A Cheng-type Eigenvalue-Comparison Theorem for the Hodge Laplacian

Abstract

We consider the class of closed Riemannian $n$-manifolds with Ricci curvature and injectivity radius bounded below by uniform constants, and an upper bound on the diameter. We establish a uniform upper bound for the eigenvalues of the Hodge Laplacian acting on differential forms on Riemannian manifolds in this class, similar to the classical eigenvalue comparison theorem proved by Cheng for the Laplace-Beltrami operator acting on smooth functions. This extends earlier work of Dodziuk and Lott, which required sectional curvature bounds in addition to bounds on other geometric quantities. As an application, we obtain uniform eigenvalue estimates for the connection Laplacian acting on $1$-forms.