On a complete noncompact K¨ahler manifold we prove that the bottom of the spectrum for the Laplacian is bounded from above by m2 if the Ricci curvature is bounded from below by −2(m+1). Then we show that if this upper bound is achieved then either the manifold is connected at infinity or it has two ends and in this case it is diffeomorphic to the product of the real line with a compact manifold and we determine the metric.

Let f : X .仺 Y be a holomorphic map of complex manifolds, which is proper, K丯ahler, and surjective with connected fibers, and which is smooth over Y \ Z the complement of an analytic subset Z. Let E be a Nakano semi-positive vector bundle on X. In our previous paper, we discussed the Nakano semi-positivity of Rqf(KX/Y . E) for q . 0 with respect to the so-called Hodge metric, when the map f is smooth. Here we discuss the extension of the induced metric on the tautological line bundle O(1) on the projective space bundle P(Rqf(KX/Y . E)) 乬over Y \ Z乭 as a singular Hermitian metric with semi-positive curvature 乬over Y 乭. As a particular consequence, if Y is projective, Rqf(KX/Y . E) is weakly positive over Y \ Z in the sense of Viehweg.

We consider 3-dimensional hyperbolic cone-manifolds which are “convex co-compact” in a natural sense, with cone singularities along infinite lines. Such singularities are sometimes used by physicists as models for massive spinless point particles. We prove an infinitesimal rigidity statement when the angles around the singular lines are less than π: any infinitesimal deformation changes either these angles, or the conformal structure at infinity with marked points corresponding to the endpoints of the singular lines. Moreover, any small variation of the conformal structure at infinity and of the singular angles can be achieved by a unique small deformation of the cone-manifold structure. These results hold also when the singularities are along a graph, i.e., for “interacting particles”.