Nonuniqueness for a fully nonlinear boundary Yamabe-type problem via bifurcation theory

Abstract

One way to generalize the boundary Yamabe problem posed by Escobar is to ask if a given metric on a compact manifold with boundary can be conformally deformed to have vanishing ${\sigma }_k$-curvature in the interior and constant $H_k$-curvature on the boundary. When restricting to the closure of the positive $k$-cone, this is a fully nonlinear degenerate elliptic boundary value problem with fully nonlinear Robin-type boundary condition. We prove a general bifurcation theorem which allows us to construct examples of compact Riemannian manifolds $(X,g)$ for which this problem admits multiple non-homothetic solutions in the case when $2k<\dim X$. Our examples are all such that the boundary with its induced metric is a Riemannian product of a round sphere with an Einstein manifold.

32 pages