Gradient estimates for a weighted nonlinear parabolic equation and applications (Q2053493)

In recent years, gradient estimates for both elliptic and parabolic equations have become fundamental tools in geometric analysis. Li and Yau established parabolic gradient estimates on solutions to the linear heat equation on Riemannian manifolds having Ricci curvature bounded from below. They applied their results to get Harnack inequalities and various estimates on the heat kernel. In this paper, the authors derive elliptic gradient estimates for positive solutions to a nonlinear parabolic equation defined on a complete weighted Riemannian manifold. Applications of these estimates yield Liouville-type theorems, parabolic Harnack inequalities and bounds on weighted heat kernels and lower boundedness assumption for the Bakry-Émery curvature tensor.