Equivariant 3-manifolds with positive scalar curvature

In this paper, the authors prove an equivariant version of Bamler-Kleiner's result on the contractibility of the space \(\mathrm{MET}_{\mathrm{PSC}}(M)\) and the generalized Smale conjecture.\N\NLet \(M\) be a closed, connected, orientable \(3\)-manifold. Let \(\mathrm{MET}_{\mathrm{PSC}}(M)\) denote the space of metrics with positive scalar curvature (PSC) on \(M\). By [\textit{R. H. Bamler} and \textit{B. Kleiner}, ``Ricci flow and contractibility of spaces of metrics, Preprint, \url{arXiv:1909.08710}], this space is either empty or contractible. This implies, when \((M,g)\) is a quotient of the round sphere, that the inclusion map \(\mathrm{Isom}(M,g)\hookrightarrow \mathrm{Diff}(M)\) is a homotopy equivalence (generalized Smale conjecture). \N\NThe authors extend these results to the \(G\)-equivariant setting, when \(G\) is a compact Lie subgroup of \(\mathrm{Diff}(M)\). Let \(\mathrm{MET}_{\mathrm{PSC}}(M,G)\) denote the space of \(G\)-equivariant PSC metrics on \(M\). The authors prove that \(\mathrm{MET}_{\mathrm{PSC}}(M,G)\) is either empty or contractible. For a compact Lie subgroup \(G\) of \(\mathrm{Isom}(S^3,g_{\mathrm{round}})\), let \(\mathrm{Diff}(S^3,G)\) and \(\mathrm{Isom}(S^3,G)\) denote the subgroups commuting with \(G\) of \(\mathrm{Diff}(S^3)\) and \(\mathrm{Isom}(S^3,g_{\mathrm{round}})\) respectively. The authors prove that the inclusion map \(\mathrm{Isom}(M,G)\hookrightarrow \mathrm{Diff}(S^3,G)\) is a homotopy equivalence. In particular, the generalized Smale conjecture holds for spherical orbifolds. Finally, they give a list of possible manifolds \(M\) admitting equivariant PSC metrics.\N\NThe proof of the contractibility result follows Bamler-Kleiner's construction, using singular Ricci flows. The space \(\mathrm{MET}_{\mathrm{PSC}}(M,G)\) has the homotopy type of a CW complex so is contractible if it is weakly contractible, i.e., every \(S^k\)-parametrized continuous family of metrics in \(\mathrm{MET}_{\mathrm{PSC}}(M,G)\) bounds a \(B^{k+1}\)-parametrized continuous familly of metrics in \(\mathrm{MET}_{\mathrm{PSC}}(M,G)\). The bulk of the proof is to verify that the construction of Bamler-Kleiner can be made equivariant. The proof of the generalized Smale conjecture for spherical orbifolds uses a fibration \(\mathrm{Diff}(S^n,G) \to \mathrm{MET}_{K\equiv 1}(S^n,G)\), which is related to the de Rham spherical rigidity theorem.

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