Constrained deformations of positive scalar curvature metrics

Abstract

We present a series of results concerning the interplay between the scalar curvature of a manifold and the mean curvature of its boundary. In particular, we give a complete topological characterization of those compact $3$-manifolds that support Riemannian metrics of positive scalar curvature and mean-convex boundary and, in any such case, we prove that the associated moduli space of metrics is path-connected. The methods we employ are flexible enough to allow the construction of continuous paths of positive scalar curvature metrics with minimal boundary, and to derive similar conclusions in that context as well. Our work relies on a combination of earlier fundamental contributions by Gromov–Lawson and Schoen–Yau, on the smoothing procedure designed by Miao, and on the interplay of Perelman’s Ricci flow with surgery and conformal deformation techniques introduced by Codá Marques in dealing with the closed case.