JOURNAL OF GGT

Published in Journal of Gökova Geometry Topology, Volume 17 (2024)
Title Proof of the Toponogov conjecture on complete surfaces
Author Brendan Guilfoyle and Wilhelm Klingenberg
Abstract
We prove a conjecture of Toponogov on complete convex planes, namely that such planes must contain an umbilic point, albeit at infinity. Our proof is indirect. It uses Fredholm regularity of an associated Riemann-Hilbert boundary value problem and an existence result for holomorphic discs with Lagrangian boundary conditions, both of which apply to a putative counterexample. Corollaries of the main theorem include a Hawking-Penrose singularity-type theorem, as well as the proof of a conjecture of Milnor's from 1965 in the convex case.
Pages1-50
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Submitted: Jan 11, 2024
Accepted: Sept 23, 2024
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Last updated: December 2024
Web address: GokovaGT.org/journal/2024