We study the lightlike foliations that appear on Lorentzian manifolds with weakly irreducible not irreducible holonomy algebra. We give global structure equations for the foliation that generalize the Gauss and Weingarten equations for one lightlike hypersurface. This gives us some global operators on the manifold. Using these operators, we decompose the curvature tensor of the manifold into several components. We give a criteria how to find the type of the holonomy algebras (there are 4 possible types) in terms of the global operators.
In this paper, we give the Cartan's formula for half-lightlike submanifolds of Lorentzian manifolds and use it to show that a screen homothetic half-lightlike submanifolds of a Lorentzian space form, with a conformal co-screen distribution are locally a lightlike triple product manifolds. Then we give a classification theorem for half-lightlike submanifolds of Lorentzian space form with constant screen principal curvatures. These results extend some results obtained in the case of lightlike hypersurfaces of Lorentzian manifolds ([1]).
We describe the compact Lorentzian $3$-manifolds admitting a parallel lightlike vector field. The classification of compact Lorentzian $3$-manifolds admitting non-isometric affine diffeomorphisms follows, together with the complete description of these morphisms. Such a Lorentzian manifold is in some sense an equivariant deformation of a flat one.
The authors study the geometry of lightlike hypersurfaces on manifolds $(M, c)$ endowed with a pseudoconformal structure $c = CO (n - 1, 1)$ of Lorentzian signature. Such hypersurfaces are of interest in general relativity since they can be models of different types of physical horizons. On a lightlike hypersurface, the authors consider the fibration of isotropic geodesics and investigate their singular points and singular submanifolds. They construct a conformally invariant normalization of a lightlike hypersurface intrinsically connected with its geometry and investigate affine connections i…
A mixed type surface is a connected regular surface in a Lorentzian 3-manifold with non-empty spacelike and timelike point sets. The induced metric of a mixed type surface is a signature-changing metric, and their lightlike points may be regarded as singular points of such metrics. In this paper, we investigate the behavior of Gaussian curvature at a non-degenerate lightlike point of a mixed type surface. To characterize the boundedness of Gaussian curvature at a non-degenerate lightlike points, we introduce several fundamental invariants along non-degenerate lightlike points, such as the ligh…
We prove that the topology, smooth structure, and metric of a compact Lorentzian manifold with boundary is uniquely determined by data at the boundary. The data consists of the lengths and directions of future-directed once-broken geodesics connecting points on the boundary, which are first timelike and then lightlike. This requires the strong causality condition and a weak convexity assumption, but it holds without any assumptions about conjugate points. With an additional convexity assumption we prove the analogous statement for future-directed once-broken timelike geodesics. If there are no…
Holonomy algebras of Weyl connections in Lorentzian signature are classified. In particular, examples of Weyl connections with all possible holonomy algebras are constructed.
We prove that each special Lorentzian holonomy group (with the exception of those including the isotropy groups of Kähler symmetric spaces with rank greater than one) can be realized as the holonomy group of a globally hyperbolic Lorentzian manifold.
All candidates to the weakly-irreducible not irreducible holonomy algebras of Lorentzian manifolds are known. In the present paper metrics that realize all these candidates as holonomy algebras are given. This completes the classification of the Lorentzian holonomy algebras. Also new examples of metrics with the holonomy algebras $g_2\zr\Real^7\subset\so(1,8)$ and $\spin(7)\zr\Real^8\subset\so(1,9)$ are constructed.
We prove that given a pseudo-Riemannian conformal structure whose conformal holonomy representation fixes a totally lightlike subspace of arbitrary dimension, there is, wrt. a local metric in the conformal class defined off a singular set, a parallel, totally lightlike distribution on the tangent bundle which contains the image of the Ricci-tensor. This generalizes results obtained for invariant lightlike lines and planes and closes a gap in the understanding of the geometric meaning of reducibly acting conformal holonomy groups. We show how this result naturally applies to the classification …
It is shown how one can apply the classification of the holonomy algebras of Lorentzian manifolds to solve some problems. In particular, a new proof to the classification of Lorentzian manifolds with recurrent curvature tensor is given; the classification of two-symmetric Lorentzian manifolds is explained; conformally recurrent Lorentzian manifolds are classified; recurrent symmetric bilinear forms on Lorentzian manifolds are described.
We consider (compact or noncompact) Lorentzian manifolds whose holonomy group has compact closure. Among other results, we obtain that this property is equivalent to admitting a parallel timelike vector field. We also derive some properties of the space of all such metrics on a given manifold.
The local classification of conformally flat Lorentzian manifolds with special holonomy groups is obtained. The corresponding local metrics are certain extensions of Riemannian spaces of constant sectional curvature to Walker metrics.
We consider a class of $S^{1}$-bundles whose total space admits a nowhere vanishing recurrent lightlike vector field with respect to a Lorentzian metric. This metric can be modified such that its restricted holonomy group is indecomposable and reducible. We apply Hodge theory to construct examples with Hermitian screen holonomy. Finally, we construct complete pp-waves.
We study the full holonomy group of Lorentzian manifolds with a parallel null line bundle. We prove several results that are based on the classification of the restricted holonomy groups of such manifolds and provide a construction method for manifolds with disconnected holonomy which starts from a Riemannian manifold and a properly discontinuous group of isometries. Most of our examples are quotients of pp-waves with disconnected holonomy and without parallel vector field. Furthermore, we classify the full holonomy groups of solvable Lorentzian symmetric spaces and of Lorentzian manifolds wit…
Anti-de Sitter space is the Lorentzian space form with negative curvature. In this paper we consider lightlike hypersurfaces along spacelike submanifolds in anti-de Sitter space with general codimension. In particular, we investigate the singularities of lightlike hypersurfaces as an application of the theory of Legendrian singularities.
In this study, we obtain a spinorial Gauss formula for a lightlike hypersurface in Lorentzian manifold with 4-dimension. Then, we take into account the changes caused by degenerate metric on hypersurface and investigate Dirac operator for lightlike hypersurface. Later, we establish the relation between Dirac operators and Riemannian curvatures of manifold and hypersurface.
We are studying the harmonic and twistor equation on Lorentzian surfaces, that is a two dimensional orientable manifold with a metric of signature $(1,1)$. We will investigate the properties of the solutions of these equations and try to relate the conformal invariant dimension of the space of harmonic and twistor spinors to the natural conformal invariants given by the Lorentzian metric. We will introduce the notion of semi-conformally flat surfaces and establish a complete classification of the possible dimensions for this family.
If the holonomy representation of an $(n+2)$--dimensional simply-connected Lorentzian manifold $(M,h)$ admits a degenerate invariant subspace its holonomy group is contained in the parabolic group $(\mathbb{R} \times SO(n))\ltimes \mathbb{R}^n$. The main ingredient of such a holonomy group is the SO(n)--projection $G:=pr_{SO(n)}(Hol_p(M,h))$ and one may ask whether it has to be a Riemannian holonomy group. In this paper we show that this is the case if $G\subset U(n/2)$ or if the irreducible acting components of $G$ are simple.
The holonomy group of an (n+2)-dimensional simply-connected, indecomposable but non-irreducible Lorentzian manifold (M,h) is contained in the parabolic group $(\mathbb{R} \times SO(n))\ltimes \mathbb{R}^n$. The main ingredient of such a holonomy group is the SO(n)--projection $G:=pr_{SO(n)}(Hol_p(M,h))$ and one may ask whether it has to be a Riemannian holonomy group. In this paper we show that this is always the case, completing our results of the first part math.DG/0305139. We draw consequences for the existence of parallel spinors on Lorentzian manifolds.
There are three types of hypersurfaces in a pseudoconformal space C^n_1 of Lorentzian signature: spacelike, timelike, and lightlike. These three types of hypersurfaces are considered in parallel. Spacelike hypersurfaces are endowed with a proper conformal structure, and timelike hypersurfaces are endowed with a conformal structure of Lorentzian type. Geometry of these two types of hypersurfaces can be studied in a manner that is similar to that for hypersurfaces of a proper conformal space. Lightlike hypersurfaces are endowed with a degenerate conformal structure. This is the reason that their…
The main result of this paper is that a Lorentzian manifold is locally conformally equivalent to a manifold with recurrent lightlike vector field and totally isotropic Ricci tensor if and only if its conformal tractor holonomy admits a 2-dimensional totally isotropic invariant subspace. Furthermore, for semi-Riemannian manifolds of arbitrary signature we prove that the conformal holonomy algebra of a $C$-space is a Berger algebra. For Ricci-flat spaces we show how the conformal holonomy can be obtained by the holonomy of the ambient metric and get results for Riemannian manifolds and plane wav…
We define a concept of Lorentzian angle that works even when one or both of the directions involved is null (lightlike). Such angles play a role in Regge-Calculus, in the boundary- and corner- terms for the gravitational action, and in the Lorentzian Gauss-Bonnet theorem (for which we provide a proof).
The classification of the holonomy algebras of Lorentzian manifolds can be reduced to the classification of irreducible subalgebras $\mathfrak{h}\subset\mathfrak{so}(n)$ that are spanned by the images of linear maps from $\mathbb{R}^n$ to $\mathfrak{h}$ satisfying an identity similar to the Bianchi one. T. Leistner found all such subalgebras and it turned out that the obtained list coincides with the list of irreducible holonomy algebras of Riemannian manifolds. The natural problem is to give a simple direct proof to this fact. We give such proof for the case of semisimple not simple Lie algeb…
Weakly-irreducible not irreducible subalgebras of $\so(1,n+1)$ were classified by L. Berard Bergery and A. Ikemakhen. In the present paper a geometrical proof of this result is given. Transitively acting isometry groups of Lobachevskian spaces and transitively acting similarity transformation groups of Euclidean spaces are classified.
We compute the full holonomy group of compact Lorentzian manifolds with parallel Weyl tensor, which are neither conformally flat nor locally symmetric, for the case where the fundamental group is contained in a distinguished subgroup G of the isometry group of the universal cover. To prove this, we show that every such compact Lorentzian manifold has to be geodesically complete. Moreover we characterize the identity component of the isometry group for this universal cover and show that G is up to a discrete factor contained in the latter. Concretely, we prove that the identity component of the…
We investigate geometric properties of indecomposable but non-irreducible Lorentzian manifolds, which are total spaces of circle bundles. We investigate under which conditions these manifolds are complete and give examples which fulfill the obtained conditions. In particular we investigate the Einstein equation for these spaces yielding examples for complete compact Ricci flat Lorentzian manifolds and manifolds with timelike Killing vector fields. Finally we study their holonomy and obtain in particular complete examples for Lorentzian manifolds with holonomy of so called type 4.
We study the mechanisms of the non properness of the action of the group of diffeomorphisms on the space of Lorentzian metrics of a compact manifold. In particular, we prove that nonproperness entails the presence of lightlike geodesic foliations of codimension 1. On the 2-torus, we prove that a metric with constant curvature along one of its lightlike foliation is actually flat. This allows us to show that the restriction of the action to the set of non-flat metrics is proper and that on the set of flat metrics of volume 1 the action is ergodic. Finally, we show that, contrarily to the Rieman…
A pp-wave is a Lorentzian manifold with a parallel light-like vector field satisfying a certain curvature condition. We introduce generalisations of pp-waves, on one hand by allowing the vector field to be recurrent and on the other hand by weakening the curvature condition. These generalisations are related to the screen holonomy of the Lorentzian manifold. While pp-waves have a trivial screen holonomy there are no restrictions on the screen holonomy of the manifolds with the weaker curvature condition.
We show that many Lorentzian manifolds of dimension >2 do not admit a spacelike codimension-one foliation, and that almost every manifold of dimension >2 which admits a Lorentzian metric at all admits one which satisfies the dominant energy condition and the timelike convergence condition. These two seemingly unrelated statements have in fact the same origin. We also discuss the problem of topology change in General Relativity. A theorem of Tipler says that topology change is impossible via a spacetime cobordism whose Ricci curvature satisfies the strict lightlike convergence condition. In his…
We classify two-symmetric Lorentzian manifolds using methods of the theory of holonomy groups. These manifolds are exhausted by a special type of pp-waves and, like the symmetric Cahen-Wallach spaces, they have commutative holonomy.
The classification of all possible holonomy algebras of Einstein and vacuum Einstein Lorentzian manifolds is obtained. It is shown that each such algebra appears as the holonomy algebra of an Einstein (resp., vacuum Einstein) Lorentzian manifold, the direct constructions are given. Also the holonomy algebras of totally Ricci-isotropic Lorentzian manifolds are classified. The classification of the holonomy algebras of Lorentzian manifolds is reviewed and a complete description of the spaces of curvature tensors for these holonomies is given.
In this paper, we study the fundamental group of a certain class of globally hyperbolic Lorentzian manifolds with a positive curvature tensor. We prove that the fundamental group of lightlike geodesically complete parametrized Lorentzian products is finite under the conditions of a positive curvature tensor and the fiber compact.
We address the problem of finding conditions under which a compact Lorentzian manifold is geodesically complete, a property, which always holds for compact Riemannian manifolds. It is known that a compact Lorentzian manifold is geodesically complete if it is homogeneous, or has constant curvature, or admits a time-like conformal vector field. We consider certain Lorentzian manifolds with Abelian holonomy, which are locally modelled by the so called pp-waves, and which, in general, do not satisfy any of the above conditions. %the condition that their curvature sends vectors that are orthogonal …
Lightlike Cartan geometries are introduced as Cartan geometries modelled on the future lightlike cone in Lorentz-Minkowski spacetime. Then, we provide an approach to the study of lightlike manifolds from this point of view. It is stated that every lightlike Cartan geometry on a manifold $N$ provides a lightlike metric $h$ with radical distribution globally spanned by a vector field $Z$. For lightlike hypersurfaces of a Lorentz manifold, we give the condition that characterizes when the pull-back of the Levi-Civita connection form of the ambient manifold is a lightlike Cartan connection on such…
The problem of classification of connected holonomy groups (equivalently of holonomy algebras) for pseudo-Riemannian manifolds is open. The classification of Riemannian holonomy algebras is a classical result. The classification of Lorentzian holonomy algebras was obtained recently. In the present paper weakly-irreducible not irreducible subalgebras of $\su(1,n+1)$ ($n\geq 0$) are classified. Weakly-irreducible not irreducible holonomy algebras of pseudo-Kählerian and special pseudo-Kählerian manifolds are classified. An example of metric for each possible holonomy algebra is given. This gives…
Lorentzian manifolds with parallel spinors are important objects of study in several branches of geometry, analysis and mathematical physics. Their Cauchy problem has recently been discussed by Baum, Leistner and Lischewski, who proved that the problem locally has a unique solution up to diffeomorphisms, provided that the intial data given on a space-like hypersurface satisfy some constraint equations. In this article we provide a method to solve these constraint equations. In particular, any curve (resp. closed curve) in the moduli space of Riemannian metrics on $M$ with a parallel spinor giv…
In this paper, a survey of the recent results about the classification of the connected holonomy groups of the Lorentzian manifolds is given. A simplification of the construction of the Lorentzian metrics with all possible connected holonomy groups is obtained. As the applications, the Einstein equation, Lorentzian manifolds with parallel and recurrent spinor fields, conformally flat Walker metrics and the classification of 2-symmetric Lorentzian manifolds are considered.
We study the weighted ray transform of integrating functions on a Lorentzian manifold over lightlike geodesics. We prove support theorems if the manifold and the weight are analytic.
The holonomy algebra $\g$ of an $n+2$-dimensional Lorentzian manifold $(M,g)$ admitting a parallel distribution of isotropic lines is contained in the subalgebra $\simil(n)=(\Real\oplus\so(n))\zr\Real^n\subset\so(1,n+1)$. An important invariant of $\g$ is its $\so(n)$-projection $\h\subset\so(n)$, which is a Riemannian holonomy algebra. One component of the curvature tensor of the manifold belongs to the space $¶(\h)$ consisting of linear maps from $\Real^n$ to $\h$ satisfying an identity similar to the Bianchi one. In the present paper the spaces $¶(\h)$ are computed for each possible $\h$. T…
In this work we investigate families of compact Lorentzian manifolds in dimension four. We show that every lightlike geodesic on such spaces is periodic, while there are closed and non-closed spacelike and timelike geodesics. Their isometry groups are computed. We also show that there is a non trivial action by isometries of $\Heis_3(\RR)$ on the nilmanifold $S^1\times (Γ_k \bsh \Heis_3(\RR))$ for $Γ_k$ a lattice of $\Heis_3(\RR)$.
We prove that the Cauchy problem for parallel null vector fields on smooth Lorentzian manifolds is well posed. The proof is based on the derivation and analysis of suitable hyperbolic evolution equations given in terms of the Ricci tensor and other geometric objects. Moreover, we classify Riemannian manifolds satisfying the constraint conditions for this Cauchy problem. It is then possible to characterise certain holonomy reductions of globally hyperbolic manifolds with parallel null vector in terms of flow equations for Riemannian special holonomy metrics. For exceptional holonomy groups thes…
The holonomy algebra $\g$ of an indecomposable Lorentzian (n+2)-dimensional manifold $M$ is a weakly-irreducible subalgebra of the Lorentzian algebra $\so_{1,n+1}$. L. Berard Bergery and A. Ikemakhen divided weakly-irreducible not irreducible subalgebras into 4 types and associated with each such subalgebra $\g$ a subalgebra $\h\subset \so_n$ of the orthogonal Lie algebra. We give a description of the spaces $\R(\g)$ of the curvature tensors for algebras of each type in terms of the space $¶(\h)$ of $\h$-valued 1-forms on $\Real^n$ that satisfy the Bianchi identity and reduce the classificatio…
In this paper we study weakly irreducible holonomy representations of the normal connection of a spacelike submanifold in a pseudo-Riemannian space from. We associate screen representations to weakly irreducible normal holonomy groups and classify the screen representations having the Borel-Lichnérowicz property. In particular, we derive a classification of Lorentzian normal holonomy representations.
A parallel lightlike vector field on a Lorentzian manifold $X$ naturally defines a foliation $\mathcal{F}$ of codimension one. If either all leaves of $\mathcal{F}$ are compact or $X$ itself is compact admitting a compact leaf and the (transverse) Ricci curvature is non-negative then a Bochner type argument implies that the first Betti number of $X$ is bounded by $1 \leq b_{1} \leq \dim X$ if $X$ is compact and $0 \leq b_{1} \leq \dim X -1$ otherwise. We show that these bounds are optimal and depending on the holonomy of $X$ we obtain further results. Finally, we classify the holonomy represen…
The authors study the geometry of lightlike hypersurfaces on pseudo-Riemannian manifolds $(M, g)$ of Lorentzian signature. Such hypersurfaces are of interest in general relativity since they can be models of different types of physical horizons. For a lightlike hypersurface $V \subset (M, g)$ of general type and for some special lightlike hypersurfaces (namely, for totally umbilical and belonging to a manifold $(M, g)$ of constant curvature), in a third-order neighborhood of a point $x \in V$, the authors construct invariant normalizations intrinsically connected with the geometry of $V$ and i…
We study the geometry of compact Lorentzian manifolds that admit a somewhere timelike Killing vector field, and whose isometry group has infinitely many connected components. Up to a finite cover, such manifolds are products (or amalgamated products) of a flat Lorentzian torus and a compact Riemannian (resp., lightlike) manifold.
Manifolds with exceptional holonomy play an important role in string theory, supergravity and M-theory. It is explained how one can find the holonomy algebra of an arbitrary Riemannian or Lorentzian manifold. Using the de~Rham and Wu decompositions, this problem is reduced to the case of locally indecomposable manifolds. In the case of locally indecomposable Riemannian manifolds, it is known that the holonomy algebra can be found from the analysis of special geometric structures on the manifold. If the holonomy algebra $\mathfrak{g}\subset\mathfrak{so}(1,n-1)$ of a locally indecomposable Loren…
By a classical theorem of Gallot (1979), a Riemannian cone over a complete Riemannian manifold is either flat or has irreducible holonomy. We consider metric cones with reducible holonomy over pseudo-Riemannian manifolds. First we describe the local structure of the base of the cone when the holonomy of the cone is decomposable. For instance, we find that the holonomy algebra of the base is always the full pseudo-orthogonal Lie algebra. One of the global results is that a cone over a compact and complete pseudo-Riemannian manifold is either flat or has indecomposable holonomy. Then we analyse …
For an arbitrary subalgebra $\mathfrak{h}\subset\mathfrak{so}(r,s)$, a polynomial pseudo-Riemannian metric of signature $(r+2,s+2)$ is constructed, the holonomy algebra of this metric contains $\mathfrak{h}$ as a subalgebra. This result shows the essential distinction of the holonomy algebras of pseudo-Riemannian manifolds of index bigger or equal to 2 from the holonomy algebras of Riemannian and Lorentzian manifolds.
In this paper we examine the structure of Riemannian manifolds with a special kind of Codazzi tensors. We use them to construct globally hyperbolic Lorentzian manifolds with complete Cauchy hypersurfaces for any weakly irreducible holonomy representation with parallel spinors, i.e. with a holonomy group which is a semidirect product between $\R^{n-2}$ and one of $\1, SU(k), Sp(1), G_2$ and $Spin(7)$.
For every codimension two spacelike submanifold of a Lorentz manifold and each choice of a normal lightlike vector field, we introduce a canonical way to construct a tractor conformal bundle. We characterize when the induced connection of a such submanifold defines a tractor connection and then, in this case, when this tractor conformal bundle with the induced connection is standard for the induced metric. Finally, the normality condition for this tractor conformal bundle endowed with the induced connection is characterized in terms of a strong relationship between the intrinsic and the extrin…
The holonomy algebras of Einstein not Ricci-flat pseudo-Riemannian manifolds of arbitrary signature are classified. As illustrating examples, the cases of Lorentzian manifolds, pseudo-Riemannian manifolds of signature $(2,n)$ and the para-quaternionic-Kählerian manifolds with non-zero scalar curvature are considered. Einstein not Ricci-flat metrics of signature $(2,n)$ with all possible holonomy algebras are given.
We study the weighted light ray transform $L$ of integrating functions on a Lorentzian manifold over lightlike geodesics. We analyze $L$ as a Fourier Integral Operator and show that if there are no conjugate points, one can recover the spacelike singularities of a function $f$ from its the weighted light ray transform $Lf$ by a suitable filtered back-projection.
On a Lorentzian manifold the existence of a parallel null vector field implies certain constraint conditions on the induced Riemannian geometry of a space-like hypersurface. We will derive these constraint conditions and, conversely, show that every real analytic Riemannian manifold satisfying the constraint conditions can be extended to a Lorentzian manifold with a parallel null vector field. Similarly, every parallel null spinor on a Lorentzian manifold induces an imaginary generalised Killing spinor on a space-like hypersurface. Then, based on the fact that a parallel spinor field induces a…
