Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2004 iii Paper 19 4 b Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-14
Pointwise positive Ricci curvature does not imply compactness or a finite diameter. The complete positively curved paraboloid has induced metricand Gaussian curvatureFor example, this follows from the graph formula . The metric dominates the Euclidean plane metric, so it is complete by upward stability of Riemannian completeness. Its diameter is infinite since its distance dominates Euclidean distance. On a surface the Ricci tensor is , so it is strictly positive everywhere, but has no uniform positive lower bound.
There is no positive-Ricci metric on . If one existed, compactness of the unit tangent bundle would give for some . The lifted metric on the universal cover is complete by Q2 and satisfies the same positive lower bound. Part (a) makes this cover compact. A covering fiber is closed and discrete and therefore finite, implying a finite fundamental group. Butwhich is infinite. This is the finite fundamental group from a uniform positive Ricci bound obstruction; it rules out every possible metric, not just the standard product metric.