The well-known Lichnerowicz theorem states that on an n-dimensional compact Riemannian manifold without boundary with the assumptionRicg≥(n−1)g on the Ricci curvature, the first eigenvalue λ of the Laplacian on the manifold satisfiesλ≥n. This theorem is proved using a Bochner formula.In this paper we give a new approach from the calculus of variations to the Lichnerowicz theorem. We use the energy Econf() of conformality, introduced in [3]. For a smooth map f between Riemannian manifolds, the map f is a weakly conformal map (almost everywhere) if and only if Econf(f) = 0 (the minimum value).Our approach is as follows:(1)The identity map on M is a conformal map, hence a minimizer of the energy Econf(). Especially the identity map is stable, i.e., the second variation is non-negative for the identity map.(2)For the first eigenfunction φ, we take the variation vector field corresponding to dφ, and the non-negativity of the second variation for the variation vector field at the identity map implies the Lichnerowicz theorem.
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