\(L^2\) cohomology and parabolicity (Q2574446)

This paper studies the relationship of \(L^2\) cohomology with de Rham cohomology on non compact manifolds. The Hodge de Rham theorem states that on compact Riemannian manifolds, cohomology classes can naturally be represented by harmonic forms. So it is natural to ask whether on non compact Riemannian manifolds, \(L^2\) cohomology classes might be represented by \(L^2\) harmonic forms. This paper answers the question for some classes of non compact manifolds positively. The author verifies the following theorems: Let \((N,g)\) be a simply connected nilpotent Lie group of dimension \(n \geq 3\), and let \((M,h)\) be another Riemannian manifold which is isometric to copies of \((N,g)\) near infinity. Then the \(L^2\) harmonic spaces isomorphic to \(H^k_c(M)\) for \(k \leq n-2\), and are isomorphic to \(H^k(M)\) for \(k \geq 2\). An other theorem asserts that for a symmetric space \(X=G/K\) of non positive curvature of dimension \(n \geq 3\), and \((M,h)\) is another Riemannian manifold which is isometric to copies of \(X\) near infinity, the same conclusion as above holds. These theorems show that the above question depends only on the behaviour of metric structures near infinity. The proof uses long exact sequences of cohomology groups.