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Abstract

Since the well-known work of Hamilton [62] and Ivey [64], the Hamilton-Ivey curvature pinching and its generalizations have become a signature feature of gradient shrinking and steady Ricci solitons, and more generally, of ancient solutions to the Ricci flow. However, analogous results for gradient expanding Ricci solitons have remained elusive. This is largely due to the fact that the proofs of existing curvature pinching estimates crucially rely on shrinking and steady solitons being ancient, a property not shared by gradient Ricci expanders. In this paper, we investigate curvature pinching phenomena of non-compact asymptotically conical gradient expanding Ricci solitons and establish several Hamilton-Ivey type curvature pinching estimates. These results are parallel to those known for shrinking and steady Ricci solitons. In particular, we prove a three-dimensional Hamilton-Ivey type curvature pinching theorem: any three-dimensional non-compact, asymptotically conical, gradient Ricci expander with positive scalar curvature must have positive sectional curvature. As an application, we combine our result with that of Deruelle [51] to establish a uniqueness theorem for three-dimensional asymptotically conical expanders with positive scalar curvature. Furthermore, we prove a curvature pinching result for four-dimensional asymptotically conical Ricci expanders with uniformly positive isotropic curvature, analogous to a result for four-dimensional gradient steady solitons due to Brendle [7].