A non-existence result for minimal catenoids in asymptotically flat spaces

Abstract

We show that asymptotically Schwarzschildean 3-manifolds cannot contain minimal surfaces obtained by perturbative deformations of a Euclidean catenoid, no matter how small the ADM mass of the ambient space and how large the neck of the catenoid itself. Such an obstruction is sharply three-dimensional and ceases to hold for more general classes of asymptotically flat data.