Convexity estimates for hypersurfaces moving by concave curvature functions

Abstract: We study fully nonlinear geometric flows that deform strictly $k$-convex hypersurfaces in Euclidean space with pointwise normal speed given by a concave function of the principal curvatures. Specifically, the speeds we consider are obtained by performing a nonlinear interpolation between the mean and the $k$-harmonic mean of the principal curvatures. Our main result is a convexity estimate showing that, on compact solutions, regions of high curvature are approximately convex. In contrast to the mean curvature flow, the fully nonlinear flows considered here preserve $k$-convexity in a Riemannian background, and we show that the convexity estimate carries over to this setting as long as the ambient curvature satisfies a natural pinching condition.