Foliations of asymptotically flat 3-manifolds by stable constant mean curvature spheres

Michael Eichmair, Thomas Koerber

Published 2022-01-28Version 1

Let $(M,g)$ be an asymptotically flat Riemannian $3$-manifold. We provide a short new proof based on Lyapunov-Schmidt reduction of the existence of an asymptotic foliation of $(M,g)$ by constant mean curvature spheres. In the case where the scalar curvature of $(M,g)$ is non-negative, we prove that the leaves of this foliation are the only large stable constant mean curvature spheres that enclose the center of $(M,g)$. This had been shown previously under more restrictive assumptions and using a different method by S. Ma. We also include a new proof of the fact that the geometric center of mass of the foliation agrees with the Hamiltonian center of mass of $(M,g)$.