We give a simple construction of the Bernstein-Gelfand-Gelfand sequences of natural differential operators on a manifold equipped with a parabolic geometry. This method permits us to define the additional structure of a bilinear differential cup product on this sequence, satisfying a Leibniz rule up to curvature terms. It is not associative, but is part of an A-infinity algebra of multilinear differential operators, which we also obtain explicitly. We illustrate the construction in the case of conformal differential geometry, where the cup product provides a wide-reaching generalization of helicity raising and lowering for conformally invariant field equations.
This paper is devoted to the study of geometric structures modeled on homogeneous spaces G/P, where G is a real or complex semisimple Lie group and $P\subset G$ is a parabolic subgroup. We use methods from differential geometry and very elementary finite-dimensional representation theory to construct sequences of invariant differential operators for such geometries, both in the smooth and the holomorphic category. For G simple, these sequences specialize on the homogeneous model G/P to the celebrated (generalized) Bernstein-Gelfand-Gelfand resolutions in the holomorphic category, while in the …
We elaborate the tractor calculus for compatible almost CR structures (also known as strictly pseudoconvex partially integrable almost CR structures) on contact manifolds, and as an application, express the first BGG invariant differential operator $D_0$ explicitly in some cases, i.e., for some tractor connections. An interesting outcome is the fact that the "modified" adjoint tractor connection $\tilde{\nabla}$ governing infinitesimal deformations of parabolic geometries generates what we call the CR Killing operator as its first BGG operator, and actually, it does not agree with the first BG…
Using the Penrose transform, we construct analogues of the BGG (Bernstein-Gelfand-Gelfand) resolutions in certain singular infinitesimal characters, in the holomorphic geometric setting, over the Lagrangian Grassmannian. We prove the exactness of the constructed complex over the big affine cell.
On a symplectic manifold, there is a natural elliptic complex replacing the de Rham complex. It can be coupled to a vector bundle with connection and, when the curvature of this connection is constrained to be a multiple of the symplectic form, we find a new complex. In particular, on complex projective space with its Fubini-Study form and connection, we can build a series of differential complexes akin to the Bernstein-Gelfand-Gelfand complexes from parabolic differential geometry.
We generalize a Bernstein-type result due to Albujer and Alías, for maximal surfaces in a curved Lorentzian product 3-manifold of the form $Σ_1\times \mathbb{R}$, to higher dimension and codimension. We consider $M$ a complete spacelike graphic submanifold with parallel mean curvature, defined by a map $f: Σ_1\to Σ_2$ between two Riemannian manifolds $(Σ_1^m, g_1)$ and $(Σ^n_2, g_2)$ of sectional curvatures $K_1$ and $K_2$, respectively. We take on $Σ_1\times Σ_2$ the pseudo-Riemannian product metric $g_1-g_2$. Under the curvature conditions, $\mathrm{Ricci}_1 \geq 0$ and $K_1\geq K_2$, we pro…
We construct exact sequences of invariant differential operators acting on sections of certain homogeneous vector bundles in singular infinitesimal character, over the isotropic $2$-Grassmannian. This space is equal to $G/P$, where $G$ is $\operatorname{Sp}(2n,\mathbb{C})$, and $P$ its standard parabolic subgroup having the Levi factor $\operatorname{GL}(2,\mathbb{C}) \times \operatorname{Sp}(2n-4,\mathbb{C})$. The constructed sequences are analogues of the Bernstein-Gelfand-Gelfand resolutions. We do this by considering the Penrose transform over an appropriate double fibration. The result di…
For smooth manifolds equipped with various geometric structures, we construct complexes that replace the de Rham complex in providing an alternative fine resolution of the sheaf of locally constant functions. In case that the geometric structure is that of a parabolic geometry, our complexes coincide with the Bernstein-Gelfand-Gelfand complex associated with the trivial representation. However, at least in the cases we discuss, our constructions are relatively simple and avoid most of the machinery of parabolic geometry. Moreover, our method extends to certain geometries beyond the parabolic r…
In the present article, we combine some techniques in the harmonic analysis together with the geometric approach given by modules over sheaves of rings of twisted differential operators ($\mathcal{D}$-modules), and reformulate the composition series and branching problems for objects in the Bernstein-Gelfand-Gelfand parabolic category $\mathcal{O}^\mathfrak{p}$ geometrically realized on certain orbits in the generalized flag manifolds. The general framework is then applied to the scalar generalized Verma modules supported on the closed Schubert cell of the generalized flag manifold $G/P$ for $…
This article studies hypoellipticity on general filtered manifolds. We extend the Rockland criterion to a pseudodifferential calculus on filtered manifolds, construct a parametrix and describe its precise analytic structure. We use this result to study Rockland sequences, a notion generalizing elliptic sequences to filtered manifolds. The main application that we present is to the analysis of the Bernstein--Gelfand--Gelfand (BGG) sequences over regular parabolic geometries. We do this by generalizing the BGG machinery to more general filtered manifolds (in a non-canonical way) and show that th…
This is an expanded version of a series of two lectures given at the IMA summer program "Symmetries and Overdetermined Systems of Partial Differential Equations". The main part of the article describes the Riemannian version of the prolongation procedure for certain overdetermined system obtained recently in joint work with T.P. Branson, M.G. Eastwood, and A.R. Gover. First a simple special case is discussed, then the (Riemannian) procedure is described in general. The prolongation procedure was derived from a simplification of the construction of Bernstein-Gelfand-Gelfand (BGG) sequences of i…
Working over a pseudo-Riemannian manifold, for each vector bundle with connection we construct a sequence of three differential operators which is a complex (termed a Yang-Mills detour complex) if and only if the connection satisfies the full Yang-Mills equations. A special case is a complex controlling the deformation theory of Yang-Mills connections. In the case of Riemannian signature the complex is elliptic. If the bundle connection respects a metric on the vector bundle then the complex is formally self-adjoint. In dimension 4 the complex is conformally invariant and generalises, to the f…
For a real or complex semisimple Lie group $G$ and two nested parabolic subgroups $Q\subset P\subset G$, we study parabolic geometries of type $(G,Q)$. Associated to the group $P$, we introduce a class of relative natural bundles and relative tractor bundles and construct some basic invariant differential operators on such bundles. We define a (rather weak) notion of "compressability" for operators acting on relative differential forms with values in a relative tractor bundle. The we develop a general machinery which converts a compressable operator to an operator on bundles associated to comp…
This is the last part of a series of articles on a family of geometric structures (PACS-structures) which all have an underlying almost conformally symplectic structure. While the first part of the series was devoted to the general study of these structures, the second part focused on the case that the underlying structure is conformally symplectic (PCS-structures). In that case, we obtained a close relation to parabolic contact structures via a concept of parabolic contactification. It was also shown that special symplectic connections (and thus all connections of exotic symplectic holonomy) …
Let $G$ be a semisimple Lie group with finite center, $K\subset G$ a maximal compact subgroup, and $P\subset G$ a parabolic subgroup. Following ideas of P.Y.\ Gaillard, one may use $G$-invariant differential forms on $G/K\times G/P$ to construct $G$-equivariant Poisson transforms mapping differential forms on $G/P$ to differential forms on $G/K$. Such invariant forms can be constructed using finite dimensional representation theory. In this general setting, we first prove that the transforms that always produce harmonic forms are exactly those that descend from the de Rham complex on $G/P$ to …
