The Obata-Vétois argument and its applications

Abstract: We simplify V\'etois' Obata-type argument and use it to identify a closed interval $I_n$, $n \geq 3$, containing zero such that if $a \in I_n$ and $(M^n,g)$ is a closed conformally Einstein manifold with nonnegative scalar curvature and $Q_4 + a\sigma_2$ constant, then it is Einstein. We also relax the scalar curvature assumption to the nonnegativity of the Yamabe constant under a more restrictive assumption on $a$. Our results allow us to compute many Yamabe-type constants and prove sharp Sobolev inequalities on closed Einstein manifolds with nonnegative scalar curvature. In particular, we show that closed locally symmetric Einstein four-manifolds with nonnegative scalar curvature extremize the functional determinant of the conformal Laplacian, partially answering a question of Branson and {\O}rsted.