We prove the spacetime positive mass theorem in dimensions less than eight. This theorem asserts that for any asymptotically flat initial data set that satisfies the dominant energy condition, the inequality E>=|P| holds, where (E, P) is the ADM energy-momentum vector. Previously, this theorem was only known for spin manifolds [38]. Our approach is a modification of the minimal hypersurface technique that was used by the last named author and S.-T. Yau to establish the time-symmetric case of this theorem [30, 27]. Instead of minimal hypersurfaces, we use marginally outer trapped hypersurfaces (MOTS) whose existence is guaranteed by earlier work of the first named author [14]. An important part of our proof is to introduce an appropriate substitute for the area functional that is used in the time-symmetric case to single out certain minimal hypersurfaces. We also establish a density theorem of independent interest and use it to reduce the general case of the spacetime positive mass theorem to the special case of initial data that has harmonic asymptotics and satisfies the strict dominant energy condition.

We present an alternate description of the Ozsv´ath-Szab´o contact class in Heegaard Floer homology. Using our contact class, we prove that if a contact structure (M, ) has an adapted open book decomposition whose page S is a once-punctured torus, then the monodromy is right-veering if and only if the contact structure is tight.

We prove that the second positive Neumann eigenvalue of a bounded simply-connected planar domain of a given area does not exceed the first positive Neumann eigenvalue on a disk of half this area. The estimate is sharp and attained by a sequence of domains degenerating to a union of two identical disks. In particular, this result implies the P´olya conjecture for the second Neumann eigenvalue. The proof is based on a combination of analytic and topological arguments. As a by-product of our method we obtain an upper bound on the second eigenvalue for conformally round metrics on odd-dimensional spheres.

For a sub-Riemannian manifold provided with a smooth volume, we relate the small-time asymptotics of the heat kernel at a point y of the cut locus from x with roughly “how much” y is conjugate to x. This is done under the hypothesis that all minimizers connecting x to y are strongly normal, i.e. all pieces of the trajectory are not abnormal. Our result is a refinement of the one of Leandre 4t log pt(x, y) ! −d2(x, y) for t ! 0, in which only the leading exponential term is detected. Our results are obtained by extending an idea of Molchanov from the Riemannian to the sub-Riemannian case, and some details we get appear to be new even in the Riemannian context. These results permit us to obtain properties of the sub-Riemannian distance starting from those of the heat kernel and vice versa. For the Grushin plane endowed with the Euclidean volume, we get the expansion pt(x, y)  t−5/4 exp(−d2(x, y)/4t) where y is reached from a - Riemannian point x by a minimizing geodesic which is conjugate at y.

Let M be a compact Riemannian manifold, π : \tilde{M} → M be the universal covering and ω be a smooth 2-form on M with π^∗ω cohomologous to zero. Suppose the fundamental group π_1(M) satisfies certain radial quadratic (resp. linear) isoperimetric inequality, we show that there exists a smooth 1-form η on \tilde{M} of linear (resp. bounded) growth such that π^∗ω = dη. As applications, we prove that on a compact Kahler manifold (M,ω) with π^∗ω cohomologous to zero, if π_1(M) is CAT(0) or automatic (resp. hyperbolic), then M is Kahler non-elliptic (resp. Kahler hyperbolic) and the Euler characteristic (−1)^{dim_RM/2χ(M) ≥ 0 (resp. >0).