The \(W\)-entropy formula for the Witten Laplacian on manifolds with time dependent metrics and potentials (Q499900)

Consider a compact manifold \(M\) with a time-dependent Riemannian metric \(g(t)\), and a potential \(\phi(t)\) satisfying \(\partial\phi/\partial t=1/2\,\mathrm{Tr}(\partial g/\partial t)\). The aim of this article is to study the Witten Laplacian \[ L=\Delta_{g(t)}-\nabla_{g(t)}\phi(t).\nabla_{g(t)} \] and positive solutions of the heat equation \(\partial_tu=Lu\). Define \[ H_m(u,t)=-\int_Mu\,\log u\,d\mu-\frac{m}{2}(1+\log(4\pi t)). \] The authors obtain formulae for \(W_m(u,t)=(d/dt)(t\,H_m(u,t))\) and its time derivative in terms of the Bakry-Emery Ricci curvature. They give in particular a condition ensuring that \(W_m(u,t)\) is decreasing in time. This extends previous works concerning the time-independent case.