Flexible domains for minimal surfaces in Euclidean spaces

Abstract

In this paper we introduce and investigate a new notion of flexibility for domains in Euclidean spaces $\mathbb R^n$ for $n\ge 3$ in terms of minimal surfaces which they contain. A domain $\Omega$ in $\mathbb R^n$ is said to be flexible if every conformal minimal immersion $U\to\Omega$ from a Runge domain $U$ in an open conformal surface $M$ can be approximated uniformly on compacts, with interpolation on any given finite set, by conformal minimal immersion $M\to \Omega$. Together with hyperbolicity phenomena considered in recent works, this extends the dichotomy between flexibility and rigidity from complex analysis to minimal surface theory.