Band Width Estimates and Rigidity of Manifolds with Negative Curvature

Abstract

We establish optimal Lipschitz lower bounds for proper smooth functions on three-dimensional Riemannian manifolds with Ricci curvature bounded below by negative constants, yielding a new family of width estimates for Riemannian bands using Gromov's $μ$-bubble method, together with rigidity statements characterizing the equality case. One of the novelties of our approach lies in its ability to handle higher-genus boundary components, revealing a precise interplay between the width, the area of boundary surfaces, and the underlying topology. Finally, for a complete noncompact three-manifold $M$ with bounded geometry and scalar curvature $R_g\ge -6$, whose $H_2(M,\mathbb{Z})$ contains no spherical or toroidal classes, we prove a sharp lower bound for the boundary area. In the equality case, the manifold is shown to be isometric to an infinite hyperbolic band.