Some new results on eigenvectors via dimension, diameter, and Ricci curvature (Q1590969)

Fix \(R\in\mathbf R\) and \(1<p\leq\infty\) and define the real function \(T=T_{R,p}\) by \[ T(x) = \begin{cases} \sqrt{(p-1)R}\cdot\tan\left(\sqrt{R\over p-1}x\right), &\text{if \(R>0\), \(p<\infty\);}\\ -\sqrt{-(p-1)R}\cdot\tanh\left(\sqrt{-R\over p-1}x\right), & \text{if \(R<0\), \(p<\infty\);}\\ 0, &\text{if \(R=0\), \(p<\infty\);}\\ Rx, &\text{if \(p=\infty.\)}\end{cases} \] For \(d>0\) denote by \(\widehat{\lambda}(R,p,d)\) the first nonzero eigenvalue of the operator \({d^2\over dx^2} - T\cdot{d\over dx}\) on \((-d/2,d/2)\) with Neumann boundary conditions. Let \((M,g)\) be a compact Riemannian manifold with empty or convex boundary. Suppose the diameter of \(M\) is bounded above by \(d\) and suppose \(p>\dim (M)\). Let \(\Delta\) be the Laplace-Beltrami operator and let \(X\) be a vector field on \(M\). Suppose the inequality \[ \text{Ric} - \nabla^sX - {1 \over p-\dim (M)}X\otimes X \geq R\cdot g \] holds in the sense of symmetric 2-tensors where \(\nabla^sX(\xi,\eta) = {1\over 2}(g(\nabla_\xi X,\eta)+ g(\nabla_\eta X,\xi))\) is the symmetric covariant derivative of \(X\). The main result of the paper states that any nonzero real eigenvalue \(\lambda_1\) of the elliptic differential operator \(L=\Delta + X\) on \(M\) with Neumann boundary conditions satisfies \[ \lambda_1 \geq \widehat{\lambda}(R,p,d). \] This generalizes the classical estimates for \(\Delta\) by \textit{A. Lichnerowicz} [Géométrie des groupes de transformations, Paris: Dunod (1958; Zbl 0096.16001)] and by \textit{P. Li} [Indiana Univ. Math. J. 28, 1013-1019 (1979; Zbl 0429.35054)] and \textit{J. Zhong} and \textit{H. Yang} [Sci. Sin., Ser. A 27, 1265-1273 (1984; Zbl 0561.53046)].