On generalized quasi-Sasaki manifolds

We study 5-dimensional Riemannian manifolds that admit an almost contact metric structure. In particular, we generalize the class of quasi-Sasaki manifolds and characterize these structures by their intrinsic torsion. Among other things, we see that these manifolds admit a unique metric connection that is compatible with the underlying almost contact metric structure. Finally, we construct a family of examples that are not quasi-Sasaki.     

Natural almost contact structures and their 3D homogeneous models

We consider a natural condition determining a large class of almost contact metric structures. We study their geometry, emphasizing that this class shares several properties with contact metric manifolds. We then give a complete classification of left‐invariant examples on three‐dimensional Lie groups, and show that any simply connected homogeneous Riemannian three‐manifold admits a natural almost contact structure having g as a compatible metric. Moreover, we investigate left‐invariant CR structures corresponding to natural almost contact metric structures.     

Some Aspects on the Geometry of the Tangent Bundles and Tangent Sphere Bundles of a Riemannian Manifold

In this paper we study a Riemannian metric on the tangent bundle T(M) of a Riemannian manifold M which generalizes Sasaki metric and Cheeger–Gromoll metric and a compatible almost complex structure which confers a structure of locally conformal almost K?hlerian manifold to T(M) together with the metric. This is the natural generalization of the well known almost K?hlerian structure on T(M). We found conditions under which T(M) is almost K?hlerian, locally conformal K?hlerian or K?hlerian or when T(M) has constant sectional curvature or constant scalar curvature. Then we will restrict to the unit tangent bundle and we find an isometry with the tangent sphere bundle (not necessary unitary) endowed with the restriction of the Sasaki metric from T(M). Moreover, we found that this map preserves also the natural contact structures obtained from the almost Hermitian ambient structures on the unit tangent bundle and the tangent sphere bundle, respectively. This work was also partially supported by Grant CEEX 5883/2006–2008, ANCS, Romania.     

Some Classes of Almost Anti-Hermitian Structures on the Tangent Bundle

In [11] we have considered a family of natural almost anti-Hermitian structures (G, J) on the tangent bundle TM of a Riemannian manifold (M, g), where the semi-Riemannian metric G is a lift of natural type of g to TM, such that the vertical and horizontal distributions VTM, HTM are maximally isotropic and the almost complex structure J is a usual natural lift of g of diagonal type interchanging VTM, HTM (see [5], [15]). We have obtained the conditions under which this almost anti-Hermitian structure belongs to one of the eight classes of anti-Hermitian manifolds obtained in the classification given in [1]. In this paper we consider another semi-Riemannian metric G on TM such that the vertical and horizontal distributions are orthogonal to each other. We study the conditions under which the above almost complex structure J defines, together with G, an almost anti-Hermitian structure on TM. Next, we obtain the conditions under which this structure belongs to one of the eight classes of anti-Hermitian manifolds obtained in the classification in [1].Partially supported by the Grant 100/2003, MECT-CNCSIS, România.     

Structures on generalized Sasakian-space-forms

In this paper, contact metric and trans-Sasakian generalized Sasakian-space-forms are deeply studied. We present some general results for manifolds with dimension greater than or equal to 5, and we also pay a special attention to the 3-dimensional cases.     

<Emphasis Type="Italic">g</Emphasis>-Natural Contact Metrics on Unit Tangent Sphere Bundles

We construct a three-parameter family of contact metric structures on the unit tangent sphere bundle T ₁ M of a Riemannian manifold M and we study some of their special properties related to the Levi-Civita connection. More precisely, we give the necessary and sufficient conditions for a constructed contact metric structure to be K-contact, Sasakian, to satisfy some variational conditions or to define a strongly pseudo-convex CR-structure. The obtained results generalize classical theorems on the standard contact metric structure of T ₁ M. Author supported by funds of the University of Lecce.     

Ambient connections realising conformal Tractor holonomy

For a conformal manifold we introduce the notion of an ambient connection, an affine connection on an ambient manifold of the conformal manifold, possibly with torsion, and with conditions relating it to the conformal structure. The purpose of this construction is to realise the normal conformal Tractor holonomy as affine holonomy of such a connection. We give an example of an ambient connection for which this is the case, and which is torsion free if we start the construction with a C-space, and in addition Ricci-flat if we start with an Einstein manifold. Thus, for a C-space this example leads to an ambient metric in the weaker sense of Čap and Gover, and for an Einstein space to a Ricci-flat ambient metric in the sense of Fefferman and Graham. Current address for first author: Erwin Schr?dinger International Institute for Mathematical Physics (ESI), Boltzmanngasse 9, 1090 Vienna, Austria Current address for second author: Department of Mathematics, University of Hamburg, Bundesstra?e 55, 20146 Hamburg, Germany     

Geometric connections and geometric Dirac operators on contact manifolds

We construct some natural metric connections on metric contact manifolds compatible with the contact structure and characterized by the Dirac operators they determine. In the case of CR manifolds these are invariants of a fixed pseudo-hermitian structure, and one of them coincides with the Tanaka-Webster connection.     

Special directions on contact metric three-manifolds

Blair [5] has introduced special directions on a contact metric 3-manifolds with negative sectional curvature for plane sections containing the characteristic vector field and, when is Anosov, compared such directions with the Anosov directions. In this paper we introduce the notion of Anosov-like special directions on a contact metric 3-manifold. Such directions exist, on contact metric manifolds with negative -Ricci curvature, if and only if the torsion is -parallel, namely (1.1) is satisfied. If a contact metric 3-manifold M admits Anosov-like special directions, and is -parallel, where is the Berger-Ebin operator, then is Anosov and the universal covering of M is the Lie group (2,R). We note that the notion of Anosov-like special directions is related to that of conformally Anosow flow introduced in [9] and [14] (see [6]).Supported by funds of the M.U.R.S.T. and of the University of Lecce. 1991.     

Lorentzian geometry of globally framed manifolds

A new class of globally framed manifolds (carrying a Lorentz metric) is introduced to establish a relation between the spacetime geometry and framed structures. We show that strongly causal (in particular, globally hyperbolic) spacetimes can carry a regular framed structure. As examples, we present a class of spacetimes of general relativity, having an electromagnetic field, endowed with a framed structure and a causal spacetime with a nonregular contact structure. This paper opens a few new problems, of geometric/physical significance, for further study.     

Locally Symmetric Contact Metric Manifolds

We show that a locally symmetric contact metric space is either Sasakian and of constant curvature 1 or locally isometric to the unit tangent sphere bundle (with its standard contact metric structure) of a Euclidean space. The second author is corresponding author     

Blow-ups and resolutions of strong Kähler with torsion metrics

On a compact complex manifold we study the behaviour of strong Kähler with torsion (strong KT) structures under small deformations of the complex structure and the problem of extension of a strong KT metric. In this context we obtain the analogous result of Miyaoka extension theorem. Studying the blow-up of a strong KT manifold at a point or along a complex submanifold, we prove that a complex orbifold endowed with a strong KT metric admits a strong KT resolution. In this way we obtain new examples of compact simply-connected strong KT manifolds.     

Métriques autoduales sur la boule

A conformal metric on a 4-ball induces on the boundary 3-sphere a conformal metric and a trace-free second fundamental form. Conversely, such a data on the 3-sphere is the boundary of a unique selfdual conformal metric, defined in a neighborhood of the sphere. In this paper we characterize the conformal metrics and trace-free second fundamental forms on the 3-sphere (close to the standard round metric) which are boundaries of selfdual conformal metrics on the whole 4-ball. When the data on the boundary is reduced to a conformal metric (the trace-free part of the second fundamental form vanishes), one may hope to find in the conformal class of the filling metric an Einstein metric, with a pole of order 2 on the boundary. We determine which conformal metrics on the 3-sphere are boundaries of such selfdual Einstein metrics on the 4-ball. In particular, this implies the Positive Frequency Conjecture of LeBrun. The proof uses twistor theory, which enables to translate the problem in terms of complex analysis; this leads us to prove a criterion for certain integrable CR structures of signature (1,1) to be fillable by a complex domain. Finally, we solve an analogous, higher dimensional problem: selfdual Einstein metrics are replaced by quaternionic-K?hler metrics, and conformal structures on the boundary by quaternionic contact structures (previously introduced by the author); in contrast with the 4-dimensional case, we prove that any small deformation of the standard quaternionic contact structure on the (4m−1)-sphere is the boundary of a quaternionic-K?hler metric on the (4m)-ball. Oblatum 29-XI-2000 & 7-XI-2001?Published online: 1 February 2002     

Stability problems in a theorem of F. Schur

Schur's theorem states that an isotropic Riemannian manifold of dimension greater than two has constant curvature. It is natural to guess that compact almost isotropic Riemannian manifolds of dimension greater than two are close to spaces of almost constant curvature. We take the curvature anisotropy as the discrepancy of the sectional curvatures at a point. The main result of this paper is that Riemannian manifolds in Cheeger's class ℜ(n,d,V,A) withL ₁-small integral anisotropy haveL _p-small change of the sectional curvature over the manifold. We also estimate the deviation of the metric tensor from that of constant curvature in theW _p ² -norm, and prove that compact almost isotropic spaces inherit the differential structure of a space form. These stability results are based on the generalization of Schur' theorem to metric spaces.     

Torsion and conformally Anosov flows in contact Riemannian geometry

We prove that on a compact (non Sasakian) contact metric 3-manifold with critical metric for the Chern-Hamilton functional, the characteristic vector field ξ is conformally Anosov and there exists a smooth curve in the contact distribution of conformally Anosov flows. As a consequence, we show that negativity of the ξ-sectional curvature is not a necessary condition for conformal Anosovicity of ξ (this completes a result of [4]). Moreover, we study contact metric 3-manifolds with constant ξ-sectional curvature and, in particular, correct a result of [13].     

Torsion and homogeneity on contact metric three-manifolds

We show that a three-dimensional contact metric manifold is locally homogeneous if and only if it is ball-homogeneous and satisfies the condition ∇_ξτ=2aτϕ, with a constant. Then, we relate the condition ∇_ξτ=0 with the existence of taut contact circles on a compact three-dimensional contact metric manifold. Entrata in Redazione il 20 gennaio 1999. Supported by funds of the University of Lecce and the M.U.R.S.T. Work made within the program of G.N.S.A.G.A.-C.N.R.     

On the classification of almost contact metric manifolds

On connected manifolds of dimension higher than three, the non-existence of 132 Chinea and González-Dávila types of almost contact metric structures is proved. This is a consequence of some interrelations among components of the intrinsic torsion of an almost contact metric structure. Such interrelations allow to describe the exterior derivatives of some relevant forms in the context of almost contact metric geometry.     

The Yamabe problem for almost Hermitian manifolds

The conformal class of a Hermitian metric g on a compact almost complex manifold (M^2m, J) consists entirely of metrics that are Hermitian with respect to J. For each one of these metrics, we may define a J-twisted version of the Ricci curvature, the J-Ricci curvature, and its corresponding trace, the J-scalar curvature s^J. We ask if the conformal class of g carries a metric with constant s^J, an almost Hermitian version of the usual Yamabe problem posed for the scalar curvature s. We answer our question in the affirmative. In fact, we show that (2m−1)s^J−s=2(2m−1)W(ω, ω), where W is the Weyl tensor and ω is the fundamental form of g. Using techniques developed for the solution of the problem for s, we construct an almost Hermitian Yamabe functional and its corresponding conformal invariant. This invariant is bounded from above by a constant that only depends on the dimension of M, and when it is strictly less than the universal bound, the problem has a solution that minimizes the almost complex Yamabe functional. By the relation above, we see that when W (ω, ω) is negative at least one point, or identically zero, our problem has a solution that minimizes the almost Hermitian Yamabe functional, and the universal bound is reached only in the case of the standard 6-sphere equipped with a suitable almost complex structure. When W(ω, ω) is non-negative and not identically zero, we prove that the conformal invariant is strictly less than the universal bound, thus solving the problem for this type of manifolds as well. We discuss some applications.     

The third fundamental form metric for hypersurfaces in nonflat space forms

For hypersurfaces with regular Weingarten operator in nonflat space forms we study the relations between the intrinsic geometry of the third fundamental form metric and the extrinsic geometry of the hypersurface. We prove a theorema-egregium-type result for this metric and, in particular, give a local classification of hypersurfaces in case of an Einstein structure of this metric.Partially supported by the project 19701003 of NSFC.The geometry groops at TU Berlin and KU Leuven cooperate within the GA DGET program.     

Metric nonlinear connections

For a system of second order differential equations we determine a nonlinear connection that is compatible with a given generalized Lagrange metric. Using this nonlinear connection, we can find the whole family of metric nonlinear connections that can be associated with a system of SODE and a generalized Lagrange metric. For the particular case when the system of SODE and the metric structure are Lagrangian, we prove that the canonical nonlinear connection of the Lagrange space is the only nonlinear connection which is metric and compatible with the symplectic structure of the Lagrange space. For this particular case, the metric tensor determines the symmetric part of the canonical nonlinear connection, while the symplectic structure determines the skew-symmetric part of the nonlinear connection.