Busemann functions on manifolds with lower bounds on Ricci curvature and minimal volume growth (Q1127884)

The main results in this paper concern complete noncompact manifolds with \[ \text{Ric}_x\geq \frac{(n-1)(1/4-v^2)} {b^2(x)} \tag \(*\) \] outside a compact set, where \(v\in [0,\frac{n+1} {2(n-1)})\). This includes manifolds with nonnegative Ricci curvature. We begin by proving a useful volume comparison theorem for subsets, \(\Omega(K)\), covered by the flows of the gradient field of a Busemann function. We apply this theorem to examine manifolds with globally nonnegative Ricci curvature that satisfy \((*)\) for \(v\in (0,1/2]\) outside a compact set and have minimal volume growth, i.e., \[ \limsup_{R\to\infty} \frac{\text{Vol} (B_p(R))} {R^{(1/2-v)(n-1)+1}}= V_0<\infty. \] In particular, we examine manifolds with nonnegative Ricci curvature and linear volume growth. We show that the level sets of any given Busemann function on these manifolds are compact and have at most linear diameter growth. This theorem is applied in future papers to study the almost rigidity properties of such manifolds. Finally, we provide nontrivial examples of manifolds with nonnegative Ricci curvature and linear volume growth, demonstrating that \(\text{diam} (b^{-1}(r))\) may approach infinity and that \(b^{-1}(r)\) need not approach a unique Gromov-Hausdorff limit as \(r\) approaches infinity even if the diameter is uniformly bounded.