Stable Minimal Hypersurfaces in Positively Curved $4$-Manifolds

Abstract

Let $M^3\to X^4$ be a complete, connected, two-sided stable minimal immersion. We prove that if the ambient sectional curvature is nonnegative and the ambient scalar curvature has a positive uniform lower bound, then $M$ is totally geodesic and its normal Ricci curvature vanishes. No weak bounded geometry assumption and no upper curvature bound are imposed. We also construct a complete metric of strictly positive sectional curvature on $\mathbb{R}^4$ admitting a complete, embedded, one-ended, nonparabolic, two-sided stable minimal hypersurface diffeomorphic to $\mathbb{R}^3$ which is not totally geodesic. The rigidity proof combines spectral splitting theory, a warped $\mu$-bubble construction, and a harmonic function level set argument. The example is obtained by a compactly supported deformation of an example in \cite{CLS}.