The asymptotic cones of manifolds of roughly non-negative radial curvature (Q1775411)

Let \(M\) be a complete and non-compact Riemannian manifold with a base point \(o\in M\). We say \(M\) has the asymptotic cone if the pointed Gromov-Hausdorff limit of \(((1/t)M,o)\) as \(t\to\infty\) exists, and is isometric to a Euclidean cone. In the case of a Hadamard manifold \(M\), Gromov has shown that \(M\) has the asymptotic cone if its Tits ideal boundary is compact. If \(M\) is nonnegatively curved, then \(M\) has also the asymptotic cone. A. Kasue has introduced the ideal boundary of manifolds with asymptotically nonnegative curvature and has given its compactification, however G. Drees pointed out a gap in Kasue's argument on compactification. In the present paper the main purpose is to show the existence of asymptotic cones for a class of manifolds with restricted radial curvature, which includes the class of all manifolds of asymptotically nonnegative curvature. A model surface \((\widetilde M,\widetilde o)\) with radial curvature function \(K: [0,\infty)\to \mathbb R\) at \(\widetilde o\) is a surface of revolution with the metric \[ ds^2= dt^2+ f^2(t)\,d\theta^2 \] in geodesic polar coordinates \((t,\theta)\in(0,\infty)\times S^1\) centered at \(\widetilde o\in \widetilde M\), in which \(f: [0,\infty)\to [0,\infty)\) satisfies the following conditions: \(f''(t)+ K(t)f(t)=0\), \(f(0)= 0\), \(f'(0)= 1\), \(f(t)> 0\) on \((0,\infty)\). Therefore the Gaussian curvature is \(G(\widetilde p)= K(d_{\widetilde M}(\widetilde o,\widetilde p))\). If \(K\leq 0\) we call \((\widetilde M,\widetilde o)\) a CH (Cartan-Hadamard)-model surface. Assume \((\widetilde M,\widetilde o)\) has the finite total curvature \(c(\widetilde M)= \int_{\widetilde p\in\widetilde M}G(\widetilde p)\,d\widetilde M>-\infty\). We say that \(M\) is of roughly nonnegative radial curvature if \((M,o)\) is dominated by a CH-model surface \((\widetilde M,\widetilde o)\), i.e. along every minimizing geodesic \(\gamma: [0,a]\to M\), \(a>0\), emanating from \(o\), the sectional curvature \(K_M\) on \(M\) satisfies \(K_M(\gamma'(t), v)\geq K(t)\) for any \(t\in [0,\infty)\) and for any vector \(v\in T_{\gamma(t)}M\) perpendicular to the tangent vector \(\gamma'(t)\). The main result is Theorem 0.1: Every manifold \(M\) of roughly nonnegative radial curvature has asymptotic cone. Since a manifold of asymptotically nonnegative curvature is of roughly nonnegative radial curvature, so, as a corollary of the above theorem, every manifold \(M\) of asymptotically nonnegative curvature has the asymptotic cone.