An optimal parabolic estimate and its applications in prescribing scalar curvature on some open manifolds with Ricci \(\geq 0\) (Q1568700)

Let \(M^n\) \((n \geq 3)\) be a non-compact complete Riemannian \(n\)-manifold with nonnegative Ricci curvature which is non-parabolic, i.e., \(M\) supports a positive Green function for the Laplacian \(\Delta\). The author studies the global existence and nonexistence of solutions to the following semilinear parabolic Cauchy problem: (*) \({\mathcal H} u = \Delta u - V u - \partial_t u + u^p + w\) in \(M\times [0, \infty)\) with initial condition \(u(x, 0) = u_0(x)\) in \(M\). Here \(w = w(x)\) is a \(L_{\text{loc}}^1\) function, and \(V = V(x)\) is a \(C^2\) function. Fix a point \(x_0 \in M\) and let \(r(x) = d(x_0, x)\) be the distance between \(x_0\) and \(x\). He proves the following result: Theorem A. Suppose the volume of geodesic balls, \(\text{vol}(B(x_0, r)) \geq c r^\alpha\) for \(\alpha > 2\) and \(r\) large, and for \(\delta > 0\), \(0 \leq V \leq \frac{C}{1+r^{2+\delta}}\). (a) If \(1 < p \leq \frac{\alpha}{\alpha-2}\) and \(w \neq 0\), then (*) has no global positive solution. (b) If \(p > \frac{\alpha}{\alpha-2}\) then (*) has global positive solutions for some \(w > 0\). Introducing the heat kernel \(G\) for the operator \(\Delta - V\), the author obtains an integral equation from (*). Then he obtains a contradiction by using the maximum principle and Hölder inequality together with conditions for \(V\), \(p\) and \(\alpha\). In case \(p = \frac{\alpha}{\alpha-2}\), the proof may be modified a little by introducing cut-off functions on \([0, \infty]\). In case (b), introducing an integral operator and showing it is a contraction, he proves the existence of global positive solutions for (*) for some \(w > 0\). As applications, (*) can be applied to the problem of prescribing scalar curvature. If \(\widetilde g\) is a metric conformal to \(g\), i.e., \(\widetilde g = u^{\frac{4}{n-2}} g\) for some positive function \(u\) on \(M\), then the scalar curvature \(\widetilde S\) of \(\widetilde g\) satisfies \(\Delta u - \frac{n-2}{4(n-1)} S u + \widetilde S u^{\frac{n+2}{n-2}} = 0\) in \(M\). Taking \(V = \frac{n-2}{4(n-1)} S\) and applying Theorem A, the author obtains the following result: Theorem B. If \(S \leq \frac{C}{1+r^{2 + \delta}}, \delta > 0\) and \(\alpha \leq \frac{n+2}{2}\), then \(M\) has no conformal metric with scalar curvature bounded below by a positive constant. Also \(M\) has no conformal metric \(g_1\) whose scalar curvature satisfies \(S_1 \geq c(1+r)^2\). In addition to Theorem A and Theorem B, the author proves several similar results with notions of uniformly conformal metrics and Green-bounded \(V\) or scalar curvature \(S\).