A splitting theorem for open nonnegatively curved manifolds (Q1107844)

Let M n be a complete open Riemannian manifold with nonnegative curvature, and denote by S k a soul of M. The author proves that if the holonomy group of the normal bundle NS k is trivial, then M is isometric to S \(k\times {\mathbb{R}}^{n-k}\), where \({\mathbb{R}}^{n-k}\) carries a complete metric of nonnegative curvature. As corollary, it follows that, if NS k is flat with respect to the induced connection, then the universal covering space \(\pi\) : \(\tilde M\to M\) splits as \(\Sigma^{\ell}\times {\mathbb{R}}^{n-\ell}\) where \(\Sigma^{\ell}\) is a soul of \(\pi^{-1}(S\) k). Finally, let M n be a compact nonnegatively curved manifold with smooth convex boundary and suppose that the holonomy group of NS k is trivial. Then M splits as product S \(k\times Y\) where S k is the soul of M and Y is diffeomorphic to the standard disc \(D\subseteq {\mathbb{R}}^{n-k}\).