A spectra comparison theorem and its applications (Q269873)

Let \(\mathcal{M}:=(M^m,g)\) be a compact connected Riemannian manifold without boundary. Let \(\lambda_i(\mathcal{M})\) be the \(i^{\text{th}}\) eigenvalue of the associated scalar Laplacian. Fix a reference manifold \(\mathcal{X}:=(X^n,g_0)\) and impose a uniform upper bound \(D\) on the diameter of \(\mathcal{X}\), a uniform lower bound \(\iota\) on the injectivity radius of \(\mathcal{X}\), a uniform upper bound \(\kappa^2\) on the absolute value of the sectional curvature of \(\mathcal{X}\), and a uniform upper bound \(\lambda\) on the \(i^{\text{th}}\) eigenvalue of \(\mathcal{X}\). In what follows, \(C(\cdot)\) are explicit constants which are given in the paper. Let \(\mathcal{Y}=(Y^n,g)\) be a compact connected Riemannian manifold with the volume of \(\mathcal{Y}\) satisfying \(\text{vol}(\mathcal{Y})\cdot(1-c(n)(\kappa\epsilon)^{1/3})\leq\text{vol}(\mathcal{X})\). Assume there exists a continuous Gromov-Hausdorff \(\epsilon\)-approximation \(f:\mathcal{Y}\rightarrow\mathcal{X}\) of non-zero absolute degree such that \(\epsilon\leq\epsilon_0(n,\kappa,\iota)\). Then, there is a uniform upper bound \(\lambda_i(\mathcal{Y})\leq c(n,\kappa,\epsilon,D,\lambda)\lambda_i(\mathcal{X})\). This provides a sharp comparison between the eigenvalues of the two manifolds. The author does not impose any restrictions on the local topology or geometry of \(\mathcal{Y}\); no curvature assumption on \(\mathcal{Y}\) is involved. Thus, this is somewhat different in flavor from other eigenvalue comparisons in the literature. The first section introduces the matter at hand and presents the basic results. The second section introduces the tools of geometric analysis to be employed; Moser's iteration method plays a central role. The third section provides a spectral comparison in the presence of a map with bounded energy. It uses the Bienayme-Cebysev inequality. The fourth section gives a spectral comparison between manifolds in terms of their Gromov-Hausdorff distance. The final section gives a series of examples which illustrate the matters at hand. There is an appendix on the stability of the geometric-arithmetic inequality.