Non-singular solutions of normalized Ricci flow on noncompact manifolds of finite volume (Q980397)

The paper under review studies non-singular solutions to the normalized Ricci flow of non-compact manifolds of finite volume. It focusses on dimension four and may be viewed as a continuation of the paper in the compact case by the same authors [Math. Ann. 340, No.~3, 647--674 (2008; Zbl 1131.53034)]. A solution is called non-singular if the curvature is uniformly bounded. In particular, it is defined up to infinite time. Among other results, it is proved that a four-dimensional manifold of finite volume that admits a non-singular solution to the normalized Ricci flow must have non-positive Euler characteristic, generalizing the compact case. In the non-compact case, if the Euler characteristic is zero, then the manifold globally collapses. Moreover, in the non-compact case with negative Euler characteristic, there is a decomposition into thin and thick part, so that, in a sequence of times going to infinity, the volume of the thin part converges to zero and the components of the thick part converge to Einstein manifolds.