Paper · Sep 8, 2026

Formation and structural stability of nondegenerate neckpinches

Kyeongsu Choi, Panagiota Daskalopoulos, Natasa Sesum

math.DGWider flowsarXiv:2609.08112
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Abstract

In this paper, we study the formation, precise asymptotics, and structural stability of neckpinch singularities in mean curvature flow. Motivated by the static rigidity of cylindrical self-shrinkers established by Colding, Ilmanen and Minicozzi, we first prove a dynamical rigidity result: mean curvature flow of hypersurfaces that are initially graphically close to a generalized cylinder on a sufficiently large scale, subject to a localized quadratic upward bending, inevitably develop a neckpinch singularity in finite time. We also establish sharp asymptotic expansions for the profile functions of these locally evolving graphs. We show that the rescaled graphical radius converges to a specific polynomial profile with quadratic bending, proving that the resulting singularities are nondegenerate. Finally, we establish an openness theorem showing that nondegenerate neckpinches are structurally stable under C^2 perturbations of the initial data. Combined with recent density theorems for the 3-dimensional mean curvature flow by Szekelyhidi, our results confirm that nondegenerate neckpinches constitute a generic and stable phenomenon in 3-dimensional mean curvature flow.

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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.

Connected papers This paper in the centre and the 8 papers closest to it around it, in date order clockwise from the top. The closer a paper sits to the centre, the stronger the connection. This paper Type II smoothing in mean curvature flow (Sigurd Angenent, Panagiota Daskalopoulos and Natasa Sesum, 2021)3Angenent 2021 Classification of bubble-sheet ovals in ℝ⁴ (Beomjun Choi, Panagiota Daskalopoulos, Wenkui Du et al., 2022)8Choi 2022 Mean curvature flow with generic initial data II (Otis Chodosh, Kyeongsu Choi and Felix Schulze, 2023)2Chodosh 2023 Dynamics of Convex Mean Curvature Flow (Sigurd Angenent, Panagiota Daskalopoulos and Natasa Sesum, 2023)4Angenent 2023 Uniqueness of tangent flows at infinity for finite-entropy shortening curves (Kyeongsu Choi, Dong-Hwi Seo, Wei-Bo Su et al., 2024)6Choi 2024 Classification of ancient noncollapsed flows in ℝ⁴ (Kyeongsu Choi and Robert Haslhofer, 2024)7Choi 2024 Mean curvature flow near a peanut solution (Sigurd Angenent, Panagiota Daskalopoulos and Natasa Sesum, 2025)1Angenent 2025 Unique asymptotics of SO(k)× SO(n-k+1) symmetric ancient ovals of Ricci flow (Panagiota Daskalopoulos, Wenkui Du, Natasa Sesum et al., 2026)5Daskalopoulo 2026
Closer to the centre: more closely connected. Clockwise from the top: oldest to newest. Ricci flowWider flowsalso connected to each other
  1. Mean curvature flow near a peanut solution

    Sigurd Angenent, Panagiota Daskalopoulos and Natasa SesumWider flows PDF

    Topics Self-shrinkers & translators, Singularities, Stability & uniqueness · Same authors Panagiota Daskalopoulos, Natasa Sesum · Shared terms “neckpinch singularities”, “nondegenerate”, “perturbation”

  2. Mean curvature flow with generic initial data II

    Otis Chodosh, Kyeongsu Choi and Felix SchulzeWider flows PDF

    Topics Self-shrinkers & translators, Singularities · Same author Kyeongsu Choi · Shared terms “cylindrical self”, “initial data”

  3. Type II smoothing in mean curvature flow

    Sigurd Angenent, Panagiota Daskalopoulos and Natasa SesumWider flows PDF

    Topics Singularities · Same authors Panagiota Daskalopoulos, Natasa Sesum · Shared terms “asymptotic expansions”, “combined”

  4. Dynamics of Convex Mean Curvature Flow

    Sigurd Angenent, Panagiota Daskalopoulos and Natasa SesumWider flows PDF

    Topics Stability & uniqueness · Same authors Panagiota Daskalopoulos, Natasa Sesum · Shared terms “rescaled”, “initial data”

  5. Unique asymptotics of symmetric ancient ovals of Ricci flow

    Panagiota Daskalopoulos, Wenkui Du, Natasa Sesum et al. PDF

    Topics Singularities, Stability & uniqueness · Same authors Panagiota Daskalopoulos, Natasa Sesum · Shared terms “profile function”, “asymptotics”

  6. Uniqueness of tangent flows at infinity for finite-entropy shortening curves

    Kyeongsu Choi, Dong-Hwi Seo, Wei-Bo Su et al.Wider flows PDF

    Topics Self-shrinkers & translators, Singularities, Stability & uniqueness · Same author Kyeongsu Choi · Shared terms “graphical radius”, “rescaled”

  7. Classification of ancient noncollapsed flows in

    Kyeongsu Choi and Robert HaslhoferWider flows PDF

    Topics Self-shrinkers & translators, 3-manifolds, Singularities · Same author Kyeongsu Choi · Shared terms “Ilmanen”

  8. Classification of bubble-sheet ovals in

    Beomjun Choi, Panagiota Daskalopoulos, Wenkui Du et al.Wider flows PDF

    Topics Mean curvature flow · Same authors Panagiota Daskalopoulos, Natasa Sesum

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Background reading

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In the guidebook

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