Using the calculus of variations, we prove the following structure theorem for noise-stable partitions: a partition of n-dimensional Euclidean space into m disjoint sets of fixed Gaussian volumes that maximise their noise stability must be $(m-1)$-dimensional, if $m-1\leq n$. In particular, the maximum noise stability of a partition of m sets in $\mathbb {R}^{n}$ of fixed Gaussian volumes is constant for all n satisfying $n\geq m-1$. From this result, we obtain:

1. (i) A proof of the plurality is stablest conjecture for three candidate elections, for all correlation parameters $\rho $ satisfying $0<\rho <\rho _{0}$, where $\rho _{0}>0$ is a fixed constant (that does not depend on the dimension n), when each candidate has an equal chance of winning.

2. (ii) A variational proof of Borell’s inequality (corresponding to the case $m=2$).

The structure theorem answers a question of De–Mossel–Neeman and of Ghazi–Kamath–Raghavendra. Item (i) is the first proof of any case of the plurality is stablest conjecture of Khot-Kindler-Mossel-O’Donnell for fixed $\rho $, with the case $\rho \to L1^{-}$ being solved recently. Item (i) is also the first evidence for the optimality of the Frieze–Jerrum semidefinite program for solving MAX-3-CUT, assuming the unique games conjecture. Without the assumption that each candidate has an equal chance of winning in (i), the plurality is stablest conjecture is known to be false.

A Radon measure $\mu$ on ${mathbb R}^n$ is said to be $k$-monotone if $r\mapsto{\mu(B(x,r))}/{r^k}$ is a non-decreasing function on $(0,\infty)$ for every $x\in {\mathbb R}^n$. (If $\mu$ is the $k$-dimensional Hausdorff measure restricted to a $k$-dimensional minimal surface then this important property is expressed by the monotonicity formula.) We give an example of a 1 -monotone measure $\mu$ in ${\mathbb R}^2$ with non-unique and non-conical tangent measures at a point. Furthermore, we show that $\mu$ can be the one-dimensional Hausdorff measure restricted to a closed set $A\subset {\mathbb R}^2$.

global weierstrass representations are derived for complete minimal surfaces obtained by substituting the planar end of the costa surface by scherk ends. this gives rise to singly periodic examples, of which the fundamental piece is proved to be embedded by a simple geometric technique. this technique can be generalised for embeddedness proof of future examples of the same nature.

The paper considers new components of a key space of a moduli space of minimal surfaces in flat 4-tori and calculates their dimensions. An example of minimal surfaces in 4-tori is constructed, and an element of the moduli is obtained. In the process of construction, an example is given of minimal surfaces with a good property in a 3-torus that is distinct from classical examples.

Applications of minimal surface methods are made to obtain information about univalent harmonic mappings. In the case where the mapping arises as the Poisson integral of a step function, lower bounds for the number of zeros of the dilatation are obtained in terms of the geometry of the image.

In this article we characterize the univalent harmonic mappings from the exterior of the unit disk, $\Delta $, onto a simply connected domain $\Omega $ containing infinity and which are solutions of the system of elliptic partial differential equations $\overline{{{f}_{{\bar{z}}}}\left( Z \right)}=a\left( z \right){{f}_{z}}\left( z \right)$ where the second dilatation function $a\left( z \right)$ is a finite Blaschke product. At the end of this article, we apply our results to nonparametric minimal surfaces having the property that the image of its Gauss map is the upper half-sphere covered once or twice.