Maximal bottom of spectrum or volume entropy rigidity in Alexandrov geometry (Q2633056)

The main aim of this paper is to prove two rigidity theorems on Alexandrov spaces with curvature greater than or equal to \(-1\) and \(\partial M=\emptyset\). More specifically, the author presents a splitting theorem with respect to the bottom of the spectrum and a splitting theorem with respect to volume entropy in Alexandrov geometry. The main results are: Theorem 1.5 Suppose \(n \ge 4\). Let \(M\) be a non-compact, \(n\)-dimensional Alexandrov space with curvature at least \(-1\) and \(\partial M=\emptyset\). If \(\lambda_0(M)=\frac{(n-1)^2}{4}\) then: \begin{itemize}\item[(1)] \(M\) either has only one end, \item[(2)] or \(M\) splits as \(M = \mathbb{R} \times _{e^{t}}N,\) where \(N\) is a compact Alexandrov space with non-negative curvature. \end{itemize} Theorem 1.6 Suppose \(n = 2\) or 3. Let \(M\) be a non-compact, \(n\)-dimensional Alexandrov space with curvature at least \(-1\) and \(\partial M=\emptyset\). If \(\lambda_0(M)=\frac{(n-1)^2}{4}\) then: \begin{itemize}\item[(1)] either \(M\) has no finite volume end, \item[(2)] or \(M\) splits as \(M = \mathbb{R} \times _{e^{t}}N,\) where \(N\) is a compact Alexandrov space with non-negative curvature. \end{itemize} Theorem 1.7 Let \(M\) be a non-compact, \(n\)-dimensional Alexandrov space with curvature at least \(-1\). If the volume entropy \(h(M) = n-1,\) then \(M\) is a hyperbolic manifold. An immediate corollary of these results is Corollary 1.8: Let \(M\) be a non-compact, \(n\)-dimensional Alexandrov space with curvature at least \(-1\). If \(\lambda_0(\tilde{M})=\frac{(n-1)^2}{4}\), then \(M\) is a hyperbolic manifold. The paper overviews some useful results on Alexandrov spaces including gradient flow and the theory of the Dirichlet problem. The author also proves a refined version of the localized Bochner inequality and general splitting theorem: Theorem 1.11 Let \(M\) be a non-compact, \(n\)-dimensional Alexandrov space with curvature at least \(-1\) and \(\partial M=\emptyset\). If there exists a semi-concave function \(b:M \rightarrow \mathbb{R}\) satisfying: \begin{itemize}\item[(i)] \(|\nabla_x b| = 1\) for \(H^n\) almost every \(x \in M\) \item[(ii)] \(L_b=(n-1) \cdot \mathrm{vol}\). \end{itemize} Then \(f=e^b\) is \((-1)\)-affine and \(M\) splits as \(M = \mathbb{R} \times _{e^{t}}N,\) where \(N\) is an \((n-1)\)-dimensional Alexandrov space with non-negative curvature.