Editorial

Mathematische Semesterberichte -     

Thomas de Padova: Alles wird Zahl: Wie sich die Mathematik in der Renaissance neu erfand

Mathematische Semesterberichte -     

The Geodesics of Metric Connections with Vectorial Torsion

The present note deals with the dynamics of metric connections with vectorial torsion, as already described by E. Cartan in 1925. We show that the geodesics of metric connections with vectorial torsion defined by gradient vector fields coincide with the Levi-Civita geodesics of a conformally equivalent metric. By pullback, this yields a systematic way of constructing invariants of motion for such connections from isometries of the conformally equivalent metric, and we explain in as much this result generalizes the Mercator projection which maps sphere loxodromes to straight lines in the plane. An example shows that Beltrami's theorem fails for this class of connections. We then study the system of differential equations describing geodesics in the plane for vector fields which are not gradients, and show among others that the Hopf–Rinow theorem does also not hold in general.     

Connections on Naturally Reductive Spaces,Their Dirac Operator and Homogeneous Models in String Theory

 Given a reductive homogeneous space M=G/H endowed with a naturally reductive metric, we study the one-parameter family of connections ∇ ^t joining the canonical and the Levi-Civita connection (t=0, 1/2). We show that the Dirac operator D ^t corresponding to t=1/3 is the so-called ``cubic' Dirac operator recently introduced by B. Kostant, and derive the formula for its square for any t, thus generalizing the classical Parthasarathy formula on symmetric spaces. Applications include the existence of a new G-invariant first order differential operator on spinors and an eigenvalue estimate for the first eigenvalue of D <sup>1/3</sup>. This geometric situation can be used for constructing Riemannian manifolds which are Ricci flat and admit a parallel spinor with respect to some metric connection ∇ whose torsion T≠ 0 is a 3-form, the geometric model for the common sector of string theories. We present some results about solutions to the string equations and a detailed discussion of a 5-dimensional example. Received: 19 February 2002 / Accepted: 26 August 2002 Published online: 22 November 2002 RID="*" ID="*" This work was supported by the SFB 288 ``Differential geometry and quantum physics' of the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft and the Max-Planck Society.     

The Casimir operator of a metric connection with skew-symmetric torsion

For any triple (Mⁿ,g,) consisting of a Riemannian manifold and a metric connection with skew-symmetric torsion we introduce an elliptic, second-order operator Ω acting on spinor fields. In case of a naturally reductive space and its canonical connection, our construction yields the Casimir operator of the isometry group. Several non-homogeneous geometries (Sasakian, nearly Kähler, cocalibrated G₂-structures) admit unique connections with skew-symmetric torsion. We study the corresponding Casimir operator and compare its kernel with the space of -parallel spinors.     

Mathematical analysis of a model for the transmission dynamics of bovine tuberculosis

A deterministic model for studying the transmission dynamics of bovine tuberculosis in a single cattle herd is presented and qualitatively analyzed. A notable feature of the model is that it allows for the importation of asymptomatically infected cattle (into the herd) because re‐stocking from outside sources. Rigorous analysis of the model shows that the model has a globally‐asymptotically stable disease‐free equilibrium whenever a certain epidemiological threshold, known as the reproduction number, is less than unity. In the absence of importation of asymptomatically infected cattle, the model has a unique endemic equilibrium whenever the reproduction number exceeds unity (this equilibrium is globally asymptotically stable for a special case). It is further shown that, for the case where asymptomatically infected cattle are imported into the herd, the model has a unique endemic equilibrium. This equilibrium is also shown to be globally asymptotically stable for a special case. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A comparison of the eigenvalues of the Dirac and Laplace operators on a two-dimensional torus

We compare the eigenvalues of the Dirac and Laplace operator on a two-dimensional torus with respect to the trivial spin structure. In particular, we compute their variation up to order 4 upon deformation of the flat metric, study the corresponding Hamiltonian and discuss several families of examples. Received: 10 December 1998     

On the holonomy of connections with skew-symmetric torsion

We investigate the holonomy group of a linear metric connection with skew-symmetric torsion. In case of the euclidian space and a constant torsion form this group is always semisimple. It does not preserve any non-degenerated 2-form or any spinor. Suitable integral formulas allow us to prove similar properties in case of a compact Riemannian manifold equipped with a metric connection of skew-symmetric torsion. On the Aloff-Wallach space N(1,1) we construct families of connections admitting parallel spinors. Furthermore, we investigate the geometry of these connections as well as the geometry of the underlying Riemannian metric. Finally, we prove that any 7-dimensional 3-Sasakian manifold admits ²-parameter families of linear metric connections and spinorial connections defined by 4-forms with parallel spinors.Mathematics Subject Classification (2000):53 C 25, 81 T 30We thank Andrzej Trautman for drawing our attention to these papers by Cartan – see [27].     

Homogeneous non-degenerate 3-(α,δ)-Sasaki manifolds and submersions over quaternionic Kähler spaces

Annals of Global Analysis and Geometry - We show that every 3- $$(\alpha ,\delta )$$ -Sasaki manifold of dimension $$4n + 3$$ admits a locally defined Riemannian submersion over a quaternionic...