Comparison theorems in Finsler geometry and their applications

We prove Hessian comparison theorems, Laplacian comparison theorems and volume comparison theorems for Finsler manifolds under various curvature conditions. As applications, we derive McKean type theorems for the first eigenvalue of Finsler manifolds, as well as generalize to Finsler manifolds a result on fundamental groups due to Milnor.The research of the Y. L. Xin was partially supported by NSFC of and SFECC.     

On the maximum principle on complete Finsler manifolds

In this paper, we generalize Omori–Yau maximum principle to Finsler geometry. As an application, we obtain some Liouville-type theorems of subharmonic functions on forward complete Finsler manifolds.     

Strongly and weakly affine vector fields on Finsler manifolds

In this paper, we investigate the affine vector fields on both compact and forward complete Finsler manifolds. We first give definitions of the affine transformation and the affine vector field. Unexpectedly, we find two kinds of affine fields, which are named as the strongly and weakly affine vector fields. Based on these definitions, we prove some rigidity theorems of affine fields on compact and forward complete Finsler manifolds.     

Second variation of harmonic maps between Finsler manifolds

The first and second variation formulas of the energy functional for a nonde-generate map between Finsler manifolds is derived. As an application, some nonexistence theorems of nonconstant stable harmonic maps from a Finsler manifold to a Riemannian manifold are given.     

The first eigenvalue of Finsler p-Laplacian

The eigenvalues and eigenfunctions of p-Laplacian on Finsler manifolds are defined to be critical values and critical points of its canonical energy functional. Based on it, we generalize some eigenvalue comparison theorems of p-Laplacian on Riemannian manifolds, such as Lichnerowicz type estimate, Obata type theorem and Mckean type theorem, to the Finsler setting. Not only that, the Lichnerowicz type estimate we obtained is even better than the corresponding one in Riemannian geometry.     

Local gradient estimate for harmonic functions on Finsler manifolds

In this paper, we prove the local gradient estimate for harmonic functions on complete, noncompact Finsler measure spaces under the condition that the weighted Ricci curvature has a lower bound. As applications, we obtain Liouville type theorems on noncompact Finsler manifolds with nonnegative Ricci curvature.     

Uniform convexity and smoothness,and their applications in Finsler geometry

We generalize the Alexandrov–Toponogov comparison theorems to Finsler manifolds. Under suitable upper (lower, resp.) bounds on the flag and tangent curvatures together with the 2-uniform convexity (smoothness, resp.) of tangent spaces, we show the 2-uniform convexity (smoothness, resp.) of Finsler manifolds. As applications, we prove the almost everywhere existence of the second order differentials of semi-convex functions and of c-concave functions with the quadratic cost function.     

Existence and Liouville theorems for V -harmonic maps from complete manifolds

We establish existence and uniqueness theorems for V-harmonic maps from complete noncompact manifolds. This class of maps includes Hermitian harmonic maps, Weyl harmonic maps, affine harmonic maps, and Finsler harmonic maps from a Finsler manifold into a Riemannian manifold. We also obtain a Liouville type theorem for V-harmonic maps. In addition, we prove a V-Laplacian comparison theorem under the Bakry-Emery Ricci condition.     

Wu's theorem for Kähler–Finsler spaces

In this paper, we study strongly convex Kähler–Finsler manifolds. We prove two theorems: A strongly convex Kähler–Berwald manifold with a pole is a Stein manifold if it has nonpositive horizontal radial flag curvature; A strongly convex Kähler–Finsler manifold with a complex pole is a Stein manifold if it has nonpositive horizontal radial flag curvature.     

Classification of complete Finsler manifolds through a second order differential equation

By using a certain second order differential equation, the notion of adapted coordinates on Finsler manifolds is defined and some classifications of complete Finsler manifolds are found. Some examples of Finsler metrics, with positive constant sectional curvature, not necessarily of Randers type nor projectively flat, are found. This work generalizes some results in Riemannian geometry and open up, a vast area of research on Finsler geometry.     

Formulas of Gauss-Ostrogradskii Type on Real Finsler Manifolds

This article generalizes the formulas of Gauss-Ostrogradskii type for semibasic vector fields from Riemannian manifolds to real Finsler manifolds and obtains some formulas of Gauss-Ostrogradskii type for Finsler vector fields which are expressed in terms of the vertical and horizontal derivatives of the Cartan connection in real Finsler manifolds.     

On doubly warped product Finsler manifolds

In this paper, we introduce horizontal and vertical warped product Finsler manifolds. We prove that every C-reducible or proper Berwaldian doubly warped product Finsler manifold is Riemannian. Then, we find the relation between Riemannian curvatures of doubly warped product Finsler manifold and its components, and consider the cases that this manifold is flat or has scalar flag curvature. We define the doubly warped Sasaki-Matsumoto metric for warped product manifolds and find a condition under which the horizontal and vertical tangent bundles are totally geodesic. We obtain some conditions under which a foliated manifold reduces to a Reinhart manifold. Finally, we study an almost complex structure on the tangent bundle of a doubly warped product Finsler manifold.     

Finsler几何的回顾与进展

本文回顾了近年来Finsler几何的进展．特别，我们描述了Finsler流形上几何不变量所满足的基本方程及其应用，并提出了相关的未解决的问题。     

On fundamental groups of Finsler manifolds In memory of the centenary birthday of Professor S.S.Chern

In this paper,we study the growth of fundamental groups of Finsler manifolds.Some relationships between the growth of fundamental groups and the volume growth of universal covers of Finsler manifolds are found.Some estimates of entropies and the number of generators of fundamental groups of Finsler manifolds are given.Moreover,the quasi-isometry and the geometric norm in Finsler geometry are considered.     

On weakly harmonic maps from Finsler to Riemannian manifolds

We prove global C0,α$C^{0,\alpha }$-estimates for harmonic maps from Finsler manifolds into regular balls of Riemannian target manifolds generalizing results of Giaquinta, Hildebrandt, and Hildebrandt, Jost and Widman from Riemannian to Finsler domains. As consequences we obtain a Liouville theorem for entire harmonic maps on simple Finsler manifolds, and an existence theorem for harmonic maps from Finsler manifolds into regular balls of a Riemannian target.     

The mean curvature flow in Minkowski spaces

Studying the geometric flow plays a powerful role in mathematics and physics. In this paper, we introduce the mean curvature flow on Finsler manifolds and give a number of examples of the mean curvature flow. For Minkowski spaces, a special case of Finsler manifolds, we prove the short time existence and uniqueness for solutions of the mean curvature flow and prove that the flow preserves the convexity and mean convexity. We also derive some comparison principles for the mean curvature flow.     

On generalized symmetric Finsler spaces

In this paper, we study generalized symmetric Finsler spaces. We first study some existence theorems, then we consider their geometric properties and prove that any such space can be written as a coset space of a Lie group with an invariant Finsler metric. Finally we show that each generalized symmetric Finsler space is of finite order and those of even order reduce to symmetric Finsler spaces and hence are Berwaldian.     

Positivities and vanishing theorems on complex Finsler manifolds

In this paper, we study the relations between curvatures and geometries of a compact complex Finsler manifold. We first introduce various definitions of curvatures and then vanishing theorems are established under some positivity assumptions of curvatures. In particular, we get some criteria of a compact complex Finsler manifold to be of negative Kodaira dimension.     

S-curvature of Doubly Warped Product of Finsler Manifolds

Doubly warped product of Finsler manifolds is useful in theoretical physics, particularly in general relativity. In this paper, we study doubly warped product of Finsler manifolds with isotropic mean Berwald curvature or weak isotropic S-curvature.     

Conjugate and conformally conjugate parallelisms on Finsler manifolds

In this paper we study conjugate parallelisms and their conformal changes on Finsler manifolds. We provide sufficient conditions for a Finsler manifold endowed with two conjugate (resp. conformally conjugate) covering parallelisms to become a Berwald (resp. Wagner) manifold. As an application for Lie groups, we give a new proof for a theorem of Latifi and Razavi about bi-invariant Finsler functions being Berwald. By introducing the concept of a conformal change of a parallelism, we also obtain a conceptual proof of a theorem of Hashiguchi and Ichijyō: the class of generalized Berwald manifolds is closed under conformal change.