The Lichnerowicz and Obata first eigenvalue theorems and the Obata uniqueness result in the Yamabe problem on CR and quaternionic contact manifolds (Q494203)

In this survey, the authors begin by reviewing, in the context of compact Riemannian manifolds, the Lichnerowicz and Obata theorems on the smallest eigenvalue of an \(n\)-dimensional Riemannian manifold with \(\text{Ric} \geq n-1\), and that of Yamabe on conformal transformations of a Riemannian metric with constant scalar curvature. The main focus of the rest of the paper is to study versions of these questions in sub-Riemannian geometry; specifically, in CR and quaternionic contact geometries. The authors report on a wide variety of recent work making progress on these questions, including a discussion of how techniques from the Riemannian case can be extended. Also included is a new proof of Obata's theorem stating that when \(\text{Ric} \geq n-1\), the smallest possible eigenvalue \(n\) is attained only by the round sphere. It goes by showing that a manifold attaining the lowest eigenvalue must be Einstein. A very extensive list of references is included.