Minimizing currents in open manifolds and the n - 1 homology of nonnegatively Ricci curved manifolds (Q4934804)

Yau proved that if \(M\) is a complete noncompact Riemannian manifold of dimension \(n\) with everywhere positive Ricci curvature, then \(H_ {n-1}(M,\mathbb{R})={0}\). See \textit{Shing-Tung Yau} [Indiana Univ. Math. J. 25, 659-670 (1976; Zbl 0335.53041); Erratum ibid. 31, 607 (1982)]. This result led to the following conjecture: Let \(M\) be a complete noncompact Riemannian manifold of dimension \(n\) with everywhere positive Ricci curvature, then \(H_{n-1}(M,\mathbb{Z})={0}\). The authors give a partial proof of this conjecture using a completely different approach to the problem. In fact Yau used elliptic estimates and Poincaré duality to obtain his result. Other mathematicians like \textit{Zhongmin Shen} [Trans. Am. Math. Soc. 338, No. 1, 289-310 (1993; Zbl 0783.53026)] have studied the subject, and Shen proves the conjecture under the assumption of the positivity of the \(k\)th partial Ricci curvature, using generalized Morse theoretical techniques. In this article the authors recur to minimizing currents and use a result proved in Section 2 of the article which can be viewed as an extension to the noncompact case of Federer and Fleming's Fundamental Existence Theorem for homologically area minimizing currents in compact Riemannian manifolds. Let \(M\) be a smooth complete noncompact Riemannian manifold of dimension \(n\). Let \(\mathcal{H}^{k}\), with \(k\leq n\), denote the \(k\)-dimensional Hausdorff measure of \(M\), induced by the distance \(d\) of \(M\). For \(p\in M\) the order of growth of the function \(V(p,r):=\mathcal{H}^{n}(B_{r}(p))\) as \(r\) tends to \(\infty\), is called the volume growth of \(M\). Let \(S\) be any subset of \(M\), let diam\((S)\) denote its diameter as defined by \(d\). For any real number \(r>0\), consider the function diam\((p,r):=\max\{\text{diam}(S)\mid S\) is a connected component of \(\partial(B_{r}(p))\}\). The order of growth of the function \(\text{diam}(p,r)\) as \(r\) tends to \(\infty\), is called the diameter growth of \(M\) at \(p\). (For instance if \(\text{diam}(p,r) \geq Cr^{\alpha}\) holds with \(\alpha\geq 0\) and \(C>0\) constant, we say that the diameter growth of \(M\) at \(p\) is \(\geq\alpha\)). The authors prove that if the Ricci curvature of \(M\) is everywhere nonnegative and the order of volume growth of \(M\) is greater than 1 then \(H_{n-1}(M,\mathbb{Z})={0}\). If the order of diameter growth is zero (i.e., if \(M\) has bounded diameter growth) then \(H_{n-1}(M,\mathbb{Z})\) is isomorphic to one of the following groups a) 0, b) \(\mathbb{Z}\), c) \(\mathbb{Z}_{2}\). Moreover if b) or c) occur then there is a covering map \(\widetilde{M}\rightarrow M\), of degree 1 or 2 and a compact \(n-1\) dimensional manifold \(\overline{M}\) so that the covering space \(\widetilde{M}\) decomposes isometrically in either one of the following forms: a) \(\overline{M}\times \mathbb{R}\), b) \(\overline{M}\times [ 0,\infty) \cup \Delta \), where the product is the Riemannian product and \(\Delta \) is a relatively compact region. In particular, if \(M\) is of positive Ricci curvature then \(H_{n-1}(M,\mathbb{Z})={0}\), and if \(M\) has any point where the Ricci curvature is positive, then \(H_{n-1}(M,\mathbb{Z})={0}\) or \(=\mathbb{Z}_{2}\). Together with Shen's article mentioned above it follows that the conjecture is not solved only when the order of volume growth and the order of diameter growth are both equal to 1. This article includes a final section where the authors use the techniques they developed in other kinds of problems. In fact they also prove that: If \(M\) is a complete noncompact manifold with nonnegative Ricci curvature either with the order of volume growth greater than 1 or else with bounded diameter growth, then any complete manifold with dimension \(n-1\) which is properly mapped in \(M\) as a minimal hypersurface must have infinite volume. If \(M\) is a complete noncompact manifold with nonnegative Ricci curvature either with the order of volume growth greater than \(n-k\) or else with bounded diameter growth, then any smooth properly immersed minimal submanifold of dimension \(k\) in \(M\) must have infinite volume.