Gradient estimates for a parabolic partial differential equation under the Ricci-Bourguignon flow

Abstract

We study the Ricci-Bourguignon flow on warped product manifolds with noncompact base. This setting leads naturally to a parabolic partial differential equation on the space of smooth warping functions, arising from the necessary and sufficient conditions for a warped metric to evolve under the flow. One of our main results establishes a gradient estimate for this equation, providing the analytic input for the geometric applications developed herein and, in particular, recovering classical gradient estimates for the heat equation under the Ricci flow. Furthermore, we develop a method for constructing explicit warped product solutions to the Ricci-Bourguignon flow and present examples that illustrate the scope and geometric relevance of our results

26 pages