On the existence of maximal foliations in general relativity

Abstract: It is well known that the Einstein equations are tensor equations for a Lorentzian metric. Hence, choosing a suitable gauge condition is crucial for solving them. As a powerful gauge condition, maximal foliations have played a pivotal role in two groundbreaking works in general relativity: the global stability of Minkowski spacetime and the bounded L^2 curvature conjecture. Nevertheless, if the initial hypersurface fails to be maximal, the usual elliptic approach for constructing maximal foliations encounters fundamental difficulties when solving the Einstein equations. The purpose of the paper is to provide a construction of maximal foliations around any initial asymptotically flat Cauchy surface satisfying vacuum Einstein constraint equations, under a suitable smallness condition on the mean curvature.