Let $M$ be a closed riemannian 3-manifold. I think that the following fact should be true and should have a relatively simple proof, but I cannot figure it out.

For every $\varepsilon>0$ there is a $\delta>0$ such that every smooth 2-sphere in $M$ of area smaller than $\delta$ bounds a ball of volume smaller than $\varepsilon$.

Roughly, small-area spheres must bound small-volume balls.

Note that:

• If $M\neq S^3$ then $M$ contains spheres that bound regions of arbitrarily small volume that are not balls (just take a spine of $M$ and small regular neighborhoods of it).
• It suffices to prove that the 2-sphere is contained in a ball and invoke Alexander theorem.
• The same fact stated for 3-spheres in $S^4$ would imply the (open) Schoenflies problem (every 3-sphere bounds a 4-ball), since every 3-sphere in $S^4$ can be shrinked to have arbitrarily small area.
• It is not true in general that a torus of small area is contained in a ball (pick neighborhoods of a homotopically non-trivial knot).

Let $M$ be a closed riemannian 3-manifold. I think that the following fact should be true and should have a relatively simple proof, but I cannot figure it out.

For every $\varepsilon>0$ there is a $\delta>0$ such that every smooth 2-sphere in $M$ of area smaller than $\delta$ bounds a ball of volume smaller than $\varepsilon$.

Roughly, small-area spheres must bound small-volume balls.

Note that:

• If $M\neq S^3$ then $M$ contains spheres that bound regions of arbitrarily small volume that are not balls (just take a spine of $M$ and small regular neighborhoods of it).
• It suffices to prove that the 2-sphere is contained in a small-volume ball and invoke Alexander theorem.
• The same fact stated for 3-spheres in $S^4$ would imply the (open) Schoenflies problem (every 3-sphere bounds a 4-ball), since every 3-sphere in $S^4$ can be shrinked to have arbitrarily small area.
• It is not true in general that a torus of small area is contained in a ball (pick neighborhoods of a homotopically non-trivial knot).

Let $M$ be a closed riemannian 3-manifold. I think that the following fact should be true and should have a relatively simple proof, but I cannot figure it out.

For every $\varepsilon>0$ there is a $\delta>0$ such that every smooth 2-sphere in $M$ of area smaller than $\delta$ bounds a ball of volume smaller than $\varepsilon$.

Roughly, small-area spheres must bound small-volume balls.

Note that:

• if $M\neq S^3$ then $M$ contains spheres that bound regions of arbitrarily small volume that are not balls (just take a spine of $M$ and small regular neighborhoods of it).
• it suffices to prove that the 2-sphere is contained in a ball and invoke Alexander theorem.

Let $M$ be a closed riemannian 3-manifold. I think that the following fact should be true and should have a relatively simple proof, but I cannot figure it out.

For every $\varepsilon>0$ there is a $\delta>0$ such that every smooth 2-sphere in $M$ of area smaller than $\delta$ bounds a ball of volume smaller than $\varepsilon$.

Roughly, small-area spheres must bound small-volume balls.

Note that:

• If $M\neq S^3$ then $M$ contains spheres that bound regions of arbitrarily small volume that are not balls (just take a spine of $M$ and small regular neighborhoods of it).
• It suffices to prove that the 2-sphere is contained in a ball and invoke Alexander theorem.
• The same fact stated for 3-spheres in $S^4$ would imply the (open) Schoenflies problem (every 3-sphere bounds a 4-ball), since every 3-sphere in $S^4$ can be shrinked to have arbitrarily small area.
• It is not true in general that a torus of small area is contained in a ball (pick neighborhoods of a homotopically non-trivial knot)
.