Consider a compact K¨ahler manifold Mm with Ricci curvature lower bound RicM ≥ −2 (m + 1) . Assume that its universal cover fM has maximal bottom of spectrum 1 fM = m2. Then we prove that fM is isometric to the complex hyperbolic space CHm.

By using Yau's Schwarz lemma and the Quillen determinant line bundles, several results about fibered algebraic surfaces and the moduli spaces of curves are improved and reproved.

Quasilocal mass in general relativity is a notion defined for a closed space like 2-surface in spacetime. In this note, we explain the definition in [23] and [24] from a mathematical viewpoint, emphasizing the connection to differential geometry and nonlinear partial differential equations. We also discuss a minimax interpretation of the definition and compare with other notions of quasilocal mass.

We use a variational principle to prove an existence and uniqueness theorem for planar weighted Delaunay triangulations (with non-intersecting site-circles) with prescribed combinatorial type and circle intersection angles. Such weighted Delaunay triangulations may be interpreted as images of hyperbolic polyhedra with one vertex on and the remaining vertices beyond the infinite boundary of hyperbolic space. Thus, the main theorem states necessary and sufficient conditions for the existence and uniqueness of such polyhedra with prescribed combinatorial type and dihedral angles. More generally, we consider weighted Delaunay triangulations in piecewise flat surfaces, allowing cone singularities with prescribed cone angles in the vertices. The material presented here extends work by Rivin on Delaunay triangulations and ideal polyhedra.

The diameter of a disc filling a loop in the universal covering of a Riemannian manifold M may be measured extrinsically using the distance function on the ambient space or intrinsically using the induced length metric on the disc. Correspondingly, the diameter of a van Kampen diagram
filling a word that represents the identity in a finitely presented group 􀀀 can either be measured intrinsically in the 1–skeleton of
or extrinsically in the Cayley graph of 􀀀. We construct the first examples of closed manifolds M and finitely presented groups 􀀀 = π1M for which this choice — intrinsic versus extrinsic — gives rise to qualitatively different min–diameter filling functions.