_{\pm}X\) are non-empty unions of boundary components. If \(X\) is equipped with a Riemannian metric \(g\), then the distance (induced by \(g\)) between \(\partial_-X\) and \(\partial_+X\) is denoted by \(\mathrm{width}(X,g)\). The standard example is any cylinder \(Y\times [-1,1]\) where \(Y\) is a closed connected manifold. If \(X, X'\) are compact connected manifolds with choices of bands, a smooth map \(f: X \rightarrow X'\) is named a band map if \(f(\partial_{\pm}X) \subset \partial_{\pm}X'.\) The present paper studies scalar and mean curvature comparison results for Riemannian bands (Riemannian manifolds with a choice of band) in dimensions \(n\leq 7\) under lower bound scalar curvature assumptions. Its main result can be read as: Let \(X^n\),~\(n\leq 7\), be an oriented Riemannian manifold with oriented band (that is, the boundary carries the orientation of \(X\)). Suppose no closed embedded hypersurface \(\Sigma \subset X\) which separates \(\partial_{\pm}X\) admits a metric with positive scalar curvature. Let \((M,g_{\phi})\) be a warped product manifold where topologically \(M=X\times [-1,1]\) and \(g_{\phi}\) has constant scalar curvature for \(\phi\) strictly log-concave or log-affine. Then the geometry of the \emph{model} \((M,g_{\phi})\) (specifically scalar and mean curvature of the band) constrains \(\mathrm{width}(X,g)\) in comparison with \(\mathrm{width}(M,g_{\phi})\). Regarding the machinery employed, recall that in geometric measure theory, a Caccioppoli set is a set whose boundary is measurable and has (maybe only locally) a finite measure. Let \((X,g)\) be a compact connected Riemannian manifold and denote by \(\mathcal C(X)\) the set of all Caccioppoli sets in \(X\) which contain an open neighborhood of \(\partial_-X\) not intersecting \(\partial_+X\). The techniques in this paper rely upon geometric measure theory, particularly studying the regularity of \(\mu\)-bubbles, that is, elements in \(\mathcal C(X)\) for which a certain function achieves its minimum (over Caccioppoli sets).