We give a complete classification of irreducible symmetric spaces for which there exist proper SL(2,R)-actions as isometries, using the criterion for proper actions by T. Kobayashi [Math. Ann. ’89] and combinatorial techniques of nilpotent orbits. In particular, we classify irreducible symmetric spaces that admit surface groups as discontinuous groups, combining this with Benoist’s theorem [Ann. Math. ’96].

We prove that a stable minimal hypersurface of an open ball which is immersed away from a closed (singular) set of finite codimension 2 Hausdorff measure and weakly close to a multiplicity 2 hyperplane must in the interior be the graph over the hyperplane of a 2-valued function satisfying a local C1, estimate. This regularity is optimal under our hypotheses. As a consequence, we also establish compactness of the class of stable minimal hypersur- faces of an open ball which have volume density ratios uniformly bounded by 3−δ for any fixed δ ∈ (0, 1) and interior singular sets of vanishing co-dimension 2 Hausdorff measure.

A geometric classification of the compact four-dimensional Einstein-Weyl manifolds with at least four-dimensional symmetry group is given. Our results also sharpen previous results on four-dimensional Einstein metrics and correct Parker's topological classification of cohomogeneity-one four-manifolds.

In this paper we study the analytic torsion and the L2-torsion of compact locally symmetric manifolds. We consider the analytic torsion with respect to representations of the fundamental group which are obtained by restriction of irreducible representations of the group of isometries of the underlying symmetric space. The main purpose is to study the asymptotic behavior of the analytic torsion with respect to sequences of representations associated to rays of highest weights.

We consider inverse curvature ows in Hn+1 with star-shaped initial hypersurfaces and prove that the ows exist for all time, and that the leaves converge to innity, become strongly convex exponentially fast and also more and more totally umbilic. Afteran appropriate rescaling the leaves converge in C1 to a sphere.