On the isoperimetric Riemannian Penrose inequality

Abstract We prove that the Riemannian Penrose inequality holds for asymptotically flat 3‐manifolds with nonnegative scalar curvature and connected horizon boundary, provided the optimal decay assumptions are met, which result in the mass being a well‐defined geometric invariant. Our proof builds on a novel interplay between the Hawking mass and a potential‐theoretic version of it, recently introduced by Agostiniani, Oronzio, and the third named author. As a consequence, we establish the equality between mass and Huisken's isoperimetric mass under the above sharp assumptions. Moreover, we establish a Riemannian Penrose inequality in terms of the isoperimetric mass on any 3‐manifold with nonnegative scalar curvature, connected horizon boundary, and which supports a well‐posed notion of weak inverse mean curvature flow (IMCF). In particular, such isoperimetric Riemannian Penrose inequality does not require the asymptotic flatness of the manifold. The argument is based on a new asymptotic comparison result involving Huisken's isoperimetric mass and the Hawking mass.