Dispersionless integrable hierarchies and GL(2,R) geometry

Abstract

Paraconformal or $GL(2)$ geometry on an $n$-dimensional manifold $M$ is defined by a field of rational normal curves of degree $n-1$ in the projectivised cotangent bundle $\mathbb{P} T^*M$. Such geometry is known to arise on solution spaces of ODEs with vanishing W\"unschmann (Doubrov-Wilczynski) invariants. In this paper we discuss yet another natural source of $GL(2)$ structures, namely dispersionless integrable hierarchies of PDEs (for instance the dKP hierarchy). In the latter context, $GL(2)$ structures coincide with the characteristic variety (principal symbol) of the hierarchy. Dispersionless hierarchies provide explicit examples of various particularly interesting classes of $GL(2)$ structures studied in the literature. Thus, we obtain torsion-free $GL(2)$ structures of Bryant that appeared in the context of exotic holonomy in dimension four, as well as totally geodesic $GL(2)$ structures of Krynski. The latter, also known as involutive $GL(2)$ structures, possess a compatible affine connection (with torsion) and a two-parameter family of totally geodesic $\alpha$-manifolds (coming from the dispersionless Lax equations), which makes them a natural generalisation of the Einstein-Weyl geometry. Our main result states that involutive $GL(2)$ structures are governed by a dispersionless integrable system. This establishes integrability of the system of W\"unschmann conditions.