Mass transportation and rough curvature bounds for discrete spaces

We introduce and study rough (approximate) lower curvature bounds for discrete spaces and for graphs. This notion agrees with the one introduced in [J. Lott, C. Villani, Ricci curvature for metric-measure spaces via optimal transport, Ann. of Math. 169 (2009), in press] and [K.T. Sturm, On the geometry of metric measure spaces. I, Acta Math. 196 (2006) 65-131], in the sense that the metric measure space which is approximated by a sequence of discrete spaces with rough curvature ?K will have curvature ?K in the sense of [J. Lott, C. Villani, Ricci curvature for metric-measure spaces via optimal transport, Ann. of Math. 169 (2009), in press; K.T. Sturm, On the geometry of metric measure spaces. I, Acta Math. 196 (2006) 65-131]. Moreover, in the converse direction, discretizations of metric measure spaces with curvature ?K will have rough curvature ?K. We apply our results to concrete examples of homogeneous planar graphs.     

On the Ricci curvature of steady gradient Ricci solitons

Assume (Mn,g) is a complete steady gradient Ricci soliton with positive Ricci curvature. If the scalar curvature approaches 0 towards infinity, we prove that , where O is the point where R obtains its maximum and γ(s) is a minimal normal geodesic emanating from O. Some other results on the Ricci curvature are also obtained.     

Ricci flow on a 3-manifold with positive scalar curvature

In this paper we consider Hamilton's Ricci flow on a 3-manifold with a metric of positive scalar curvature. We establish several a priori estimates for the Ricci flow which we believe are important in understanding possible singularities of the Ricci flow. For Ricci flow with initial metric of positive scalar curvature, we obtain a sharp estimate on the norm of the Ricci curvature in terms of the scalar curvature (which is not trivial even if the initial metric has non-negative Ricci curvature, a fact which is essential in Hamilton's estimates [R.S. Hamilton, Three-manifolds with positive Ricci curvature, J. Differential Geom. 17 (1982) 255-306]), some L²-estimates for the gradients of the Ricci curvature, and finally the Harnack type estimates for the Ricci curvature. These results are established through careful (and rather complicated and lengthy) computations, integration by parts and the maximum principles for parabolic equations.     

Conformal vector fields on complete Finsler spaces of constant Ricci curvature

In this work, it is proved that if a complete Finsler manifold of positive constant Ricci curvature admits a solution to a certain ODE, then it is homeomorphic to the n-sphere. Next, a geometric meaning is obtained for solutions of this ODE, which is applicable to Einstein–Randers spaces. Moreover, some results on Finsler spaces admitting a special conformal vector field are obtained.     

Volume entropy based on integral Ricci curvature and volume ratio

For a compact Riemannian manifold M, we obtain an explicit upper bound of the volume entropy with an integral of Ricci curvature on M and a volume ratio between two balls in the universal covering space.     

Greatest lower bounds on Ricci curvature for toric Fano manifolds

In this short note, based on the work of Wang and Zhu (2004) [8], we determine the greatest lower bounds on Ricci curvature for all toric Fano manifolds.     

A splitting theorem for manifolds of almost nonnegative Ricci curvature

Cheeger and Gromoll proved that a closed Riemannian manifold of nonnegative Ricci curvature is, up to a finite cover, diffeomorphic to a direct product of a simply connected manifold and a torus. In this paper, we extend this theorem to manifolds of almost nonnegative Ricci curvature.     

Lipschitz-volume rigidity on limit spaces with Ricci curvature bounded from below

We prove a Lipschitz-Volume rigidity theorem for the non-collapsed Gromov–Hausdorff limits of manifolds with Ricci curvature bounded from below. This is a counterpart of the Lipschitz-Volume rigidity in Alexandrov geometry.     

New connected sums with positive Ricci curvature

We construct a new infinite family of Ricci positive manifolds, generalising a well-known result of Sha and Yang.      

Embedding of RCD⁎(K,N) spaces in L2 via eigenfunctions

In this paper we study the family of embeddings ${\mathrm{\Phi }}_t$ of a compact ${\mathrm{RCD}}^{?}(K,N)$ space $(X,\mathsf{d},\mathfrak{m})$ into $L^2(X,\mathfrak{m})$ via eigenmaps. Extending part of the classical results [10], [11] known for closed Riemannian manifolds, we prove convergence as $t\downarrow 0$ of the rescaled pull-back metrics ${\mathrm{\Phi }}_t^{?}{g}_{L^2}$ in $L^2(X,\mathfrak{m})$ induced by ${\mathrm{\Phi }}_t$. Moreover we discuss the behavior of ${\mathrm{\Phi }}_t^{?}{g}_{L^2}$ with respect to measured Gromov-Hausdorff convergence and t. Applications include the quantitative $L^p$-convergence in the noncollapsed setting for all $p<\infty$, a result new even for closed Riemannian manifolds and Alexandrov spaces.     

On the Ricci curvature of a Randers metric of isotropic <Emphasis Type=Italic>S</Emphasis>-curvature

We derive the integral inequality of a Randers metric with isotropic S-curvature in terms of its navigation representation. Using the obtained inequality we give some rigidity results under the condition of Ricci curvature. In particular, we show the following result： Assume that an n-dimensional compact Randers manifold （M, F） has constant S-curvature c. Then （M, F） must be Riemannian if its Ricci curvature satisfies that Ric 〈 -（n - 1）c^2.     

Submanifolds of positive Ricci curvature in a Euclidean space

In this paper we study the role of constant vector fields on a Euclidean space R ^n+p in shaping the geometry of its compact submanifolds. For an n-dimensional compact submanifold M of the Euclidean space R ^n+p with mean curvature vector field H and a constant vector field on R ^n+p , the smooth function is used to obtain a characterization of sphere among compact submanifolds of positive Ricci curvature (cf. main Theorem).      

A remark on control of partially observed Markov chains

A new state variable is introduced for the problem of controlling a Markov chain under partial observations, which, under a suitably altered probability measure, has a simple evolution.     

On the first eigenvalue of Finsler manifolds with nonnegative weighted Ricci curvature

We prove that for a compact Finsler manifold M with nonnegative weighted Ricci curvature,if its first closed(resp.Neumann)eigenvalue of Finsler-Laplacian attains the sharp lower bound,then M is isometric to a circle(resp.a segment).Moreover,a lower bound of the first eigenvalue of Finsler-Laplacian with Dirichlet boundary condition is also estimated.These generalize the corresponding results in recent literature.     

Ricci curvature and measures

In the last thirty years three a priori very different fields of mathematics, optimal transport theory, Riemannian geometry and probability theory, have come together in a remarkable way, leading to a very substantial improvement of our understanding of what may look like a very specific question, namely the analysis of spaces whose Ricci curvature admits a lower bound. The purpose of these lectures is, starting from the classical context, to present the basics of the three fields that lead to an interesting generalisation of the concepts, and to highlight some of the most striking new developments. This article is based on the 5th Takagi Lectures that the author delivered at the University of Tokyo on October 4 and 5, 2008.     

On the four-dimensional T<Superscript>2</Superscript>-manifolds of positive Ricci curvature

We prove that there is a T ²-invariant Riemannian metric of positive Ricci curvature on every four-dimensional simply connected T ²-manifold.     

Superstochastic matrices and magic Markov chains

A brief account of the conceptual formulation of the two entities in this paper’s title, plus an initial preliminary investigation of some of their mathematical properties, is given.     

A Comparison-estimate of the second Rauch type for Ricci curvature

We establish a comparison-estimate of the second Rauch type for Ricci curvature. As an application, we get a result of local splitting for Riemannian manifolds. This work is partly supported by the National Natural Science Foundation (10371047) of China.