Sub-Laplacian eigenvalue bounds on sub-Riemannian manifolds

Abstract

We study eigenvalue problems for intrinsic sub-Laplacians on regular sub-Riemannian manifolds. We prove upper bounds for sub-Laplacian eigenvalues $\lambda_k$ of conformal sub-Riemannian metrics that are asymptotically sharp as $k\to +\infty$. For Sasakian manifolds with a lower Ricci curvature bound, and more generally, for contact metric manifolds conformal to such Sasakian manifolds, we obtain eigenvalue inequalities that can be viewed as versions of the classical results by Korevaar and Buser in Riemannian geometry.