Deforming solutions of geometric variational problems with varying symmetry groups

Abstract

We prove an equivariant implicit function theorem for variational problems that are invariant under a varying symmetry group (corresponding to a bundle of Lie groups). Motivated by applications to families of geometric variational problems lacking regularity, several non-smooth extensions of the result are discussed. Among such applications is the submanifold problem of deforming the ambient metric preserving a given variational property of a prescribed family of submanifolds, e.g., constant mean curvature, up to the action of the corresponding ambient isometry groups.