An integral formula for the volume entropy with applications to rigidity (Q621861)

The authors extend the theory of the Patterson-Sullivan measure, originally defined for negatively curved manifolds. They construct a Patterson-Sullivan measure on the Busemann boundary of a regular covering of a given compact Riemannian manifold. This measure is then used to prove the following rigidity theorem: For a compact Riemannian manifold, \(M^n\) with \(\text{Ric} \geq -( n-1)\) and a regular covering space \( \tilde M\), the volume entropy \(v\) of \( \tilde M\) satisfies: \(v \leq n-1\) and equality holds if and only if \(M\) is hyperbolic. For negatively curved manifolds this theorem was proven by \textit{G. Knieper} [Differ. Geom. Appl. 4, No.~4, 361--390 (1994; Zbl 0812.53043)]. Using their methods, the authors also provide a Kähler and a quaternionic Kähler analogue of their theorem.