On the Martin boundary of rank 1 manifolds with nonpositive curvature (Q2318049)

The paper under review deals with the study of compactifications of noncompact Riemannian manifolds. In the framework of manifolds with nonpositive curvature, the Martin boundary is described by the behavior of the normalized Green functions at infinity. The author is concerned with the study the Martin boundary of rank 1 manifolds admitting compact quotients. The main result of the present paper establishes that a residual set in the geometric boundary can be identified naturally with a subset of the Martin boundary. This gives a partial answer to one of the open problems in geometry collected by Yau. A central role in the proof of the main result is played by a boundary Harnack-type inequality along geodesics that intersect flat planes transversally.