No label defined (Q3973413)

[For the entire collection see Zbl 0725.00015.] Consider a Markov process \(X^ \varepsilon\) on a Riemannian manifold \(M\) with generator \(L^ \varepsilon=\varepsilon L+B\), where \(L\) is a second order elliptic operator and \(B\) is a vector field. The `new approach' referred to in the title is to obtain information about the invariant measures \(\mu^ \varepsilon\) of \(X^ \varepsilon\) as \(\varepsilon\to 0\) by studying the asymptotics of the principal eigenvalues of the operators \(L^ \varepsilon+V\), where \(V\) is a continuous function on \(M\). The author surveys some of his previous results on the subject, and points out the lack of any examples of nonconvergence of \(\mu^ \varepsilon\) as \(\varepsilon\to 0\).