Calculus of Variations and Geometric Measure Theory

R. Neumayer - M. Novack - A. Skorobogatova

Minimizing clusters with prescribed asymptotic geometry

created by skorobogatova on 05 Jun 2026

[BibTeX]

Preprint

Inserted: 5 jun 2026
Last Updated: 5 jun 2026

Year: 2026

Abstract:

We construct locally minimizing $(1,2)$-clusters whose exterior interfaces are asymptotic to various prescribed singular area-minimizing cones. For $n+1\leq 7$, Bronsard & Novack characterized all minimizing $(1,2)$-clusters as standard lenses, whose exterior interface is planar. For $n+1 \in [8,2700]$, the authors together with Bronsard showed the existence of a locally minimizing $(1,2)$-cluster whose exterior interface blows down to some (unknown, possibly non-unique) singular area-minimizing hypercone. For $n+1=8$, this was shown independently by Novaga, Paolini & Tortorelli.

Here we develop a refined construction using the Hardt-Simon foliation that realizes prescribed cones. For a singular area-minimizing hypercone $C$ that has an isolated singularity or is cylindrical, we show that if $C$ satisfies an explicit energy bound, then there is a locally minimizing $(1,2)$-cluster whose exterior interface is asymptotic to $C$ with quantitative rates. In fact, if $C$ is an area minimizing Lawson cone satisfying this energy bound, we produce a countably infinite family of distinct locally minimizing clusters asymptotic to $C$, distinguished by their prescribed asymptotic decay to leading order.

We verify this energy bound for the generalized Simons cones $C_{k,k}$ in every even ambient dimension $n+1 = 2k+2\geq 8$, and for the cylindrical cone $C_{3,3}\times\mathbb{R}$ in $\mathbb{R}^9$, where $C_{3,3}$ is the Simons cone, therefore answering the cone realization problem in these cases. This in particular removes the upper bound of 2700 on the ambient dimension when $n+1$ is even in our preceding work.


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