We clarify the conformal invariance of the Pontrjagin forms by giving them a manifestly conformally invariant construction; they are shown to be the Pontrjagin forms of the conformally invariant tractor connection. The Q-curvature is intimately related to the Pfaffian. Working on even-dimensional manifolds, we show how the $k$-form operators $Q_k$ of \cite{ddd}, which generalise the Q-curvature, retain a key aspect of the $Q$-curvature's relation to the Pfaffian, by obstructing certain representations of natural operators on closed forms. In a closely related direction, we show that the $Q_k$ give rise to conformally invariant quadratic forms $Θ_k$ on cohomology that interpolate, in a suitable sense, between the integrated metric pairing (at $k=n/2$) and the Pfaffian (at $k=0$). Using a different construction, we show that the $Q_k$ operators yield a generalisation of the period map which maps conformal structures to Lagrangian subspaces of the direct sum $H^k\oplus H_k$ (where $H_k$ is the dual of the de Rham cohomology space $H^k$). We couple the $Q_k$ operators with the Pontrjagin forms to construct new natural densities that have many properties in common with the original Q-curvature; in particular these integrate to global conformal invariants. We also work out a relevant example, and show that the proof of the invariance of the (nonlinear) action functional whose critical metrics have constant Q-curvature extends to the action functionals for these new Q-like objects. Finally we set up eigenvalue problems that generalise to $Q_k$-operators the Q-curvature prescription problem.
We use the exterior and composition products of double forms together with the alternating operator to reformulate Pontrjagin classes and all Pontrjagin numbers in terms of the Riemannian curvature. We show that the alternating operator is obtained by a succession of applications of the first Bianchi sum and we prove some useful identities relating the previous four operations on double forms. As an application, we prove that for a $k$-conformally flat manifold of dimension $n\geq 4k$, the Pontrjagin classes $P_i$ vanish for any $i\geq k$. Finally, we study the equality case in an inequality o…
This paper studies the interaction of $π_1(M)$ for a $C^\infty$ manifold $M$ with Bott's original obstruction to integrability, and with differential geometric invariants such as Godbillon-Vey and Cheeger-Simons invariants of a foliation. We prove that the ring of higher Pontrjagin and higher Chern classes of an integrable subbundle $E$ of the tangent bundle of a manifold vanishes above dimension $2k$ where $k=dim(TM/E)$, and where the higher Pontrjagin and Chern rings are rings generated by $i^*y \cup p_j(TM/E)$ and by $i^*y \cup c_j(TM/E)$ respectively, with $p_j$ the $j$-th Pontrjagin class…
We construct a natural conformally invariant one-form of weight $-2k$ on any $2k$-dimensional pseudo-Riemannian manifold which is closely related to the Pfaffian of the Weyl tensor. On oriented manifolds, we also construct natural conformally invariant one-forms of weight $-4k$ on any $4k$-dimensional pseudo-Riemannian manifold which are closely related to top degree Pontrjagin forms. The weight of these forms implies that they define functionals on the space of conformal Killing fields. On Riemannian manifolds, we show that this functional is trivial for the former form but not for the latter…
We give an introductory account of functional determinants of elliptic operators on manifolds and Polyakov-type formulas for their infinitesimal and finite conformal variations. We relate this to extremal problems and to the Q-curvature on even-dimensional conformal manifolds. The exposition is self-contained, in the sense of giving references sufficient to allow the reader to work through all details.
We study the existence of a non-spacelike isometry, ζ, in higher dimensional Kundt spacetimes with constant scalar curvature invariants (CSI). We present the particular forms for the null or timelike Killing vectors and a set of constraints for the metric functions in each case. Within the class of N dimensional CSI Kundt spacetimes, admitting a non-spacelike isometry, we determine which of these can admit a covariantly constant null vector that also satisfy ζ_{[a;b]} = 0.
A surface in homogenous space Sol is said to be an invariant surface if it is invariant under some of the two 1-parameter groups of isometries of the ambient space whose fix point sets are totally geodesic surfaces. In this work we study invariant surfaces that satisfy a certain condition on their curvatures. We classify invariant surfaces with constant mean curvature and constant Gaussian curvature. Also, we characterize invariant surfaces that satisfy a linear Weingarten relation.
In the present paper, the flag curvature of invariant Randers metrics on homogeneous spaces and Lie groups is studied. We first give an explicit formula for the flag curvature of invariant Randers metrics arising from invariant Riemannian metrics on homogeneous spaces and, in special case, Lie groups. We then study Randers metrics of constant positive flag curvature and complete underlying Riemannian metric on Lie groups. Finally we give some properties of those Lie groups which admit a left invariant non-Riemannian Randers metric of Berwald type arising from a left invariant Riemannian metric…
For an asymptotically Poincare-Einstein manifold with a lower Ricci curvature bound, we establish a sharp inequality relating the type II Yamabe invariant of the interior and the Yamabe invariant of its conformal infinity
$\mathcal{I}$-non-degenerate spaces are spacetimes that can be characterized uniquely by their scalar curvature invariants. The ultimate goal of the current work is to construct a basis for the scalar polynomial curvature invariants in three dimensional Lorentzian spacetimes. In particular, we seek a minimal set of algebraically independent scalar curvature invariants formed by the contraction of the Riemann tensor and its covariant derivatives up to fifth order of differentiation. We use the computer software \emph{Invar} to calculate an overdetermined basis of scalar curvature invariants in …
In this article we review the recent results about the flag curvature of invariant Randers metrics on homogeneous manifolds and by using a counter example we show that the formula which obtained for the flag curvature of these metrics is incorrect. Then we give an explicit formula for the flag curvature of invariant Randers metrics on the naturally reductive homogeneous manifolds $(G/H,g)$, where the Randers metric induced by the invariant Riemannian metric $g$ and an invariant vector field $\tilde{X}$ which is parallel with $g$.
In this paper we study invariant almost Hermitian geometry on generalized flag manifolds. We will focus on providing examples of Kähler like scalar curvature metric, that is, almost Hermitian structures $(g,J)$ satisfying $s=2s_{\rm C}$, where $s$ is Riemannian scalar curvature and $s_{\rm C}$ is the Chern scalar curvature.
This note is a study of nonnegativity conditions on curvature which are preserved by the Ricci flow. We focus on specific kinds of curvature conditions which we call noncoercive, these are the conditions for which nonnegative curvature and vanishing scalar curvature doesn't imply flatness. We show that, in dimensions greater than 4, if a Ricci flow invariant condition is weaker than "Einstein with nonnegative scalar curvature", then this condition has to be "nonnegative scalar curvature". As a corollary, we obtain that a Ricci flow invariant curvature condition which is stronger than "nonnegat…
The second H. Weyl curvature invariant of a Riemannian manifold, denoted $h_4$, is the second curvature invariant which appears in the well known tube formula of H. Weyl. It coincides with the Gauss-Bonnet integrand in dimension 4. A crucial property of $h_4$ is that it is nonnegative for Einstein manifolds, hence it provides a geometric obstruction to the existence of Einstein metrics in dimensions $\geq 4$, independently from the sign of the Einstein constant. This motivates our study of the positivity of this invariant. Here in this paper, we prove many constructions of metrics with positiv…
We introduce two invariants called the secondary cuspidal curvature and the bias on $5/2$-cuspidal edges, and investigate their basic properties. While the secondary cuspidal curvature is an analog of the cuspidal curvature of (ordinary) cuspidal edges, there are no invariants corresponding to the bias. We prove that the product (called the secondary product curvature) of the secondary cuspidal curvature and the limiting normal curvature is an intrinsic invariant. Using this intrinsity, we show that any real analytic $5/2$-cuspidal edges with non-vanishing limiting normal curvature admits non-…
We show that any left invariant metric with harmonic curvature on a solvable Lie group is Ricci-parallel. We show the same result for any Lie group of dimension $\leq$ 6.
We derive a curvature-variation formula for a path of left-invariant metrics on a compact Lie group, beginning at a bi-invariant metric. We prove rigidity theorems for paths which remain nonnegatively curved, and we make progress towards a classification of the left-invariant metrics with nonnegative curvature on SO(4).
Our aim is to study invariant hypersurfaces immersed in the Euclidean space $\mathbb{R}^{n+1}$, whose mean curvature is given as a linear function in the unit sphere $\mathbb{S}^n$ depending on its Gauss map. These hypersurfaces are closely related with the theory of manifolds with density, since their weighted mean curvature in the sense of Gromov is constant. In this paper we obtain explicit parametrizations of constant curvature hypersurfaces, and also give a classification of rotationally invariant hypersurfaces.
In this paper, we present the classification of all possible signatures of the Ricci curvature of left-invariant Riemannian metrics on 4-dimensional Lie groups and discuss some related questions.
In this paper we construct and study isoperimetric functions at infinity for Hadamard manifolds. These quasi-isometry invariants give a measure of the spread of geodesics in such a manifold.
A left invariant Z-Randers metric on the five-dimensional Heisenberg group is a left invariant Randers metric with deformation vector from the center of the Heisenberg algebra. In this note we prove that for every left invariant Z-Randers metric on the five-dimensional Heisenberg group there exist flags of strictly negative and there exist flags of strictly positive curvatures.
We study conformal invariants that arise from functions in the nullspace of conformally covariant differential operators. The invariants include nodal sets and the topology of nodal domains of eigenfunctions in the kernel of GJMS operators. We establish that on any manifold of dimension $n\geq 3$, there exist many metrics for which our invariants are nontrivial. We discuss new applications to curvature prescription problems.
On compact Riemannian manifolds with a large isometry group we investigate the invariant spectrum of the ordinary Laplacian. For either a toric Kaehler metric, or a rotationally-symmetric metric on the sphere, we produce upper bounds for all eigenvalues of the invariant spectrum assuming non-negative scalar curvature.
In Sol$_3$ space there are three uniparametric groups of isometries. In this work we study constant mean curvature surfaces invariant by one of these groups. We analyze the geometric properties of these surfaces by means of their computer graphics. We construct explicit examples of minimal surfaces and we shall relate them with recent examples of spheres with constant mean curvature.
A direct, bundle-theoretic method for defining and extending local isometries out of curvature data is developed. As a by-product, conceptual direct proofs of a classical result of Singer and a recent result of the authors are derived.
In this paper we study invariant almost Hermitian geometry on generalized flag manifolds which the isotropy representation decompose into two or three irreducible components. We will provide a classification of such flag manifolds admitting Kähler like scalar curvature metric, that is, almost Hermitian structures $(g,J)$ satisfying $s=2s_C$ where $s$ is Riemannian scalar curvature and $s_C$ is the Chern scalar curvature.
In this paper, we investigate the regularized mean curvature flow starting from an invariant hypersurface in a Hilbert space equipped with an isometric and almost free action of a Hilbert Lie group whose orbits are regularized minimal. We prove that, if the invariant hypersurface satisfies a certain kind of horizontally convexity condition, then it collapses to an orbit of the Hilbert Lie group action along the regularized mean curvature flow.
We extend the vanishing theorem for the Seiberg-Witten invariants of a manifold with positive scalar curvature to the case when the curvature is allowed to be negative on a set of small volume. (The precise curvature bounds are described in the paper.) The idea is to combine the method of `semigroup domination' with the Weitzenbock formula. The same curvature hypothesis implies the vanishing of the Seiberg-Witten invariant of any finite covering space. We also show that, in high dimensions, a spin manifold with mostly positive scalar curvature in fact admits a metric of positive scalar curvatu…
In this paper we study flag curvature of invariant $(α,β)$-metrics of the form $\frac{(α+β)^2}α$ on homogeneous spaces and Lie groups. We give a formula for flag curvature of invariant metrics of the form $F=\frac{(α+β)^2}α$ such that $α$ is induced by an invariant Riemannian metric $g$ on the homogeneous space and the Chern connection of $F$ coincides to the Levi-Civita connection of $g$. Then some conclusions in the cases of naturally reductive homogeneous spaces and Lie groups are given.
It is known that the spectrum of the Laplace operator on functions of a closed Riemannian manifold does not determine the integrals of the individual fourth order curvature invariants $\operatorname{scal}^2$, $|\operatorname{ric}|^2$, $|R|^2$, which appear as summands in the second heat invariant $a_2$. We study the analogous question for the integrals of the sixth order curvature invariants appearing as summands in $a_3$. Our result is that none of them is determined individually by the spectrum, which can be shown using various examples. In particular, we prove that two isospectral nilmanifo…
We give explicit formulæ for Noether invariants associated to Killing vector fields for the variational problem of minimal and constant mean curvature surfaces in 3-manifolds. In the case of homogeneous spaces, such invariants are the flux (associated to translations) and the torque (associated to rotations). Then we focus on homogeneous spaces with isometry groups of dimensions 3 or 4 and study the behavior of these invariants under the action of isometries. Finally, we give examples of actual computations and of interpretations of these invariants in different situations.
In this letter we provide an invariant characterization for all spacetimes with all polynomial scalar invariants constructed from the Riemann tensor and its covariant derivatives vanishing except those zeroth order curvature invariants expressed as polynomials in $Λ$, the cosmological constant. Using this invariant description we provide explicit forms for the metric.
The well known formulas express the curvature and the torsion of a curve in $R^3$ in terms of euclidean invariants of its derivatives. We obtain expressions of this kind for all curvatures of curves in $R^n$. It follows that a curve in $R^n$ is determined up to an isometry by the norms of its n derivatives. We extend these observations to curves in arbitrary riemannian manifolds.
For each connected and simply connected three-dimensional non-unimodular Lie group, we classify the left invariant Lorentzian metrics up to automorphism, and study the extent to which curvature can be altered by a change of metric. Thereby we obtain the Ricci operator, the scalar curvature, and the sectional curvatures as functions of left invariant Lorentzian metrics on the three-dimensional non-unimodular Lie groups. Our study is a continuation and extension of the previous studies done in \cite{HL2009_MN} for Riemannian metrics on three-dimensional Lie groups and in \cite{BC} for Lorentzian…
We give a full classification of complete rotationally invariant surfaces with constant Gauss curvature in Berger spheres: they are either Clifford tori, which are flat, or spheres of Gauss curvature $K \geq K_0$ for a positive constant $K_0$, which we determine explicitly and depends on the geometry of the ambient Berger sphere. For values of $K_0 \leq K \leq K_P$, for a specific constant $K_P$, it was not known until now whether complete constant Gauss curvature $K$ surfaces existed in Berger spheres, so our classification provides the first examples. For $K > K_P$, we prove that the rotatio…
We show that the higher homotopy groups of the moduli space of torus-invariant positive scalar curvature metrics on certain quasitoric manifolds are non-trivial.
In this paper, we investigate a regularized mean curvature flow starting from an invariant hypersurface in a Hilbert space equipped with an isometric and almost free action of a Hilbert Lie group whose orbits are minimal regularizable submanifolds. We prove that, if the initial invariant hypersurface satisfies a certain kind of horizontally convexity condition and some additional conditions, then it collapses to an orbit of the Hilbert Lie group action along the regularized mean curvature flow. In the final section, we state a vision for applying the study of the regularized mean curvature flo…
We introduce a natural extension of the metric tensor and the Hodge star operator to the algebra of double forms to study some aspects of the structure of this algebra. These properties are then used to study new Riemannian curvature invariants, called the $(p,q)$-curvatures. They are a generalization of the $p$-curvature obtained by substituting the Gauss-Kronecker tensor to the Riemann curvature tensor. In particular, for $p=0$, the $(0,q)$-curvatures coincide with the H. Weyl curvature invariants, for $p=1$ the $(1,q)$-curvatures are the curvatures of generalized Einstein tensors and for $q…
The Kreck-Stolz $s$-invariant is a classic path-component invariant for the space and moduli space of positive scalar curvature metrics. It is an absolute (as opposed to relative) invariant, but this strength comes at the expense of being defined only under restrictive topological conditions. The aim of this paper is to construct an analogous invariant for certain product manifolds on which the $s$-invariant is not defined.
We classify constant mean curvature surfaces invariant by a 1-parameter group of isometries in the Berger spheres and in the special linear group Sl(2, R). In particular, all constant mean curvature spheres in those spaces are described explicitly, proving that they are not always embedded. Besides new examples of Delaunay-type surfaces are obtained. Finally the relation between the area and volume of these spheres in the Berger spheres is studied, showing that, in some cases, they are not solution to the isoperimetric problem.
There are five unimodular simply connected three dimensional unimodular non abelian Lie groups: the nilpotent Lie group $\mathrm{Nil}$, the special unitary group $\mathrm{SU}(2)$, the universal covering group $\widetilde{\mathrm{PSL}}(2,\mathbb{R})$ of the special linear group, the solvable Lie group $\mathrm{Sol}$ and the universal covering group $\widetilde{\mathrm{E}_0}(2)$ of the connected component of the Euclidean group. For each $G$ among these Lie groups, we give explicitly the list of all Lorentzian left invariant metrics on $G$, up to un automorphism of $G$. Moreover, for any Lorentz…
In this paper, we use localization algebras to study higher rho invariants of closed spin manifolds with positive scalar curvature metrics. The higher rho invariant is a secondary invariant and is closely related to positive scalar curvature problems. The main result of the paper connects the higher index of the Dirac operator on a spin manifold with boundary to the higher rho invariant of the Dirac operator on the boundary, where the boundary is endowed with a positive scalar curvature metric. Our result extends a theorem of Piazza and Schick.
We consider a subset $S$ of the complex Lie algebra $\so(n,\C)$ and the cone $C(S)$ of curvature operators which are nonnegative on $S$. We show that $C(S)$ defines a Ricci flow invariant curvature condition if $S$ is invariant under $\Ad_{\SO(n,\C)}$. The analogue for Kähler curvature operators holds as well. Although the proof is very simple and short it recovers all previously known invariant nonnegativity conditions. As an application we reprove that a compact Kähler manifold with positive orthogonal bisectional curvature evolves to a manifold with positive bisectional curvature and is thu…
We consider Ricci flow invariant cones C in the space of curvature operators lying between nonnegative Ricci curvature and nonnegative curvature operator. Assuming some mild control on the scalar curvature of the Ricci flow, we show that if a solution to Ricci flow has its curvature operator which satsisfies R+εI \in C at the initial time, then it satisfies R +KεI \in C on some time interval depending only on the scalar curvature control. This allows us to link Gromov-Hausdorff convergence and Ricci flow convergence when the limit is smooth and R + I \in C along the sequence of initial conditi…
This paper explores the relation between the structure of fibre bundles akin to those associated to a closed almost nonnegatively sectionally curved manifold and rational homotopy theory.
We study 1-parameter families in the space $\mathscr{M}^G_1$ of $G$-invariant, unit volume metrics on a given compact, connected, almost-effective homogeneous space $M=G/H$. In particular, we focus on diverging sequences, i.e. which are not contained in any compact subset of $\mathscr{M}^G_1$, and we prove some structure results for those which have bounded curvature. We also relate our results to an algebraic version of collapse.
In this paper, we study the regularized mean curvature flow starting from invariant hypersurfaces in a Hilbert space equipped with an isometric almost free Hilbert Lie group action whose orbits are minimal regularizable submanifolds, where "almost free" means that the stabilizers of the group action are finite. First we obtain the evolution equations for some geometric quantities along the regularized mean curvature flow. Next, by using the evolution equations, we prove a horizontally strongly convexity preservability theorem for the regularized mean curvature flow. From this theorem, we deriv…
We develop techniques for classifying the nonnegatively curved left-invariant metrics on a compact Lie group G. We prove rigidity theorems for general G and a partial classification for G=SO(4). Our approach is to reduce the general question to an infinitesimal version; namely, to classify the directions one can move away from a fixed bi-invariant metric such that curvature variation formulas predict nearby metrics are nonnnegatively curved.
We employ three different methods to prove the following result on prescribed scalar curvature plus mean curvature problem: Let $(M^n,g_0)$ be a $n$-dimensional smooth compact manifold with boundary, where $n \geq 3$, assume the conformal invariant $Y(M,\partial M)<0$. Given any negative smooth functions $f$ in $M$ and $h$ on $\partial M$, there exists a unique conformal metric of $g_0$ such that its scalar curvature equals $f$ and mean curvature curvature equals $h$. The first two methods are sub-super-solution method and subcritical approximation, and the third method is a geometric flow. In…
