A Variational Approach to the Yamabe Problem: Conformal Transformations and Scalar Curvature on Compact Riemannian Manifolds

Abstract: We start by taking the analytical approach to discuss how the minimizer of Yamabe functional provides constant scalar curvature and its relationship with the Sobolev Space $W^{1,2}.$ Then, after demonstrating the importance of the sphere $S^n$, with stereographic projection and dilation, we show that the minimizer of Yamabe functional on standard sphere is obtained from a standard round metric $\bar{g}$ by a conformal diffeomorphism, thus giving us the constraint $\lambda (M) < \lambda(S^n),$ which leads us to the final theorem that the Yamabe problem is solvable when $\lambda(M) < \lambda(S^n).$ For the proof of this theorem, we adopt the approach of Concentration-Compactness.