A Jang equation approach to the Penrose inequality (Q972050)

The paper generalizes the Schoen/Yau approach [\textit{R. Schoen} and \textit{S.-T. Yau}, Commun Math. Phys 79, 231--260 (1981; Zbl 0494.53028)] to the positive mass theorem in a way which is suitable to the Penrose Inequality, and represents a notable step towards solving the full Penrose conjecture. The authors introduce a generalized version of the Jang equation, designed for the general case of the Penrose inequality in the setting of an asymptotically flat space-like hypersurface of a space-time satisfying the dominant energy condition. The appropriate existence and regularity results are established in the case of spherically symmetric Cauchy data, and are applied to give a new proof of the general Penrose inequality for these data sets.