Noncompact homogeneous Einstein manifolds attached to graded Lie algebras

In this paper, we study the nilradicals of parabolic subalgebras of semisimple Lie algebras and the natural one-dimensional solvable extensions of them. We investigate the structures, curvatures and Einstein conditions of the associated nilmanifolds and solvmanifolds. We show that our solvmanifold is Einstein if the nilradical is two-step. New examples of Einstein solvmanifolds with three-step and four-step nilradicals are also given. This work was partially supported by Grant-in-Aid for Young Scientists (B) 14740049 and 17740039, The Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, Japan.     

Anosov Lie algebras and algebraic units in number fields

We study nilmanifolds admitting Anosov automorphisms by applying elementary properties of algebraic units in number fields to the associated Anosov Lie algebras. We identify obstructions to the existence of Anosov Lie algebras. The case of 13-dimensional Anosov Lie algebras is worked out as an illustration of the technique. Also, we recapture the following known results: (1) Every 7-dimensional Anosov nilmanifold is toral, and (2) every 8-dimensional Anosov Lie algebra with 3 or 5-dimensional derived algebra contains an abelian factor.     

Rational forms of nilpotent Lie algebras and Anosov diffeomorphisms

We compute the set of all rational forms up to isomorphism for some real nilpotent Lie algebras of dimension 8. This is part of the classification of nilmanifolds admitting an Anosov diffeomorphism in dimension at most 8. Author’s address: FaMAF and CIEM, Universidad Nacional de Córdoba, Córdoba, Argentina     

Symplectic structures¶on Heisenberg-type nilmanifolds

We use cohomological methods to study the existence of symplectic structures on nilmanifolds associated to two-step nilpotent Lie groups. We construct a new family of symplectic nilmanifolds with building blocks the quaternionic analogue of the Heisenberg group, determining the dimension of the space of all left invariant symplectic structures. Such structures can not be K?hlerian. Also, we prove that the nilmanifolds associated to H type groups are not symplectic unless they correspond to the classical Heisenberg groups. Received: 26 May 1999 / Revised version: 10 April 2000     

Anosov diffeomorphisms on infra-nilmanifolds associated to graphs

Anosov diffeomorphisms on closed Riemannian manifolds are a type of dynamical systems exhibiting uniform hyperbolic behavior. Therefore, their properties are intensively studied, including which spaces allow such a diffeomorphism. It is conjectured that any closed manifold admitting an Anosov diffeomorphism is homeomorphic to an infra-nilmanifold, that is, a compact quotient of a 1-connected nilpotent Lie group by a discrete group of isometries. This conjecture motivates the problem of describing which infra-nilmanifolds admit an Anosov diffeomorphism. So far, most research was focused on the restricted class of nilmanifolds, which are quotients of 1-connected nilpotent Lie groups by uniform lattices. For example, Dani and Mainkar studied this question for the nilmanifolds associated to graphs, which form the natural generalization of nilmanifolds modeled on free nilpotent Lie groups. This paper further generalizes their work to the full class of infra-nilmanifolds associated to graphs, leading to a necessary and sufficient condition depending only on the induced action of the holonomy group on the defining graph. As an application, we construct families of infra-nilmanifolds with cyclic holonomy groups admitting an Anosov diffeomorphism, starting from faithful actions of the holonomy group on simple graphs.     

Tensor products of algebras and their applications to the construction of Anosov diffeomorphisms

In this paper, we develop algebraic approaches to the construction of Anosov diffeomorphisms on compact manifolds. Two mutually dual constructions are described, which provide numerous new examples of Anosov diffeomorphisms on nilmanifolds. The basis of the constructions is the operation of tensor multiplication of Lie algebras by appropriate finite-dimensional associative-commutative algebras. Several examples illustrating the general method are given.     

Length minimizing geodesics and the length spectrum of Riemannian two-step nilmanifolds

In the first part of this article, we prove an explicit lower bound on the distance to the cut point of an arbitrary geodesic in a simply connected two-step nilpotent Lie group G with a lieft invariant metric. As a result, we obtaine a lower bound on the injectivity radius of a simply connected two-step nilpotent Lie group with a left invariant metric. We use this lower bound to determine the form of certain length minimizing geodesics from the identity to elements in the center of G. We also give an example of a two-step nilpotent Lie group G such that along most geodesics in this group, the cut point and the first conjugate point do not coincide. In the second part of this article, we examine the relation between the Laplace spectrum and the length spectrum on nilmanifolds by showing that a method developed by Gordon and Wilson for constructing families of isospectral two-step nilmanifolds necessarily yields manifolds with the same length spectrum. As a consequence, all known methods for constructing families of isospectral two-step nilmanifolds necessarily yield manifolds with the same length spectrum. In memory of Robert Brooks     

Invariant contact structures on 7-dimensional nilmanifolds

In this paper we give the list of all 7-dimensional nilpotent real Lie algebras that admit a contact structure. Based on this list, we describe all 7-dimensional nilmanifolds that admit an invariant contact structure.     

Half-flat nilmanifolds

We introduce a double complex that can be associated to certain Lie algebras, and show that its cohomology determines an obstruction to the existence of a half-flat SU(3)-structure. We obtain a classification of the 6-dimensional nilmanifolds carrying an invariant half-flat structure.     

Left invariant contact structures on Lie groups

Amongst other results, we perform a ‘contactization’ method to construct, in every odd dimension, many contact Lie groups with a discrete center, unlike the usual (classical) contactization which only produces Lie groups with a non-discrete center. We discuss some applications and consequences of such a construction, construct several examples and derive some properties. We give classification results in low dimensions. A complete list is supplied in dimension 5. In any odd dimension greater than 5, there are infinitely many locally non-isomorphic solvable contact Lie groups. We also characterize solvable contact Lie algebras whose derived ideal has codimension one. For simplicity, most of the results are given in the Lie algebra version.     

On Universal Equivalence of Partially Commutative Metabelian Lie Algebras

In this paper, we consider partially commutative metabelian Lie algebras whose defining graphs are cycles. We show that such algebras are universally equivalent iff the corresponding cycles have the same length. Moreover, we give an example showing that the class of partially commutative metabelian Lie algebras such that their defining graphs are trees is not separable by universal theory in the class of all partially commutative metabelian Lie algebras.     

Universal equivalence of some countably generated partially commutative structures

We study universal theories of partially commutative Lie algebras, partially commutative metabelian Lie algebras, and partially commutative metabelian groups such that their defining graphs are trees with countably many vertices. Also we find universal equivalence criteria for each of these classes of Lie algebras and groups.     

Nilmanifolds with a calibrated G2-structure

We introduce obstructions to the existence of a calibrated G₂-structure on a Lie algebra g of dimension seven, not necessarily nilpotent. In particular, we prove that if there is a Lie algebra epimorphism from g to a six-dimensional Lie algebra h with kernel contained in the center of g, then h has a symplectic form. As a consequence, we obtain a classification of the nilpotent Lie algebras that admit a calibrated G₂-structure.     

Closed geodesics in compact nilmanifolds

We study the density of closed geodesics property on 2-step nilmanifolds Γ\N, where N is a simply connected 2-step nilpotent Lie group with a left invariant Riemannian metric and Lie algebra ?, and Γ is a lattice in N. We show the density of closedgeodesics property holds for quotients of singular, simply connected, 2-step nilpotent Lie groups N which are constructed using irreducible representations of the compact Lie group SU(2). Received: 8 November 2000 / Revised version: 9 April 2001     

The Koszul homomorphism for a pair of Lie algebras in the theory of exotic characteristic classes of Lie algebroids

We examine fundamental properties of the universal exotic characteristic homomorphism in the category of Lie algebroids, introduced by the authors in Balcerzak and Kubarski (2012) [4]. The properties under study include: (a) functorial properties with respect to arbitrary morphisms of Lie algebroids, (b) homotopy properties, (c) relationships with the Koszul homomorphism for a pair of isotropy Lie algebras, (d) conditions under which the universal exotic characteristic homomorphism is a monomorphism.     

On Anosov automorphisms of nilmanifolds

The only known examples of Anosov diffeomorphisms are hyperbolic automorphisms of infranilmanifolds, and the existence of such automorphisms is a really strong condition on the rational nilpotent Lie algebra determined by the lattice, so called an Anosov Lie algebra. We prove that n⊕?⊕n (s times, s≥2) has an Anosov rational form for any graded real nilpotent Lie algebra n having a rational form. We also obtain some obstructions for the types of nilpotent Lie algebras allowed, and use the fact that the eigenvalues of the automorphism are algebraic integers (even units) to show that the types (5,3) and (3,3,2) are not possible for Anosov Lie algebras.     

Geodesic orbit and naturally reductive nilmanifolds associated with graphs

We study Riemannian nilmanifolds associated with graphs. We prove that such a nilmanifold is geodesic orbit if and only if it is naturally reductive if and only if its defining graph is the disjoint union of complete graphs and the left-invariant metric is generated by a certain naturally defined inner product.