We classify solvable Lie groups with a free nilradical admitting an Einstein left-invariant metric. Any such group is essentially determined by the nilradical of its Lie algebra, which is then called an Einstein nilradical. We show that among the free Lie algebras, there are very few Einstein nilradicals. Except for the one-step (abelian) and the two-step ones, there are only six others: f(2,3), f(2,4), f(2,5), f(3,3), f(4,3), f(5,3) (where f(m,p) is a free p-step Lie algebra on m generators). The reason for that is the inequality-type restrictions on the eigenvalue type of an Einstein nilradical obtained in the paper.
A Riemannian Einstein solvmanifold is called standard, if the orthogonal complement to the nilradical of its Lie algebra is abelian. No examples of nonstandard solvmanifolds are known. We show that the standardness of an Einstein metric solvable Lie algebra is completely detected by its nilradical and prove that many classes of nilpotent Lie algebras (Einstein nilradicals, algebras with less than four generators, free Lie algebras, some classes of two-step nilpotent ones) contain no nilradicals of nonstandard Einstein metric solvable Lie algebras. We also prove that there are no nonstandard Ei…
A Riemannian Einstein solvmanifold (possibly, any noncompact homogeneous Einstein space) is almost completely determined by the nilradical of its Lie algebra. A nilpotent Lie algebra, which can serve as the nilradical of an Einstein metric solvable Lie algebra, is called an Einstein nilradical. Despite a substantial progress towards the understanding of Einstein nilradicals, there is still a lack of classification results even for some well-studied classes of nilpotent Lie algebras, such as the two-step ones. In this paper, we give a classification of two-step nilpotent Einstein nilradicals in…
An Einstein nilradical is a nilpotent Lie algebra, which can be the nilradical of a metric Einstein solvable Lie algebra. The classification of Riemannian Einstein solvmanifolds (possibly, of all noncompact homogeneous Einstein spaces) can be reduced to determining, which nilpotent Lie algebras are Einstein nilradicals and to finding, for every Einstein nilradical, its Einstein metric solvable extension. For every nilpotent Lie algebra, we construct an (essentially unique) derivation, the pre-Einstein derivation, the solvable extension by which may carry an Einstein inner product. Using the pr…
The structure of a solvable Lie groups admitting an Einstein left-invariant metric is, in a sense, completely determined by the nilradical of its Lie algebra. We give an easy-to-check necessary and sufficient condition for a nilpotent algebra to be an Einstein nilradical whose Einstein derivation has simple eigenvalues. As an application, we classify filiform Einstein nilradicals (modulo known classification results on filiform graded Lie algebras).
In the homogeneous case, the only curvature behavior which is still far from being understood is Ricci negative. In this paper, we study which nilpotent Lie algebras admit a Ricci negative solvable extension. Different unexpected behaviors were found. On the other hand, given a nilpotent Lie algebra, we consider the space of all the derivations such that the corresponding solvable extension has a metric with negative Ricci curvature. Using the nice convexity properties of the moment map for the variety of nilpotent Lie algebras, we obtain a useful characterization of such derivations and some …
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 of two-step. New examples of Einstein solvmanifolds with three-step and four-step nilradicals are also given.
We obtain new examples of non-symmetric Einstein solvmanifolds by combining two techniques. In \cite{T2}, H. Tamaru constructs new {\em attached} solvmanifolds, which are submanifolds of the solvmanifolds corresponding to noncompact symmetric spaces, endowed with a natural metric. Extending this construction, we apply it to {\em associated} solvmanifolds, described in \cite{GK}, obtained by modifying the algebraic structure of the solvable Lie algebras corresponding to noncompact symmetric spaces. Our new examples are Einstein solvmanifolds with nilradicals of high nilpotency, which are geomet…
The only known examples of noncompact Einstein homogeneous spaces are standard solvmanifolds (special solvable Lie groups endowed with a left invariant metric), and according to a long standing conjecture, they might be all. The classification of Einstein solvmanifolds is equivalent to the one of Einstein nilradicals, i.e. nilpotent Lie algebras which are nilradicals of the Lie algebras of Einstein solvmanifolds. Up to now, there have been found very few examples of graded nilpotent Lie algebras that can not be Einstein nilradicals. In particular, in each dimension, there are only finitely man…
In this paper we investigate the existence of invariant SKT, balanced and generalized Kähler structures on compact quotients $Γ\backslash G$, where $G$ is an almost nilpotent Lie group whose nilradical has one-dimensional commutator and $Γ$ is a lattice of $G$. We first obtain a characterization of Hermitian almost nilpotent Lie algebras $\mathfrak{g}$ whose nilradical $\mathfrak{n}$ has one-dimensional commutator and a classification result in real dimension six. Then, we study the ones admitting SKT and balanced structures and we examine the behaviour of such structures under flows. In parti…
In this paper, we study the solvmanifolds constructed from any parabolic subalgebras of any semisimple Lie algebras. These solvmanifolds are naturally homogeneous submanifolds of symmetric spaces of noncompact type. We show that the Ricci curvatures of our solvmanifolds coincide with the restrictions of the Ricci curvatures of the ambient symmetric spaces. Consequently, all of our solvmanifolds are Einstein, which provide a large number of new examples of noncompact homogeneous Einstein manifolds. We also show that our solvmanifolds are minimal, but not totally geodesic submanifolds of symmetr…
The general aim of this paper is to study which are the solvable Lie groups admitting an Einstein left invariant metric. The space N of all nilpotent Lie brackets on R^n parametrizes a set of (n+1)-dimensional rank-one solvmanifolds, containing the set of all those which are Einstein in that dimension. The moment map for the natural GL(n)-action on N evaluated in a point of N encodes geometric information on the corresponding solvmanifold, allowing us to use strong and well-known results from geometric invariant theory. For instance, the functional on N whose critical points are precisely the …
We show that homogeneous Einstein metrics on Euclidean spaces are Einstein solvmanifolds, using that they admit periodic, integrally minimal foliations by homogeneous hypersurfaces. For the geometric flow induced by the orbit-Einstein condition, we construct a Lyapunov function based on curvature estimates which come from real GIT.
In this note we are concerned with the distribution of Einstein and non-Einstein nilradicals among all nilpotent Lie groups. A nilpotent Lie group is called an Einstein, resp. non-Einstein, nilradical if it is a nilpotent Lie group which does, resp. does not, admit a left-invariant Ricci soliton metric. Using techniques from Geometric Invariant Theory, we construct many new (continuous) families of both kinds of nilpotent Lie groups. Moreover, it is shown by example that there exist families of non-Einstein nilradicals of arbitrarily large dimension; the dimension of these families of Lie grou…
We study the $G_2$ analogue of the Goldberg conjecture on non-compact solvmanifolds. In contrast to the almost-Kähler case we prove that a 7-dimensional solvmanifold cannot admit any left-invariant calibrated $G_2$-structure $φ$ such that the induced metric $g_φ$ is Einstein, unless $g_φ$ is flat. We give an example of 7-dimensional solvmanifold admitting a left-invariant calibrated $G_2$-structure $φ$ such that $g_φ$ is Ricci-soliton. Moreover, we show that a 7-dimensional (non-flat) Einstein solvmanifold $(S,g)$ cannot admit any left-invariant cocalibrated $G_2$-structure $φ$ such that the i…
The problem of classifying Einstein solvmanifolds, or equivalently, Ricci soliton nilmanifolds, is known to be equivalent to a question on the variety of n-dimensional complex nilpotent Lie algebra laws. Namely, one has to determine which GL(n)-orbits in this variety have a critical point of the squared norm of the moment map. In dimension 7, there are 148 complex nilpotent Lie algebras and 6 curves of pairwise non-isomorphic nilpotent Lie algebras, and we give in this paper a complete classification of the aforementioned distinguished orbits.
In the present paper we study six dimensional solvable Lie algebras with special emphasis on those admitting a symplectic structure. We list all the symplectic structures that they admit and we compute their Betti numbers finding some properties about the codimension of the nilradical. Next, we consider the conjecture of Guan about step of nilpotency of a symplectic solvmanifold finding that it is true for all six dimensional unimodular solvable Lie algebras. Finally, we consider some cohomologies for symplectic manifolds introduced by Tseng and Yau in the context of symplectic Hogde theory an…
All known examples of homogeneous Einstein metrics of negative Ricci curvature can be realized as left-invariant Riemannian metrics on solvable Lie groups. After defining a notion of maximal symmetry among left-invariant Riemannian metrics on a Lie group, we prove that any left-invariant Einstein metric of negative Ricci curvature on a solvable Lie group is maximally symmetric. This theorem is motivated both by the Alekseevskii Conjecture and by the question of stability of Einstein metrics under the Ricci flow. We also address questions of existence of maximally symmetric left-invariant Riema…
A nilsoliton is a nilpotent Lie algebra $\mathfrak{g}$ with a metric such that $\operatorname{Ric}=λ\operatorname{Id}+D$, with $D$ a derivation. For indefinite metrics, this determines four different geometries, according to whether $λ$ and $D$ are zero or not. We illustrate with examples the greater flexibility of the indefinite case compared to the Riemannian setting. We determine the algebraic properties that $D$ must satisfy when it is nonzero. For each of the four geometries, we show that under suitable assumptions it is possible to extend the nilsoliton metric to an Einstein solvmanifold…
This paper contains all computations supporting the classification of 7-dimensional Einstein nilradicals given in the article "Classification of 7-dimensional Einstein nilradicals" (arXiv). Each algebra is analyzed in detail here.
A Riemannian manifold (M,g) is said to be Einstein if its Ricci tensor satisfies ric(g) = cg, for some real number c. In the homogeneous case, a problem that is still open is the so called Alekseevskii Conjecture. This conjecture says that any homogeneous Einstein space with negative scalar curvature (i.e. c < 0) is a solvmanifold: a simply connected solvable Lie group endowed with a left invariant Riemannian metric. The aim of this paper is to classify Einstein solvmanifolds of dimension 9 whose nilradicals are 7-step nilpotent Lie algebras of dimension 8.
We show that for any solvable Lie group of real type, any homogeneous Ricci flow solution converges in Cheeger-Gromov topology to a unique non-flat solvsoliton, which is independent of the initial left-invariant metric. As an application, we obtain results on the isometry groups of non-flat solvsoliton metrics and Einstein solvmanifolds.
Recently, it was shown that Einstein solvmanifolds have maximal symmetry in the sense that their isometry groups contain the isometry groups of any other left-invariant metric on the given Lie group. Such a solvable Lie group is necessarily non-unimodular. In this work we consider unimodular solvable Lie groups and prove that there is always some metric with maximal symmetry. Further, if the group at hand admits a Ricci soliton, then it is the isometry group of the Ricci soliton which is maximal.
The purpose of the present expository paper is to give an account of the recent progress and present status of the classification of solvable Lie groups admitting an Einstein left invariant Riemannian metric, the only known examples so far of noncompact Einstein homogeneous manifolds. The problem turns to be equivalent to the classification of Ricci soliton left invariant metrics on nilpotent Lie groups.
We study Einstein manifolds admitting a transitive solvable Lie group of isometries (solvmanifolds). It is conjectured that these exhaust the class of noncompact homogeneous Einstein manifolds. J. Heber has showed that under certain simple algebraic condition called standard (i.e. the orthogonal complement of the derived algebra is abelian), Einstein solvmanifolds have many remarkable structural and uniqueness properties. In this paper, we prove that any Einstein solvmanifold is standard, by applying a stratification procedure from geometric invariant theory due to F. Kirwan.
A left invariant metric on a nilpotent Lie group is called minimal, if it minimizes the norm of the Ricci tensor among all left invariant metrics with the same scalar curvature. Such metrics are unique up to isometry and scaling and the groups admitting a minimal metric are precisely the nilradicals of (standard) Einstein solvmanifolds. If $N$ is endowed with an invariant symplectic, complex or hypercomplex structure, then minimal compatible metrics are also unique up to isometry and scaling. The aim of this paper is to give more evidence of the existence of minimal metrics, by presenting seve…
This work addresses the questions: (i) Among all left-invariant Riemannian metrics on a given Lie group, is there any whose isometry group or isometry algebra contain that of all others? (ii) Do expanding left-invariant Ricci solitons exhibit such maximal symmetry? Question (i) is addressed both for semisimple and for solvable Lie groups. Building on previous work of the authors on Einstein metrics, a complete answer is given to (ii): expanding homogeneous Ricci solitons have maximal isometry algebras although not always maximal isometry groups. As a consequence of the tools developed to addre…
Given a Riemannian space $N$ of dimension $n$ and a field $D$ of symmetric endomorphisms on $N$, we define the extension $M$ of $N$ by $D$ to be the Riemannian manifold of dimension $n+1$ obtained from $N$ by a construction similar to extending a Lie group by a derivation of its Lie algebra. We find the conditions on $N$ and $D$ which imply that the extension $M$ is Einstein. In particular, we show that in this case, $D$ has constant eigenvalues; moreover, they are all integer (up to scaling) if $\det D \ne 0$. They must satisfy certain arithmetic relations which imply that there are only fini…
All known examples of nontrivial homogeneous Ricci solitons are left-invariant metrics on simply connected solvable Lie groups whose Ricci operator is a multiple of the identity modulo derivations (called solsolitons, and nilsolitons in the nilpotent case). The tools from geometric invariant theory used to study Einstein solvmanifolds, turned out to be useful in the study of solsolitons as well. We prove that, up to isometry, any solsoliton can be obtained via a very simple construction from a nilsoliton together with any abelian Lie algebra of symmetric derivations of its metric Lie algebra. …
We construct explicit proper p-harmonic functions on rank-one Lie groups of Iwasawa type. This class of Lie groups includes many classical Riemannian manifolds such as the rank-one symmetric spaces of non-compact type, Damek-Ricci spaces, rank-one Einstein solvmanifolds and Carnot spaces.
We consider a modified Ricci flow equation whose stationary solutions include Einstein and Ricci soliton metrics, and we study the linear stability of those solutions relative to the flow. After deriving various criteria that imply linear stability, we turn our attention to left-invariant soliton metrics on (non-compact) simply connected solvable Lie groups and prove linear stability of many such metrics. These include an open set of two-step solvsolitons, all two-step nilsolitons, two infinite families of three-step solvable Einstein metrics, all nilsolitons of dimensions six or less, and all…
Uniform Lie algebras are combinatorially defined two-step nilpotent Lie algebras which can be used to define Einstein solvmanifolds. These Einstein spaces often have nontrivial isotropy groups. We derive basic properties of uniform Lie algebras and we classify uniform Lie algebras with five or fewer generators. We define a type of directed colored graph called a uniformly colored graph and establish a correspondence between uniform Lie algebras and uniformly colored graphs. We present several methods of constructing infinite families of uniformly colored graphs and corresponding uniform Lie al…
We obtain some general results on Sasakian Lie algebras and prove as a consequence that a (2n + 1)-dimensional nilpotent Lie group admitting left-invariant Sasakian structures is isomorphic to the real Heisenberg group $H_{2n + 1}$. Furthermore, we classify Sasakian Lie algebras of dimension 5 and determine which of them carry a Sasakian $α$-Einstein structure. We show that a 5-dimensional solvable Lie group with a left-invariant Sasakian structure and which admits a compact quotient by a discrete subgroup is isomorphic to either $H_5$ or a semidirect product $\R \ltimes (H_3 \times \R)$. In p…
