arXiv research

This paper studies the relation between two notions of holonomy on a conformal manifold. The first is the conformal holonomy, defined to be the holonomy of the normal tractor connection. The second is the holonomy of the Fefferman-Graham ambient metric of the conformal manifold. It is shown that the infinitesimal confo…

Researchers study the conformal geometry of bivariate Gaussian manifolds.

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…

We consider the question: can the isotropy representation of an irreducible pseudo-Riemannian symmetric space be realized as a conformal holonomy group? Using recent results of Cap, Gover and Hammerl, we study the representations of SO(2,1), PSU(2,1) and PSp(2,1) as isotropy groups of irreducible symmetric spaces of si…

This paper aims to classify the holonomy of the conformal Tractor connection, and relate these holonomies to the geometry of the underlying manifold. The conformally Einstein case is dealt with through the construction of metric cones, whose Riemmanian holonomy is the same as the Tractor holonomy of the underlying mani…

If the conformal holonomy group $Hol(\mathcal{T})$ of a simply connected space with conformal structure of signature $(2p-1,2q-1)$ is reduced to $\U(p,q)$ then the conformal holonomy is already contained in the special unitary group $\SU(p,q)$. We present two different proofs of this statement, one using conformal trac…

We discuss in this paper the conformal geometry of bi-invariant metrics on compact semisimple Lie groups. For this purpose we develop a conformal Cartan calculus adapted to this problem. In particular, we derive an explicit formula for the holonomy algebra of the normal conformal Cartan connection of a bi-invariant met…

A locally conformally Kähler (lcK) manifold is a complex manifold $(M,J)$ together with a Hermitian metric $g$ which is conformal to a Kähler metric in the neighbourhood of each point. In this paper we obtain three classification results in locally conformally Kähler geometry. The first one is the classification of con…

For a conformal manifold, we describe a new relation between the ambient obstruction tensor of Fefferman and Graham and the holonomy of the normal conformal Cartan connection. This relation allows us to prove several results on the vanishing and the rank of the obstruction tensor, for example for conformal structures a…

Given a generic 2-plane field on a 5-dimensional manifold we consider its (3,2)-signature conformal metric [g] as defined in math.DG/0406400. Every conformal class [g] obtained in this way has very special conformal holonomy: it must be contained in the split-real-form of the exceptional group G_2. In this note we show…

Study describes conformal product structures on compact Kähler manifolds.

For $(M,[g])$ a conformal manifold of signature $(p,q)$ and dimension at least three, the conformal holonomy group $\mathrm{Hol}(M,[g]) \subset O(p+1,q+1)$ is an invariant induced by the canonical Cartan geometry of $(M,[g])$. We give a description of all possible connected conformal holonomy groups which act transitiv…

We introduce in this paper normal twistor equations for differential forms and study their solutions, the so-called normal conformal Killing forms. The twistor equations arise naturally from the canonical normal Cartan connection of conformal geometry. Reductions of its holonomy are related to solutions of the normal t…

Classifies specific types of Lorentzian manifolds with unipotent holonomy.

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.

Classifies Weyl structures on compact conformal manifolds with special holonomy.

Study BGG operators on homogeneous conformal geometries.

We present three large classes of examples of conformal structures for which the equations for the Fefferman-Graham ambient metric to be Ricci-flat are linear PDEs, which we solve explicitly. These explicit solutions enable us to discuss the holonomy of the corresponding ambient metrics. Our examples include conformal …

For a conformal manifold we introduce the notion of an ambient connection, an affine connection on an ambient manifold of the conformal manifold, possibly with torsion, and with conditions relating it to the conformal structure. The purpose of this construction is to realise the normal conformal tractor holonomy as aff…

We prove that Fefferman spaces, associated to non--degenerate CR structures of hypersurface type, are characterised, up to local conformal isometry, by the existence of a parallel orthogonal complex structure on the standard tractor bundle. This condition can be equivalently expressed in terms of conformal holonomy. Ex…

A locally metric connection on a smooth manifold $M$ is a torsion-free connection $D$ on $TM$ with compact restricted holonomy group $\mathrm{Hol}_0(D)$. If the holonomy representation of such a connection is irreducible, then $D$ preserves a conformal structure on $M$. Under some natural geometric assumption on the li…

Given any two Einstein (pseudo-)metrics, with scalar curvatures suitably related, we give an explicit construction of a Poincaré-Einstein (pseudo-)metric with conformal infinity the conformal class of the product of the initial metrics. We show that these metrics are equivalent to ambient metrics for the given conforma…

The holonomy of the ambient metrics of Nurowski's conformal structures associated to generic real-analytic 2-plane fields on 5-manifolds is investigated. It is shown that the holonomy is always contained in the split real form G_2 of the exceptional Lie group, and is equal to G_2 for an open dense set of 2-plane fields…

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 …

Study of tractor bundles and spacelike immersions in Lorentzian manifolds.

Starting from a 6-dimensional nilpotent Lie group N endowed with an invariant SU(3) structure, we construct a homogeneous conformally parallel G_2-metric on an associated solvmanifold. We classify all half-flat SU(3) structures that endow the rank-one solvable extension of N with a conformally parallel G_2 structure. B…

Proves transitivity of real Anosov diffeomorphisms with specific properties.

New classification of conformal structures with maximal $G_2$ symmetry.

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 man…

Nurowski showed that any generic 2-plane field $D$ on a 5-manifold $M$ determines a natural conformal structure $c_D$ on $M$; these conformal structures are exactly those (on oriented $M$) whose normal conformal holonomy is contained in the (split, real) simple Lie group $G_2$. Graham and Willse showed that for real-an…

The Wess-Zumino term in two-dimensional conformal field theory is best understood as a surface holonomy of a bundle gerbe. We define additional structure for a bundle gerbe that allows to extend the notion of surface holonomy to unoriented surfaces. This provides a candidate for the Wess-Zumino term for WZW models on u…

Locally conformally product Lie algebras are characterized and constructed.

Motivated by the study of Weyl structures on conformal manifolds admitting parallel weightless forms, we define the notion of conformal product of conformal structures and study its basic properties. We obtain a classification of Weyl manifolds carrying parallel forms, and we use it to investigate the holonomy of the a…

A theorem of Lawson and Simons states that the only stable minimal submanifolds in complex projective spaces are complex submanifolds. We generalize their result to the cases of quaternionic and octonionic projective spaces. Our approach gives a unified viewpoint towards conformal and projective geometries.

This research connects Higgs bundles to projective structures via conformal limits.

Hermitian bundle gerbes with connection are geometric objects for which a notion of surface holonomy can be defined for closed oriented surfaces. We systematically introduce bundle gerbes by closing the pre-stack of trivial bundle gerbes under descent. Inspired by structures arising in a representation theoretic approa…

We classify the possible local holonomy groups of Weyl connections. The Berger-Simons theorem and the Merkulov-Schwachhöfer classification of holonomy groups of irreducible torsion-free connections leaves us with the remaining case, where the Weyl connection $D$ is reducible and non-closed. In this case, it was shown b…

The paper proves rigidity results for manifolds with special holonomy.

Let $S$ be a closed oriented surface of genus $g\geq 2$. Fix an arbitrary non-elementary representation $ρ\colonπ_1(S)\to {\rm SL}_2(\mathbb{C})$ and consider all marked (complex) projective structures on $S$ with holonomy $ρ$. We show that their underlying conformal structures are dense in the moduli space of $S$.

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 …

The realization of tractor bundles as associated bundles in conformal geometry is studied. It is shown that different natural choices of principal bundle with normal Cartan connection corresponding to a given conformal manifold can give rise to topologically distinct associated tractor bundles for the same inducing rep…

We construct explicit left invariant quaternionic contact structures on Lie groups with zero and non-zero torsion, and with non-vanishing quaternionic contact conformal curvature tensor, thus showing the existence of quaternionic contact manifolds not locally quaternionic contact conformal to the quaternionic sphere. W…

We investigate the Fefferman spaces of conformal type which are induced, via parabolic geometry, by the quaternionic contact (qc) manifolds introduced by O.Biquard. Equivalent characterizations of these spaces are proved: as conformal manifolds with symplectic conformal holonomy of the appropriate signature; as pseudo-…

We show that if a compact connected $n$-dimensional manifold $M$ has a conformal class containing two non-homothetic metrics $g$ and $\tilde g=e^{2\varphi}g$ with non-generic holonomy, then after passing to a finite covering, either $n=4$ and $(M,g,\tilde g)$ is an ambikähler manifold, or $n\ge 6$ is even and $(M,g,\ti…

Labourie and the author independently showed that a convex real projective structure on an oriented surface of genus at least 2 is equivalent to a conformal structure plus a holomorphic cubic differential U. We analyze the behavior of the real-projective structure as the conformal structure is fixed and the cubic diffe…

Generic distributions on 5- and 6-manifolds give rise to conformal structures that were discovered by P. Nurowski resp. R. Bryant. We describe both as Fefferman-type constructions and show that for orientable distributions one obtains conformal spin structures. The resulting conformal spin geometries are then character…

We consider immersions of a Riemann surface into a manifold with $G_2$-holonomy and give criteria for them to be conformal and harmonic, in terms of an associated Gauss map.

The paper proves a mapping from a space of holonomy varieties to Teichmüller spaces, with a non-empty discrete intersection.