On a conjecture of Green

Abstract

Green [5] conjectured that if $M$ is a closed Riemannian manifold of negative sectional curvature such that the mean curvatures of the horospheres through each point depend only on the point, then $V$ is a locally symmetric space of rank one. He proved this in dimension two. In this paper we prove that under Green's assumption, $M$ must be asymptotically harmonic and that the geodesic flow on $M$ is $C^{\infty}$ conjugate to that of a locally symmetric space of rank one. Combining this with the recent rigidity theorem of Besson–Courtois–Gallot [1], it follows that Green's conjecture is true for all dimensions.