Positive mass theorem for the Paneitz–Branson operator

We prove that under suitable assumptions, the constant term in the Green function of the Paneitz–Branson operator on a compact Riemannian manifold (M, g) is positive unless (M, g) is conformally diffeomorphic to the standard sphere. The proof is inspired by the positive mass theorem on spin manifolds by Ammann and Humbert (Geom Func Anal 15(3):567–576, 2005 [1]).     

The Problem of Prescribed Critical Functions

Let (M,g) be a compact Riemannian manifold on dimension n ≥ 4 not conformally diffeomorphic to the sphere Sⁿ. We prove that a smooth function f on M is a critical function for a metric g conformal to g if and only if there exists x ∈ M such that f(x) > 0.Mathematics Subject Classifications (2000): 53C21, 46E35, 26D10.     

A new Lichnerowicz–Obata estimate in the presence of a parallel p-form

 Let (M ⁿ ,g) be a compact Riemannian manifold with a smooth boundary. In this paper, we give a Lichnerowicz-Obata type lower bound for the first eigenvalue of the Laplacian of (M ⁿ ,g) when M has a parallel p-form (2 ≤p≤n/2). This result follows from a new Bochner-Reilly's formula. Moreover, we give a characterization of the equality case when (M ⁿ ,g) is simply connected. Received: 1 June 2001     

Rigidité conforme des hémisphères {{\rm S}^4_+} et {{\rm S}^6_+}

Let (M, g) be a four or six dimensional compact Riemannian manifold which is locally conformally flat and assume that its boundary is totally umbilical. In this note, we prove that if the Euler characteristic of M is equal to 1 and if its Yamabe invariant is positive, then (M, g) is conformally isometric to the standard hemisphere. As an application and using a result of Hang and Wang (Comm Anal Geom 14(1):91–106, 2006), we prove a rigidity result for these hemispheres regarding the Min-Oo conjecture.     

Schouten curvature functions on locally conformally flat Riemannian manifolds

Consider a compact Riemannian manifold (M, g) with metric g and dimension n ≥ 3. The Schouten tensor A _g associated with g is a symmetric (0, 2)-tensor field describing the non-conformally-invariant part of the curvature tensor of g. In this paper, we consider the elementary symmetric functions {σ _k (A _g ), 1 ≤ k ≤ n} of the eigenvalues of A _g with respect to g; we call σ _k (A _g ) the k-th Schouten curvature function. We give an isometric classification for compact locally conformally flat manifolds which satisfy the conditions: A _g is semi-positive definite and σ _k (A _g ) is a nonzero constant for some k ∈ {2, ... , n}. If k = 2, we obtain a classification result under the weaker conditions that σ₂(A _g ) is a non-negative constant and (M ⁿ , g) has nonnegative Ricci curvature. The corresponding result for the case k = 1 is well known. We also give an isometric classification for complete locally conformally flat manifolds with constant scalar curvature and non-negative Ricci curvature. Udo Simon: Partially supported by Chinese-German cooperation projects, DFG PI 158/4-4 and PI 158/4-5, and NSFC.     

On Harnack inequalities and singularities of admissible metrics in the Yamabe problem

In this paper we study the local behaviour of admissible metrics in the k-Yamabe problem on compact Riemannian manifolds (M, g ₀) of dimension n ≥ 3. For n/2 < k < n, we prove a sharp Harnack inequality for admissible metrics when (M, g ₀) is not conformally equivalent to the unit sphere S ⁿ and that the set of all such metrics is compact. When (M, g ₀) is the unit sphere we prove there is a unique admissible metric with singularity. As a consequence we prove an existence theorem for equations of Yamabe type, thereby recovering as a special case, a recent result of Gursky and Viaclovsky on the solvability of the k-Yamabe problem for k > n/2. This work was supported by the Australian Research Council.     

Min-Oo Conjecture for Fully Nonlinear Conformally Invariant Equations

In this paper we show rigidity results for supersolutions to fully nonlinear, elliptic, conformally invariant equations on subdomains of the standard n -sphere under suitable conditions along the boundary. We emphasize that our results do not assume concavity on the fully nonlinear equations we will work with. This proves rigidity for compact, connected, locally conformally flat manifolds (M, g) with boundary such that the eigenvalues of the Schouten tensor satisfy a fully nonlinear elliptic inequality and whose boundary is isometric to a geodesic sphere ∂D(r) , where D(r) denotes a geodesic ball of radius r ∈ (0, π/2] in , and totally umbilical with mean curvature bounded below by the mean curvature of this geodesic sphere. Under the above conditions, (M, g) must be isometric to the closed geodesic ball . As a side product, in dimension 2 our methods provide a new proof to Toponogov's theorem about rigidity of compact surfaces carrying a shortest simple geodesic. Roughly speaking, Toponogov's theorem is equivalent to a rigidity theorem for spherical caps in the hyperbolic three-space ℍ³ . In fact, we extend it to obtain rigidity for supersolutions to certain Monge-Ampère equations. © 2019 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Causal conformal vector fields,and singularities of twistor spinors

In this paper, we study the geometry around the singularity of a twistor spinor, on a Lorentz manifold (M, g) of dimension greater or equal to three, endowed with a spin structure. Using the dynamical properties of conformal vector fields, we prove that the geometry has to be conformally flat on some open subset of any neighbourhood of the singularity. As a consequence, any analytic Lorentz manifold, admitting a twistor spinor with at least one zero has to be conformally flat.      

Yamabe Flow and Myers Type Theorem on Complete Manifolds

In this paper, we prove the following Myers type theorem: If (M ⁿ ,g), n≥3, is an n-dimensional complete locally conformally flat Riemannian manifold with bounded Ricci curvature satisfying the Ricci pinching condition Rc≥?Rg, where R>0 is the scalar curvature and ?>0 is a uniform constant, then M ⁿ must be compact.     

The Yamabe Problem and Applications on Noncompact Complete Riemannian Manifolds

We let (M,g) be a noncompact complete Riemannian manifold of dimension n 3 whose scalar curvature S(x) is positive for all x in M. With an assumption on the Ricci curvature and scalar curvature at infinity, we study the behavior of solutions of the Yamabe equation on –u+[(n–2)/(4(n–1))]Su=qu ^{(n+2)/(n–2)} on (M,g). This study finds restrictions on the existence of an injective conformal immersion of (M,g) into any compact Riemannian n -manifold. We also show the existence of a complete conformal metric with constant positive scalar curvature on (M,g) with some conditions at infinity.     

Coincidences of maps into homogeneous spaces

Let f,g:X→M be maps between two closed connected orientable n-manifolds where M=G/K is the homogeneous space of left cosets of a compact connected Lie group G by a finite subgroup K. In this note, we obtain a simple formula for the Lefschetz coincidence number L(f,g) in terms of topological degree, generalizing some previously known formulas for fixed points. Our approach, by means of Nielsen root theory, also allows us to give a simpler and more geometric proof of the fact that all coincidence classes of f and g have coincidence index of the same sign. Received: 3 March 1998 / Revised version: 29 June 1998     

Obstruction theory and coincidences of maps between nilmanifolds

Let f, g : M N be two maps between two compact nilmanifolds with dim M dim N = n. In this paper, we show that either the Nielsen coincidence number N(f, g) = 0 or N(f, g) = R(f, g) where R(f, g) denotes the Reidemeister number of f and g. Furthermore, we show that if N(f, g) > 0 then the primary obstruction o_n(f, g) to deforming f and g to be coincidence free on the n-th skeleton of M is non-trivial.Received: 30 April 2004; revised: 20 July 2004     

Direct and Inverse Problems of Baire Classification of Integrals Depending on a Parameter

We study the problem of the Baire classification of integrals g (y) = (If)(y) = ∫ _X f(x, y)dμ(x), where y is a parameter that belongs to a topological space Y and f are separately continuous functions or functions similar to them. For a given function g, we consider the inverse problem of constructing a function f such that g = If. In particular, for compact spaces X and Y and a finite Borel measure μ on X, we prove the following result: In order that there exist a separately continuous function f : X × Y → ℝ such that g = If, it is necessary and sufficient that all restrictions g| _{Y n} of the function g: Y → ℝ be continuous for some closed covering { Y _n : n ∈ ℕ} of the space Y.__________Translated from Ukrains’kyi Matematychnyi Zhurnal, Vol. 56, No. 11, pp. 1443–1457, November, 2004.     

Number of Singularities of Stable Maps

Sharp estimates for the Ricci curvature of a submanifold M ⁿ of an arbitrary Riemannian manifold N ^n+p are established. It is shown that the equality in the lower estimate of the Ricci curvature of M ⁿ in a space form N ^n+p (c) is achieved only when M ⁿ is quasiumbilical with a flat normal bundle. In the case when the codimension p satisfies 1 ≤ p ≤ n − 3, the only submanifolds in N ^n+p (c) on which the Ricci curvature is minimal are the conformally flat ones with a flat normal bundle.      

Contact metric manifolds with <Emphasis Type="Italic">η</Emphasis>-parallel torsion tensor

We show that a non-Sasakian contact metric manifold with η-parallel torsion tensor and sectional curvatures of plane sections containing the Reeb vector field different from 1 at some point, is a (k, μ)-contact manifold. In particular for the standard contact metric structure of the tangent sphere bundle the torsion tensor is η-parallel if and only if M is of constant curvature, in which case its associated pseudo-Hermitian structure is CR- integrable. Next we show that if the metric of a non-Sasakian (k, μ)-contact manifold (M, g) is a gradient Ricci soliton, then (M, g) is locally flat in dimension 3, and locally isometric to E ⁿ⁺¹ × S ⁿ (4) in higher dimensions.      

Équations du type Monge-Ampère sur les variétés Riemanniennes compactes, I

Let (V_n, g) be a C^∞ compact Riemannian manifold. For a suitable function on V_n, let us consider the change of metric: g′ = g + Hess(), and the function, as a ratio of two determinants, M() = ¦g′¦ ¦g¦⁻¹. Using the method of continuity, we first solve in C^∞ the problem: Log M() = λ + ƒ, λ > 0, ƒ ε C^∞. Then, under weak hypothesis on F, we solve the general equation: Log M() = F(P, ), F in C^∞(V_n × ¦α, β¦), using a method of iteration. Our study gives rise to an interesting a priori estimate on ¦¦, which does not occur in the complex case. This estimate should enable us to solve the equation above when λ 0, providing we can overcome difficulties related to the invertibility of the linearised operator. This open question will be treated in our next article.     

Notes on Gromov’s systolic estimate

These notes cover some of the main results of Gromov’s paper Filling Riemannian manifolds. The goal of these notes is to make the results and proofs accessible to more people. The main result is that if (M,g) is a Riemannian manifold of dimension n, then there is a non-contractible curve in (M,g) of length at most C _n Vol(M,g)^1/n .     

Systolic volume of hyperbolic manifolds and connected sums of manifolds

The systolic volume of a closed n-manifold M is defined as the optimal constant σ(M) satisfying the inequality vol(M, g) ≥ σ(M) sys(M, g) ⁿ between the volume and the systole of every metric g on M. First, we show that the systolic volume of connected sums of closed oriented essential manifolds is unbounded. Then, we prove that the systolic volume of every sequence of closed hyperbolic (three-dimensional) manifolds is also unbounded. These results generalize systolic inequalities on surfaces in two different directions.      

Complete noncompact manifolds with harmonic curvature

Let (M ⁿ , g) be an n-dimensional complete noncompact Riemannian manifold with harmonic curvature and positive Sobolev constant. In this paper, by employing an elliptic estimation method, we show that (M ⁿ , g) is a space form if it has sufficiently small L ^n/2-norms of trace-free curvature tensor and nonnegative scalar curvature. Moreover, we get a gap theorem for (M ⁿ , g) with positive scalar curvature.     

Generalized connected sum construction for scalar flat metrics

In this paper we construct constant scalar curvature metrics on the generalized connected sum M = M₁  \sharp_K  M₂{M = M_1 \, \sharp_K \, M_2} of two compact Riemannian scalar flat manifolds (M ₁, g ₁) and (M ₂, g ₂) along a common Riemannian submanifold (K, g _K ) whose codimension is ≥3. Here we present two constructions: the first one produces a family of “small” (in general nonzero) constant scalar curvature metrics on the generalized connected sum of M ₁ and M ₂. It yields an extension of Joyce’s result for point-wise connected sums in the spirit of our previous issues for nonzero constant scalar curvature metrics. When the initial manifolds are not Ricci flat, and in particular they belong to the (1₊) class in the Kazdan–Warner classification, we refine the first construction in order to produce a family of scalar flat metrics on M. As a consequence we get new solutions to the Einstein constraint equations on the generalized connected sum of two compact time symmetric initial data sets, extending the Isenberg–Mazzeo–Pollack gluing construction.