Sharp lower bound for the first eigenvalue of the Weighted $p$-Laplacian

Abstract

We prove sharp lower bound estimates for the first nonzero eigenvalue of the weighted $p$-Lapacian operator with $1< p< \infty$ on a compact Bakry-Emery manifold $(M^n,g,f)$ satisfying $\Ric+\nabla^2 f \geq \kappa \, g$, provided that either $1<p \leq 2$ or $\kappa \leq 0$. Same conclusions hold when the manifold has nonempty boundary if we assume it is strictly convex and put Neumann boundary conditions on it. For $1<p \leq 2$, we provide a simple proof via the modulus of continuity estimates method. The proof for $\kappa \leq 0$ is based on a sharp gradient comparison theorem for the eigenfunction and a careful analysis of the underlying one-dimensional model equation. Our results generalize the work of Valtorta\cite{Valtorta12} and Naber-Valtorta\cite{NV14} for the $p$-Laplacian (namely $f=\text{const}$), and the work of Bakry-Qian\cite{BQ00} for the $f$-Laplacian (namely $p=2$).