A function with nonnegative Laplacian on a closed manifold is locally constant

ID: a-function-with-nonnegative-laplacian-on-a-closed-manifold-is-locally-constant

For the nonnegative Hodge Laplacian convention , a smooth function on a closed manifold with has and hence . Integration by parts gives , so it is constant on each connected component. Global constancy requires connectedness; boundary conditions are needed if a boundary is allowed.

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