LECTURE 25: THE LAPLACIAN AND VOLUME COMPARISON

Today we discuss comparison under Ricci curvature condition. We first prove

the Laplacian comparison theorem, which can be viewed as an averaged version
of the Hessian comparison (under slightly stronger condition). Then we prove the
very useful Bishop-Gromov volume comparison theorem, which can be viewed as an
“integrated” version of the Laplacian comparison theorem.

1. The Laplacian Comparison Theorem

Recall that if (M, g), (Mf, g̃) are complete Riemannian manifolds, γ : [0, a] → M
and γ̃ : [0, a] → M
f are minimizing normal geodesics with
Ke + (t) ≤ K − (t) holds for all t ∈ [0, a].

and if Xq ∈ Tq M and X eq̃ ∈ Tq̃ M

f are roughly the same, where q = γ(b), q̃ = γ̃(b)
and 0 < b < a, then we have
e 2 d˜p̃ (X
∇2 dp (Xq , Xq ) ≤ ∇ eq̃ , X
eq̃ ).

Moreover, the equality holds if and only if K e + (t) = K − (t) for all t ∈ [0, b].
Since ∆ = Tr∇2 , the Hessian comparison theorem will imply a Laplacian com-
e d˜p̃ (q̃). Note that by taking the trace of the Hessian, what we get
parison ∆dp (q) ≤ ∆
is (up to a constant) “the average of the Hessian”. As a result, one can anticipate
to weaken the comparison condition from sectional curvature to a weaker “averaged
version”, namely, a comparison condition on Ricci curvature.
Theorem 1.1 (The Laplacian Comparison Theorem). Let (M, g) be a Riemannian
manifold, and γ : [0, l] → M a minimizing normal geodesic with γ(0) = p. Suppose
Ric(γ̇(t)) ≥ (m − 1)k.
We denote by ∆ ˜ γ̃ etc the corresponding objects in M m . Then
e k , d,
k

∆dp (γ(t)) ≤ ∆e d˜p̃ (γ̃(t)), ∀0 < t < l.

e d˜p̃ (γ̃(b)) for some b < l if and only if
Moreover, ∆dp (γ(b)) ≤ ∆
for any 0 ≤ t ≤ b, Ric(γ̇(t)) = (m − 1)k, and any normal Jacobi field
X along γ|[0,b] with X(0) = 0 is almost parallel, i.e. is of the form
snk (t)
X = sn k (b)
e(t), where e is a parallel vector field along γ.

Proof. Fix b < l. As usual we let {e1 (t), · · · , em (t)} be a parallel orthonormal frame
along γ with e1 (t) = γ̇(t), and let {ẽ1 (t), · · · , ẽm (t)} be a parallel orthonormal frame
˙
along γ̃ with ẽ1 (t) = γ̃(t). For any i ≥ 2, let Xi (τ ) be the normal Jacobi field along
1
2 LECTURE 25: THE LAPLACIAN AND VOLUME COMPARISON

γ|[0,b] with Xi (0) = 0 and Xi (b) = ei (b), and let X ei (τ ) be the normal Jacobi field
along γ̃|[0,b] with X
ei (0) = 0 and X
ei (b) = ẽi (b). Then for q = γ(b) we have
m
X m
X
∆dp (q) = (∇2 dp )q (ei (b), ei (b)) = I(Xi , Xi )
i=2 i=2

e d˜p̃ (q̃) =
and similarly for q̃ = γ̃(b), ∆
Pm
i=2 I(Xi , Xi ). It remains to prove
e e
m
X Xm
I(Xi , Xi ) ≤ I(X ei , X
ei ).
i=2 i=2

We shall apply the same trick that we played in the proof of the basic index
comparison lemma, namely we transplant X ei to γ. For this purpose we first recall
that under the condition “ M f has constant sectional curvature k along γ̃” (c.f. PSet
4), the normal Jacobi field X e i (t) = snk (t) ẽi (t). So for each 2 ≤ i ≤ m
ei is given by X
snk (b)
we define on γ|[0,b] a vector field
snk (t)
Xi′ (t) = ei (t).
snk (b)
Obviously Xi′ has the same boundary condition as the Jacobi field Xi . So we get
I(Xi , Xi ) ≤ I(Xi′ , Xi′ ). Now the conclusion follows from
X XZ b
′ ′
|∇γ̇ Xi′ |2 + Rm(γ̇, Xi′ , γ̇, Xi′ ) dt


I(Xi , Xi ) =
0
X Z b  sn′ (t) snk (t) 2

k 2
= ( ) −( ) K(γ̇, ei ) dt
i 0 snk (b) snk (b)
Z b
sn′k (t) 2

snk (t) 2
= (m − 1)( ) −( ) Ric(γ̇) dt
0 snk (b) snk (b)
Z b
sn′k (t) 2

snk (t) 2
≤ (m − 1)( ) −( ) (m − 1)k dt
0 snk (b) snk (b)
XZ b  X
= e 2 g ˙ e ˙
|∇γ̃˙ Xi | + Rm(γ̃, Xi , γ̃, Xi ) dt =
e I(X
ei , X
ei ).
0
From the proof we see that the equality holds if and only if “Ric(γ̇) = (m − 1)k,
and Xi = Xi′ for all i”. Since any normal Jacobi field X along γ with X(0) = 0 is a
linear combination of these Xi , the conclusion follows. □
Remark. As we have seen, (∇2 dp )q (Xq , Yq ) = ⟨∇X1 N, Yq ⟩, where N = ∂r is the out-
ward unit normal vector of the geodesic sphere S(p, d(p, q)) at q. In other words, we
may replace ∇X1 N by the shape vector (∇X1 N )⊥ (c.f. PSet 2 Problem 9) and con-
clude that ∇2 dp is the second fundamental form of the geodesic sphere S(p, d(p, q)).
It follows that ∆dp (q) = Tr(∇2 dp ) is the trace of the second fundamental form, i.e.
the ::::::
mean ::::::::::
curvature of the geodesic sphere S(p, d(p, q)) at q.
 LECTURE 25: THE LAPLACIAN AND VOLUME COMPARISON 3

2. The Bishop-Gromov Volume Comparison Theorem

¶ The volume measure in coordinates.
Recall that the Riemannian volume density is defined in a chart (φ, U, V ) as
√
dVg = G ◦ φ−1 dx1 · · · dxm ,
where G = det(gij ) and dx1 · · · dxm is the Lebesgue measure on Rm .
Now let (M, g) be a complete Riemannian manifold. Although in general there
is no global chart, there is a large chart that covers almost the whole of M , namely
{exp−1
p , M\Cut(p), Σ(p)}, which is defined except for the measure zero closed subset
Cut(p), where
Σ(p) = exp−1 (M \ Cut(p))
is an open star-shaped domain in Tp M . In particular, on Tp M we may use polar
coordinates and write
dx1 · · · dxm = rm−1 drdΘ,
where dΘ is the usual surface measure on S m−1 . Combine this with the chart
{exp−1
p , M \Cut(p), Σ(p)} we get
√
dVg = G(expp (rΘ))rm−1 drdΘ, rΘ ∈ Σ(p).
We denote
(√
G(expp (rΘ))rm−1 , rΘ ∈ Σ(p),
µp (r, Θ) =
0, rΘ ̸∈ Σ(p).
Note that by definition

Br (p) = expp (Br (0)) = expp (Br (0) ∩ Σ(p) ).

Since Cut(p) is of measure zero in M , we get

Z Z
Vol(Br (p)) = µ(t, Θ)dtdΘ = µ(t, Θ)dtdΘ.
Br (0)∩Σ(p) Br (0)

Example. We may calculate the function µp (r, Θ) for the three model spaces,
• Rm : µ(r, Θ) = rm−1 .
• S m : µ(r, Θ) = sinm−1 (r).
• Hm : µ(r, Θ) = sinhm−1 (r).

¶ The volume measure via Jacobi fields.

Observe that the three functions µ(r, Θ) in the previous example are closely
related to the Jacobi fields on the three model spaces. This is not a coincidence:
4 LECTURE 25: THE LAPLACIAN AND VOLUME COMPARISON

Proposition 2.1. Given any Θ ∈ Sp M and write γ(t) = expp (tΘ). Then for any
basis v2 , · · · , vm of γ̇(0)⊥ , if we let Vj (t) (i ≥ 2) be the normal Jacobi fields along γ
with Vj (0) = 0 and ∇γ̇(0) Vj = vj , then for any point rΘ ∈ Σ(p),
det(V2 (r), · · · , Vm (r))
µp (r, Θ) = .
det(∇γ̇(0) V2 , · · · , ∇γ̇(0) Vm )

Proof. Using v1 = Θ, v2 , · · · , vm as a basis one can define a set of global linear

coordinates u1 , · · · , um on Tp M ,
u ∈ Tp M ⇝ u = u1 v1 + · · · + um vm .
Then we have
rm−1
du1 · · · dum = drdΘ.
| det(v2 , · · · , vm )|
Since Vj is a Jacobi field along γ with Vj (0) = 0, we have
Vj (t) = t(d expp )tΘ (vj ).
Note that under exp−1
p , (u1 , · · · , um ) also gives a coordinate system near expp (rΘ)
for rΘ ∈ Σ(p). With this coordinate system, we have (at expp (rΘ))
1
∂1 = γ̇(r), ∂j = Vj (r) (j ≥ 2).
r
It follows
1
gij (expp (rΘ)) = ⟨∂i , ∂j ⟩|expp (rΘ) =⟨Vi (r), Vj (r)⟩
r2
for i, j ≥ 2. Since γ is a normal geodesic and since each Vj is a normal Jacobi field,
we have ⟨∂1 , ∂1 ⟩ = 1 and ⟨∂1 , ∂i ⟩ = 0 for i ≥ 2. So we get, at expp (rΘ),
G = det(gij ) = r−2m+2 det(⟨Vi , Vj ⟩)i,j≥2 = r−2m+2 det(V2 (r), · · · , Vm (r))2 .
It follows
√ det(V2 (r), · · · , Vm (r))
dVg = G(expp (rΘ))du1 · · · dum = drdΘ.
det(∇γ̇(0) V2 , · · · , ∇γ̇(0) Vm )
This completes the proof. □

¶ The volume measure v.s. the Laplacian of distance.

The crucial observation is
Lemma 2.2. Suppose Θ ∈ Sp M and rΘ ∈ Σ(p), then
µ′p (r, Θ)
= (∆dp )(expp (rΘ)),
µp (r, Θ)
where the derivative is taken with respect to r.
 LECTURE 25: THE LAPLACIAN AND VOLUME COMPARISON 5

Proof. Let γ(t) = expp (tΘ) (0 ≤ t ≤ r) be the normal geodesic starting at p in the
direction Θ. Consider a parallel orthonormal frame {ei (t)} along γ with e1 (t) = γ̇(t).
Let Vj (t) be a Jacobi field along γ such that
Vj (0) = 0 and Vj (r) = ej (r).
Then at q = γ(r) we have
m
X m
X
2
∆dp (expp (rΘ)) = (∇ dp )q (ei (t), ei (t)) = I(Vi , Vi ).
i=2 i=2

On the other hand, if we denote A(t) = (⟨Vi (t), Vj (t)⟩)i,j≥2 , then A(r) = Id, and the
derivative of d(t) = det A(t) = (det(V2 (t), · · · , Vm (t)))2 is
d′ (t) = d(t)Tr(A−1 (t)A′ (t)).
Thus we get
m m
µ′p (r, Θ) 1 d′ (r) 1 X X
= = Tr(A′ (r)) = ⟨Vj (r), ∇γ̇(r) Vj (r)⟩ = I(Vj , Vj ),
µp (r, Θ) 2 d(r) 2 j=2 j=2

so the conclusion follows. □

¶ Comparison of volume elements.

In particular if we denote by µk (r) the function µ(r, Θ) for the space Mkm , i.e.

m−1
√

 sin ( kr), k > 0,
µk (r) = r m−1
, k = 0,
sinhm−1 (√−kr),

k < 0,
then by Laplace comparison theorem,
µ′p (r, Θ) µ′ (r)
≤ k
µp (r, Θ) µk (r)
for any complete Riemannian manifold with Ric ≥ (m − 1)k, as long as rΘ ∈ Σ(p).
Proposition 2.3. If (M, g) is a complete Riemannian manifold with Ric ≥ (m−1)k,
then for any fixed Θ ∈ Sp M ,
µp (r,Θ)
(1) the function µk (r)
is non-increasing in r,
µp (r,Θ)
(2) limr→0+ µk (r) = 1, and thus µp (r, Θ) ≤ µk (r) for all r > 0,
(3) if µp (t, Θ) = µk (t) for t ∈ [a, r] and any Θ, then B(p, r) is isometric to Bk (r).

Proof. (1) The monotonicity of µµpk(r,Θ)

(r)
follows from
µ′p (t, Θ) µ′k (t)
 
d µp (t, Θ)
log = − ≤ 0.
dt µk (t) µp (t, Θ) µk (t)
(2) By Vj (r) = r∇γ̇(0) Vj + O(r2 ) we get µp (r, Θ) = rm−1 + O(rm ). The result follows.
6 LECTURE 25: THE LAPLACIAN AND VOLUME COMPARISON

(3) If µp (t, Θ) = µk (t) for t ≤ r and any Θ, then

µ′p (t, Θ) µ′ (t)
(∆dp )(expp (tΘ)) = = k = (∆k dk )(t).
µp (t, Θ) µk (t)
It follows that Ric(γ̇(t)) = (m − 1)k, and (since Θ and thus γ are arbitrary) any
normal Jacobi field along any geodesic starting at p is almost parallel. By PSet 4,
(M, g) has constant sectional curvature, and thus the constant has to be k. Finally
by Cartan’s local isometry theorem, B(p, r) is isometric to Bk (r) in Mkm . □
¶ The Bishop-Gromov volume comparison theorem.
Note that for t large, it may happen that tΘ ̸∈ Σ(p). However, in this case
µp (t, Θ) = 0. So the monotonicity holds for all t. It is this simple observation that
leads to a global comparison instead of a local comparison inside the interior radius.
In fact, by integrating the volume density we get
Theorem 2.4 (Bishop-Gromov). If (M, g) is a complete Riemannian manifold with
Ric ≥ (m − 1)k, and p ∈ M is an arbitrary point. Let Sk (r) and Bk (r) be the metric
sphere and the metric ball of radius r in Mkm . Then the functions
Area(S(p, r)) Vol(B(p, r))
and
Area(Sk (r)) Vol(Bk (r))
are non-increasing in r, and both tends to 1 as r → 0+. Moreover, the quotient is
a constant for r ∈ [r1 , r2 ] if and only if B(p, r2 ) is isometric to Bk (r2 ).
Proof. By definition
Z Z rZ
Area(S(p, r)) = µp (r, Θ)dΘ, Vol(B(p, r)) = µp (r, Θ)dΘdr.
S m−1 0 S m−1
Thus if we denote the surface area of the sphere S m−1 ⊂ Rm by ωm−1 , then
R
m−1 µp (r, Θ)dΘ
Z
Area(S(p, r)) S 1 µp (r, Θ)
= R = dΘ
Area(Sk (r)) µ (r)dΘ
S m−1 k
ωm−1 S m−1 µk (r)
is non-increasing and tends to 1 as r → 0. As a consequence,
 
d Vol(B(p, r)) Area(S(p, r)) Area(Sk (r))
log = −
dr Vol(Bk (r)) Vol(B(p, r)) Vol(Bk (r))
Rr
(Area(S(p, r))Area(Sk (t)) − Area(Sk (r))Area(S(p, t)))dt
= 0
Vol(B(p, r))Vol(Bk (r))
≤0
Vol(B(p,r))
and thus Vol(Bk (r))
is also non-increasing in r, and tends to 1 as t → 0. □
Corollary 2.5. We have
Area(S(p, r)) ≤ Area(Sk (r)), and Vol(B(p, r)) ≤ Vol(B(p, r))
for all r ≥ 0. Moreover, equality holds if and only if B(p, r) is isometric to Bk (r).