Positive mass and isoperimetry for continuous metrics with nonnegative scalar curvature

This paper deals with the positive mass theorem and the existence of isoperimetric sets on $3$-manifolds endowed with continuous complete metrics having nonnegative scalar curvature in a suitable weak sense. We prove that if the manifold has an end that is C⁰-locally asymptotically flat, and the metric is the local uniform limit of smooth metrics with vanishing lower bounds on the scalar curvature outside a compact set, then Huisken's isoperimetric mass is nonnegative. This addresses a version of a recent conjecture of Huisken about positive isoperimetric mass theorems for continuous metrics satisfying Rg≥ 0 in a weak sense. As a consequence, any fill-in of a truncation of a Schwarzschild space with negative ADM mass has nonnegative isoperimetric mass. Moreover, in case the whole manifold is C⁰-locally asymptotically flat and the metric is the local uniform limit of smooth metrics with vanishing lower bounds on the scalar curvature outside a compact set, we prove that, as a large scale effect, isoperimetric sets with arbitrarily large volume exist.