Harmonic functions with polynomial growth (Q1383661)

\textit{S.-T. Yau} [Commun. Pure Appl. Math. 28, 201-228 (1975; Zbl 0297.31005)] generalized the classical Liouville theorem of complex analysis to open manifolds with nonnegative Ricci curvature by proving that a positive harmonic function on such a manifold must be constant. Yau was motivated to state the following conjecture [\textit{S.-T. Yau}, Enseign. Math., II. Sér. 33, 109-158 (1987; Zbl 0631.53002)]: Conjecture. For an open manifold with nonnegative Ricci curvature, the space of harmonic functions with polynomial growth of a fixed rate is finite dimensional. In the paper under review, the authors prove that the above conjecture is true if \(M\) has Euclidean volume growth. First, harmonic functions with polynomial growth on cones are described and the methods used in the following sections are illustrated. Next, a generalization of Almgren's frequency function is introduced and a lower bound for the frequency of a harmonic function is given. The asymptotic homogeneity properties of harmonic functions with polynomial growth on manifolds with nonnegative Ricci curvature and Euclidean volume growth are studied. The above mentioned result is proved by giving a bound on the dimension of the space of harmonic functions with bounded growth. Interesting examples illustrating the difficulties in the Euclidean volume growth setting compared with the model case of a cone are given. In [\textit{T. H. Colding} and \textit{W. P. Minicozzi II}, Ann. Math., II. Ser. 146, 725-747 (1997)], the authors solve the general case of Yau's conjecture.