Flat convergence

Abstract: Herein we present open problems and survey examples and theorems concerning sequences of Riemannian manifolds with uniform lower bounds on scalar curvature and their limit spaces. Examples of Gromov and of Ilmanen which naturally ought to have certain limit spaces do not converge with respect to smooth or Gromov-Hausdorff convergence. Thus we focus here on the notion of Intrinsic Flat convergence, developed jointly with Wenger. This notion has been applied successfully to study sequences that arise in General Relativity. Gromov has suggested it should be applied in other settings as well. We first review intrinsic flat convergence, its properties, and its compactness theorems, before presenting the applications and the open problems.

Abstract: We explore the distinctions between $L^p$ convergence of metric tensors on a fixed Riemannian manifold versus Gromov-Hausdorff, uniform, and intrinsic flat convergence of the corresponding sequence of metric spaces. We provide a number of examples which demonstrate these notions of convergence do not agree even for two dimensional warped product manifolds with warping functions converging in the $L^p$ sense. We then prove a theorem which requires $L^p$ bounds from above and $C^0$ bounds from below on the warping functions to obtain enough control for all these limits to agree.

Abstract: We explore the distinctions between $L^p$ convergence of metric tensors on a fixed Riemannian manifold versus Gromov-Hausdorff, uniform, and intrinsic flat convergence of the corresponding sequence of metric spaces. We provide a number of examples which demonstrate these notions of convergence do not agree even for two dimensional warped product manifolds with warping functions converging in the $L^p$ sense. We then prove a theorem which requires $L^p$ bounds from above and $C^0$ bounds from below on the warping functions to obtain enough control for all these limits to agree.

Abstract: The null distance for Lorentzian manifolds was recently introduced by Sormani and Vega. Under mild assumptions on the time function of the spacetime, the null distance gives rise to an intrinsic, conformally invariant metric that induces the manifold topology. We show when warped products of low regularity and globally hyperbolic spacetimes endowed with the null distance are (local) integral current spaces. This metric and integral current structure sets the stage for investigating convergence analogous to Riemannian geometry. Our main theorem is a general convergence result for warped product spacetimes relating uniform, Gromov--Hausdorff and Sormani--Wenger intrinsic flat convergence of the corresponding null distances. In addition, we show that non-uniform convergence of warping functions in general leads to distinct limiting behavior, such as limits that disagree.