Positive solutions of Yamabe type equations on complete manifolds and applications (Q1276410)

Let \((M,g)\) be a connected, non-compact and complete Riemannian manifold of dimension \(\geq 3\). Let \(\Delta\) be the Laplace-Beltrami operator relative to \(g\). The authors consider the equation \(\Delta u+a(x)u-b(x)u^\sigma =:E(u)=0\), where \(\sigma>1\), \(a(x)\) and \(b(x)\) being at least continuous functions on \(M\). They are concerned with finding conditions on the coefficients, sharp with respect to the geometry of \((M,g)\), that yield existence, resp. non-existence, of positive solutions \(u\) to \(E(u)=0\). Their applications are to the non-compact Yamabe problem: given a non-compact Riemannian manifold \((M,g)\) and a smooth function \(K\in C^\infty(M)\), when can one deform \(g\) to a (possibly non-complete) metric \(\widetilde g\) with scalar curvature \(K\)? This problem is equivalent to the existence of a positive, everywhere defined solution of an equation such as \(E(u)=0\). In fact, that follows upon setting \(\widetilde g=u^{4/(m-2)}g\), \(u>0\), so that the Yamabe problem amounts to finding solutions to the equation \[ \Delta u-{{m-2}\over{4(m-1)}}s(x)u+{{m-2}\over{4(m-1)}}K(x)u^{ (m+2)/(m-2)}=0. \] Upon fixing a point \(p\in M\) and defining by \(s\) and \(r\), respectively, the scalar curvature of \((M,g)\) and the distance function from \(p\), they find conditions on \(a\) and \(b\) above, and on the function \(K\), in terms of \(s\), \(r\) and a conformal invariant of \(M\) associated with a suitable linear partial differential operator, in order to have existence/non-existence to \(E(u)=0\). They also establish a very general uniqueness result.