Quantitative volume space form rigidity under lower Ricci curvature bound I

Abstract

Let $M$ be a compact $n$-manifold of $\mathrm{Ric}_M \geq (n - 1) H$ ($H$ is a constant). We are concerned with the following space form rigidity: $M$ is isometric to a space form of constant curvature $H$ under either of the following conditions: (i) There is $ \rho \gt 0$ such that for any $x \in M$, the open $ \rho $-ball at $x^{\ast}$ in the (local) Riemannian universal covering space, $ (U^{\ast}_{\rho} , x^{\ast}) \to (B_{\rho} (x) , x)$, has the maximal volume, i.e., the volume of a $\rho$-ball in the simply connected $n$-space form of curvature $H$. (ii) For $H = -1$, the volume entropy of $M$ is maximal, i.e., $n - 1$ ([LW1]). The main results of this paper are quantitative space form rigidity, i.e., statements that $M$ is diffeomorphic and close in the Gromov–Hausdorff topology to a space form of constant curvature $H$, if $M$ almost satisfies, under some additional condition, the above maximal volume condition. For $H = 1$, the quantitative spherical space form rigidity improves and generalizes the diffeomorphic sphere theorem in [CC2].