It is shown that Einstein-Weyl (EW) equations in 2+1 dimensions contain the dispersionless Kadomtsev-Petviashvili (dKP) equation as a special case: If an EW structure admits a constant weighted vector then it is locally given by $h=d y^2-4d xd t-4ud t^2, ν=-4u_xd t$, where $u=u(x, y, t)$ satisfies the dKP equation $(u_t-uu_x)_x=u_{yy}$.
Linearised solutions to the dKP equation are shown to give rise to four-dimensional anti-self-dual conformal structures with symmetries. All four-dimensional hyper-Kähler metrics in signature $(++--)$ for which the self-dual part of the derivative of a Killing vector is null arise by this construction. Two new classes of examples of EW metrics which depend on one arbitrary function of one variable are given, and characterised.
A Lax representation of the EW condition is found and used to show that all EW spaces arise as symmetry reductions of hyper-Hermitian metrics in four dimensions. The EW equations are reformulated in terms of a simple and closed two-form on the $\CP^1$-bundle over a Weyl space.
It is proved that complex solutions to the dKP equations, modulo a certain coordinate freedom, are in a one-to-one correspondence with minitwistor spaces (two-dimensional complex manifolds ${\cal Z}$ containing a rational curve with normal bundle $Ø(2)$) that admit a section of $κ^{-1/4}$, where $κ$ is the canonical bundle of ${\cal Z}$. Real solutions are obtained if the minitwistor space also admits an anti-holomorphic involution with fixed points together with a rational curve and section of $κ^{-1/4}$ that are invariant under the involution.
We present two constructions of new solutions to the dispersionless KP (dKP) equation arising from the first two Painlevé transcendents. The first construction is a hodograph transformation based on Einstein--Weyl geometry, the generalised Nahm's equation and the isomonodromy problem. The second construction, motivated by the first, is a direct characterisation of solutions to dKP which are constant on a central quadric. We show how the solutions to the dKP equations can be used to construct some three-dimensional Einstein--Weyl structures, and four--dimensional anti-self-dual null-Kähler metr…
We apply the technique of integrable extensions to the symmetry pseudo-group of the dKP-hyper CR interpolating equation. This allows us to find a covering for this equation and to construct multi-valued Einstein-Weyl structures.
We consider two multi-dimensional generalisations of the dispersionless Kadomtsev-Petviashvili (dKP) equation, both allowing for arbitrary dimensionality, and non-linearity. For one of these generalisations, we characterise all solutions which are constant on a central quadric. The quadric ansatz leads to a second order ODE which is equivalent to Painleve I or II for the dKP equation, but fails to pass the Painlevé test in higher dimensions. The second generalisation of the dKP equation leads to a class of Einstein-Weyl structures in an arbitrary dimension, which is characterised by the existe…
We define, on smooth manifolds, the notions of almost twistorial structure and twistorial map, thus providing a unified framework for all known examples of twistor spaces. The condition of being harmonic morphisms naturally appears among the geometric properties of submersive twistorial maps between low-dimensional Weyl spaces endowed with a nonintegrable almost twistorial structure due to Eells and Salamon. This leads to the twistorial characterisation of harmonic morphisms between Weyl spaces of dimensions four and three. Also, we give a thorough description of the twistorial maps with one-d…
Cartan's list of 3-dimensional Weyl structures with reduced holonomy is revisited. We show that the only Einstein-Weyl structures on this list correspond to the structures generated by the solutions of the dKP equation.
We construct infinitely many Einstein-Weyl structures on $S^2 \times R$ of signature (-++) which is sufficiently close to the model case of constant curvature, and whose space-like geodesics are all closed. Such structures are obtained from small perturbations of the diagonal of $CP^1 \times CP^1$ using the method of LeBrun-Mason type twistor theory. The geometry of constructed Einstein-Weyl space is well understood from the configuration of holomorphic disks. We also review Einstein-Weyl structures and their properties in the former half of this article.
Motivated by generalized geometry (à la Hitchin), we discuss the integrability conditions for four natural almost complex structures on the product bundle ${\mathcal Z}\times {\mathcal Z}\to M$, where ${\mathcal Z}$ is the twistor space of a Riemannian 4-manifold $M$ endowed with a metric connection $D$ with skew-symmetric torsion. These structures are defined by means of the connection $D$ and four (Kähler) complex structures on the fibres of this bundle. Their integrability conditions are interpreted in terms of Weyl geometry and this is used to supply examples satisfying the conditions.
Starting from a real analytic conformal Cartan connection on a real analytic surface $S$, we construct a complex surface $T$ containing a family of pairs of projective lines. Using the structure on $S$ we also construct a complex $3$-space $Z$, such that $Z$ is a twistor space of a self-dual conformal $4$-fold and $T$ is a quotient of $Z$ by a holomorphic local $\mathbb{C}^*$ action. We prove that $T$ is a minitwistor space of an asymptotically hyperbolic Einstein-Weyl space with $S$ as an asymptotic boundary.
HyperCR Einstein--Weyl equations in 2+1 dimensions reduce to a pair of quasi-linear PDEs of hydrodynamic type. All solutions to this hydrodynamic system can be in principle constructed from a twistor correspondence, thus establishing the integrability. Simple examples of solutions including the hydrodynamic reductions yield new Einstein--Weyl structures.
We review aspects of twistor theory, its aims and achievements spanning thelast five decades. In the twistor approach, space--time is secondary with events being derived objects that correspond to compact holomorphic curves in a complex three--fold -- the twistor space. After giving an elementary construction of this space we demonstrate how solutions to linear and nonlinear equations of mathematical physics: anti-self-duality (ASD) equations on Yang--Mills, or conformal curvature can be encoded into twistor cohomology. These twistor correspondences yield explicit examples of Yang--Mills, and …
In a general and non metrical framework, we introduce the class of co-CR quaternionic manifolds, which contains the class of quaternionic manifolds, whilst in dimension three it particularizes to give the Einstein-Weyl spaces. We show that these manifolds have a rich natural Twistor Theory and, along the way, we obtain a heaven space construction for quaternionic-Kaehler manifolds.
Twistor correspondences for R-invariant indefinite self-dual conformal structures on R^4 are established explicitly. These correspondences are written down by using a natural integral transform from functions on a two dimensional cylinder to functions on the flat Lorentz space R^{1,2} which is related to the wave equation and the Radon transform. A general method on the twistor construction of indefinite self-dual 4-spaces and indefinite Einstein-Weyl 3-spaces are also summarized.
We show that conformally compact, globally hyperbolic, Lorentzian Einstein-Weyl 3-manifolds are in natural one-to-one correspondence with orientation-reversing diffeomorphisms of the 2-sphere. The proof hinges on a holomorphic-disk analog of Hitchin's mini-twistor correspondence.
This is an elementary and self--contained review of twistor theory as a geometric tool for solving non-linear differential equations. Solutions to soliton equations like KdV, Tzitzeica, integrable chiral model, BPS monopole or Sine-Gordon arise from holomorphic vector bundles over $T\CP^1$. A different framework is provided for the dispersionless analogues of soliton equations, like dispersionless KP or $SU(\infty)$ Toda system in 2+1 dimensions. Their solutions correspond to deformations of (parts of) $T\CP^1$, and ultimately to Einstein--Weyl curved geometries generalising the flat Minkowski…
The equations governing anti-self-dual and Einstein-Weyl conformal geometries can be regarded as `master dispersionless systems' in four and three dimensions respectively. Their integrability by twistor methods has been established by Penrose and Hitchin. In this note we present, in specially adapted coordinate systems, explicit forms of the corresponding equations and their Lax pairs. In particular, we demonstrate that any Lorentzian Einstein-Weyl structure is locally given by a solution to the Manakov-Santini system, and we find a system of two coupled third-order scalar PDEs for a general a…
We consider sphere bundles P and P' of totally null planes of maximal dimension and opposite self-duality over a 4-dimensional manifold equipped with a Weyl or Riemannian geometry. The fibre product PP' of P and P' is found to be appropriate for the encoding of both the selfdual and the Einstein-Weyl equations for the 4-metric. This encoding is realized in terms of the properties of certain well defined geometrical objects on PP'. The formulation is suitable for both complex- and real-valued metrics. It unifies results for all three possible real signatures. In the purely Riemannian positive d…
We study the local geometry of 4-manifolds equipped with a \emph{para-Kähler-Einstein} (pKE) metric, a special type of split-signature pseudo-Riemannian metric, and their associated \emph{twistor distribution}, a rank 2 distribution on the 5-dimensional total space of the circle bundle of self-dual null 2-planes. For pKE metrics with nonvanishing Einstein constant this twistor distribution has exactly two integral leaves and is `maximally non-integrable' on their complement, a so-called (2,3,5)-distribution. Our main result establishes a simple correspondence between the anti-self-dual Weyl te…
For a symplectic manifold admitting a metaplectic structure (a symplectic analogue of the Riemannian spin structure), we construct a sequence consisting of differential operators using a symplectic torsion-free affine connection. All but one of these operators are of first order. The first order ones are symplectic analogues of the twistor operators known from Riemannian spin geometry. We prove that under the condition the symplectic Weyl curvature tensor field of the symplectic connection vanishes, the mentioned sequence forms a complex. This gives rise to a new complex for the so called Ricc…
In this paper, the Dirac, twistor and Killing equations on Weyl manifolds with CSpin structures are investigated. A conformal Schr"odinger-Lichnerowicz formula is presented and used to show integrability conditions for these equations. By introducing the Killing equation for spinors of arbitrary weight, the result of Andrei Moroianu in [9] is generalized in the following sense. The only non-closed Weyl manifolds of dimension greater than 3 that admit solutions of the real Killing equation are 4-dimensional and non-compact. Any Weyl manifold of these dimensions admitting a real Killing spinor h…
We exploit the correspondence between the three-dimensional Lorentzian Einstein-Weyl geometries of the hyper-CR type, and the Veronese webs to show that the former structures are locally given in terms of solutions to the dispersionless Hirota equation. We also demonstrate how to construct hyper-CR Einstein--Weyl structures by Kodaira deformations of the flat twistor space $T\CP^1$, and how to recover the pencil of Poisson structures in five dimensions illustrating the method by an example of the Veronese web on the Heisenberg group.
The hyper-CR Einstein-Weyl structures on $\R^3$ can be described in terms of the solutions to the dispersionless Hirota equation. In the present paper we show that simple geometric constructions on the associated twistor space lead to deformations of the Hirota equation that have been introduced recently by B. Kruglikov and A. Panasyuk. Our method produces also the hyper-CR equation and can be applied to other geometric structures related to different twistor constructions.
We show that on a surface locally every affine torsion-free connection is projectively equivalent to a Weyl connection. First, this is done using exterior differential system theory. Second, this is done by showing that the solutions of the relevant PDE are in one-to-one correspondence with the sections of the `twistor' bundle of conformal inner products having holomorphic image. The second solution allows to use standard results in algebraic geometry to show that the Weyl connections on the two-sphere whose geodesics are the great circles are in one-to-one correspondence with the smooth quadr…
The twistor space of a Riemannian 4-manifold carries two almost complex structures, $J_+$ and $J_-$, and a natural closed 2-form $ω$. This article studies limits of manifolds for which $ω$ tames either $J_+$ or $J_-$. This amounts to a curvature inequality involving self-dual Weyl curvature and Ricci curvature, and which is satisfied, for example, by all anti-self-dual Einstein manifolds with non-zero scalar curvature. We prove that if a sequence of manifolds satisfying the curvature inequality converges to a hyperkähler limit X (in the $C^2$ pointed topology) then X cannot contain a holomorph…
We present a geometric construction and characterization of $2n$-dimensional split-signature conformal structures endowed with a twistor spinor with integrable kernel. The construction is regarded as a modification of the conformal Patterson--Walker metric construction for $n$-dimensional projective manifolds. The characterization is presented in terms of the twistor spinor and an integrability condition on the conformal Weyl curvature. We further derive complete description of Einstein metrics and infinitesimal conformal symmetries in terms of suitable projective data. Finally, we obtain an e…
Anti-self-dual metrics in the $(++--)$ signature which admit a covariantly constant real spinor are studied. It is shown that finding such metrics reduces to solving a fourth order integrable PDE, and some examples are given. The corresponding twistor space is characterised by existence of a preferred non-zero real section of $κ^{-1/4}$, where $κ$ is the canonical line bundle of the twistor space It is demonstrated that if the parallel spinor is preserved by a Killing vector, then the fourth order PDE reduces to the dispersionless Kadomtsev--Petviashvili equation and its linearisation. Einstei…
Weyl derivatives, Weyl-Lie derivatives and conformal submersions are defined, then used to generalize the Jones-Tod correspondence between selfdual 4-manifolds with symmetry and Einstein-Weyl 3-manifolds with an abelian monopole. In this generalization, the conformal symmetry is replaced by a particular kind of conformal submersion with one dimensional fibres. Special cases are studied in which the conformal submersion is holomorphic, affine, or projective. All scalar-flat Kahler metrics with such a holomorphic conformal submersion, and all four dimensional hypercomplex structures with a compa…
Superconformal geometries in spacetime dimensions $D=3,4,{5}$ and $6$ are discussed in terms of local supertwistor bundles over standard superspace. These natually admit superconformal connections as matrix-valued one-forms. In order to make contact with the standard superspace formalism it is shown that one can always choose gauges in which the scale parts of the connection and curvature vanish, in which case the conformal and $S$-supersymmetry transformations become subsumed into super-Weyl transformations. The number of component fields can be reduced to those of the minimal off-shell confo…
This work has its origins in an attempt to describe systematically the integrable geometries and gauge theories in dimensions one to four related to twistor theory. In each such dimension, there is a nondegenerate integrable geometric structure, governed by a nonlinear integrable differential equation, and each solution of this equation determines a background geometry on which, for any Lie group $G$, an integrable gauge theory is defined. In four dimensions, the geometry is selfdual conformal geometry and the gauge theory is selfdual Yang-Mills theory, while the lower-dimensional structures a…
We develop a global twistor correspondence for pseudo-Riemannian conformal structures of signature (++--) with self-dual Weyl curvature. Near the conformal class of the standard indefinite product metric on S^2 x S^2, there is an infinite-dimensional moduli space of such conformal structures, and each of these has the surprising global property that its null geodesics are all periodic. Each such conformal structure arises from a family of holomorphic disks in CP_3 with boundary on some totally real embedding of RP^3 into CP_3. An interesting sub-class of these conformal structures are represen…
The "dancing metric" is a pseudo-riemannian metric $\pmb{g}$ of signature $(2,2)$ on the space $M^4$ of non-incident point-line pairs in the real projective plane $\mathbb{RP}^2$. The null-curves of $(M^4,\pmb{g})$ are given by the "dancing condition": the point is moving towards a point on the line, about which the line is turning. We establish a dictionary between classical projective geometry (incidence, cross ratio, projective duality, projective invariants of plane curves...) and pseudo-riemannian 4-dimensional conformal geometry (null-curves and geodesics, parallel transport, self-dual n…
