Paper · Dec 31, 2025
Classification of ancient cylindrical mean curvature flows and the Mean Convex Neighborhood Conjecture
As on arXiv
Abstract
We resolve the Mean Convex Neighborhood Conjecture for mean curvature flows in all dimensions and for all types of cylindrical singularities. Specifically, we show that if the tangent flow at a singular point is a multiplicity-one cylinder, then in a neighborhood of that point the flow is mean-convex, its time-slices arise as level sets of a continuous function, and all nearby tangent flows are cylindrical. Moreover, we establish a canonical neighborhood theorem near such points, which characterizes the flow via local models. We also obtain a more uniform version of the Mean Convex Neighborhood Conjecture, which only requires closeness to a cylinder at some initial time and yields a quantitative version of this structural description. Our proof relies on a complete classification of ancient, asymptotically cylindrical flows. We prove that any such flow is non-collapsed, convex, rotationally symmetric, and belongs to one of three canonical families: ancient ovals, the bowl soliton, or the flying wing translating solitons. Central to our method is a refined asymptotic analysis and a novel leading mode condition, together with a new "induction over thresholds" argument. In addition, our approach provides a full parameterization of the space of asymptotically cylindrical flows and gives a new proof of the existence of flying wing solitons. Our method is independent of prior work and, together with our prequel paper, this work is largely self-contained.
Comments: minor improvements, 60 pages, comments are welcome
Its neighbourhood
Connected papers
The 8 papers on this site closest to this one, judged by the topics they share, the words and phrases in their titles and abstracts, and their authors. They are not its citations, but a map of the work around it. Papers here go back to 2021, plus the canon.
-
The PDE-ODI principle and cylindrical mean curvature flows
Topics Ancient solutions, Self-shrinkers & translators, Singularities · Same authors Richard H. Bamler, Yi Lai · Shared terms “cylindrical mean”, “cylindrical flows”, “largely self”
-
Ancient cylindrical flows with fast or slow convergence
Topics Ancient solutions, Singularities · Shared terms “ancient cylindrical”, “neighborhood conjecture”, “convex neighborhood”
-
Classification of ancient ovals in higher dimensional mean curvature flow
Topics (Non)collapsing, Ancient solutions · Shared terms “neighborhood conjecture”, “convex neighborhood”, “ancient ovals”
-
On the fundamental group of non-collapsed ancient Ricci flows
Topics (Non)collapsing, Ancient solutions, Singularities · Same author Richard H. Bamler · Shared terms “collapsed”, “tangent flow”
-
Rotational symmetry of ancient solutions to fully nonlinear curvature flows
Topics Rotational symmetry & warped products, (Non)collapsing, Ancient solutions · Shared terms “complete classification”, “translating solitons”, “rotationally symmetric”
-
Morse resolution of mean curvature flows with cylindrical singularities
Topics Singularities · Same author Richard H. Bamler · Shared terms “cylindrical singularities”, “mean convex”, “neighborhood”
-
O(2)-symmetry of 3D steady gradient Ricci solitons
Topics Ancient solutions · Same author Yi Lai · Shared terms “flying wing”
-
Classification of ancient noncollapsed flows in
Topics Rotational symmetry & warped products, (Non)collapsing, Ancient solutions · Shared terms “rotationally symmetric”, “Specifically”, “independent”
Read around it
Background reading
The guides for the topics of this paper: what each idea is, why it matters, and the papers to read first.
In the guidebook
- 12B.4Compactness and Universal Estimates for κ-Solutions
Asymptotic volume zero, curvature controlled by volume, Perelman's Theorem 11.7, a universal κ, neck-like behaviour at infinity, and the constants that canonical neighbourhoods inherit.
- 12B.3The Structure of κ-Solutions
Necks and caps, compactness, and universal estimates.
- 9B.3Collapsing and Noncollapsing
Injectivity radius bounds from volume, collapsing examples, and the definition Perelman needs.