arXiv subjects
Publications and source records attributed to Maciej Dunajski.
We construct a new class of solutions to the dispersionless hyper--CR equation, and show how any solution to this equation gives rise to a supersymmetric Einstein--Maxwell cosmological space--time in $(3+1)$--dimensions.
Given a projective structure on a surface $N$, we show how to canonically construct a neutral signature Einstein metric with non-zero scalar curvature as well as a symplectic form on the total space $M$ of a certain rank $2$ affine bundle $M \to N$. The Einstein metric has anti-self-dual conformal curvature and admits a parallel field of anti-self-dual planes. We show that locally every such metric arises from our construction unless it is conformally flat. The homogeneous Einstein metric corresponding to the flat projective structure on $\mathbb{RP}^2$ is the non-compact real form of the Fubini-Study metric on $M=\mathrm{SL}(3, \mathrm{R})/\mathrm{GL}(2, \mathrm{R})$. We also show how our construction relates to a certain gauge-theoretic equation introduced by Calderbank.
We review aspects of twistor theory, its aims and achievements spanning thelast five decades. In the twistor approach, space--time is secondary with events being derived objects that correspond to compact holomorphic curves in a complex three--fold -- the twistor space. After giving an elementary construction of this space we demonstrate how solutions to linear and nonlinear equations of mathematical physics: anti-self-duality (ASD) equations on Yang--Mills, or conformal curvature can be encoded into twistor cohomology. These twistor correspondences yield explicit examples of Yang--Mills, and gravitational instantons which we review. They also underlie the twistor approach to integrability: the solitonic systems arise as symmetry reductions of ASD Yang--Mills equations, and Einstein--Weyl dispersionless systems are reductions of ASD conformal equations. We then review the holomorphic string theories in twistor and ambitwistor spaces, and explain how these theories give rise to remarkable new formulae for the computation of quantum scattering amplitudes. Finally we discuss the Newtonian limit of twistor theory, and its possible role in Penrose's proposal for a role of gravity in quantum collapse of a wave function.
We demonstrate that the five vortex equations recently introduced by Manton ariseas symmetry reductions of the anti-self-dual Yang--Mills equations in four dimensions. In particular the Jackiw--Pi vortex and the Ambjørn--Olesen vortex correspond to the gauge group $SU(1, 1)$, and respectively the Euclidean or the $SU(2)$ symmetry groups acting with two-dimensional orbits. We show how to obtain vortices with higher vortex numbers, by superposing vortex equations of different types. Finally we use the kinetic energy of the Yang--Mills theory in 4+1 dimensions to construct a metric on vortex moduli spaces. This metric is not positive-definite in cases of non-compact gauge groups.
We show that a class of solutions of minimal supergravity in five dimensions is given by lifts of three--dimensional Einstein--Weyl structures of hyper-CR type. We characterise this class as most general near--horizon limits of supersymmetric solutions to the five--dimensional theory. In particular, we deduce that a compact spatial section of a horizon can only be a Berger sphere, a product metric on $S^1\times S^2$ or a flat three-torus. We then consider the problem of reconstructing all supersymmetric solutions from a given near--horizon geometry. By exploiting the ellipticity of the linearised field equations we demonstrate that the moduli space of transverse infinitesimal deformations of a near--horizon geometry is finite--dimensional.
Most known four-dimensional cohomogeneity-one Einstein metrics are diagonal in the basis defined by the left-invariant one-forms, though some essentially non-diagonal ones are known. We consider the problem of explicitly seeking non-diagonal Einstein metrics, and we find solutions which in some cases exhaust the possibilities. In particular we construct new examples of neutral signature non--diagonal Bianchi type VIII Einstein metrics with self--dual Weyl tensor.
We find necessary and sufficient conditions for a local geodesic flow of an affine connection on a surface to admit a linear first integral. The conditions are expressed in terms of two scalar invariants of differential orders 3 and 4 in the connection. We use this result to find explicit obstructions to the existence of a Hamiltonian formulation of Dubrovin--Novikov type for a given one--dimensional system of hydrodynamic type. We give several examples including Zoll connections, and Hamiltonian systems arising from two--dimensional Frobenius manifolds.
We provide a geometric characterisation of binary sextics with vanishing quadratic invariant.
The equations governing anti-self-dual and Einstein-Weyl conformal geometries can be regarded as `master dispersionless systems' in four and three dimensions respectively. Their integrability by twistor methods has been established by Penrose and Hitchin. In this note we present, in specially adapted coordinate systems, explicit forms of the corresponding equations and their Lax pairs. In particular, we demonstrate that any Lorentzian Einstein-Weyl structure is locally given by a solution to the Manakov-Santini system, and we find a system of two coupled third-order scalar PDEs for a general anti-self-dual conformal structure in neutral signature.
We develop a non-relativistic twistor theory, in which Newton--Cartan structures of Newtonian gravity correspond to complex three-manifolds with a four-parameter family of rational curves with normal bundle ${\mathcal O}\oplus{\mathcal O}(2)$. We show that the Newton--Cartan space-times are unstable under the general Kodaira deformation of the twistor complex structure. The Newton--Cartan connections can nevertheless be reconstructed from Merkulov's generalisation of the Kodaira map augmented by a choice of a holomorphic line bundle over the twistor space trivial on twistor lines. The Coriolis force may be incorporated by holomorphic vector bundles, which in general are non--trivial on twistor lines. The resulting geometries agree with non--relativistic limits of anti-self-dual gravitational instantons.
We obtain a constraint on cosmological scalars for the FRW metric with a pure radiation fluid source and positive cosmological constant. We demonstrate that this constraint is conformally invariant in the context of Penrose's Conformal Cyclic Cosmology proposal, where the metrics of the late stages of the previous aeon and the early stages of the present aeon are described by FRW cosmologies.
Given a projective structure on a three-dimensional manifold, we find explicit obstructions to the local existence of a Levi-Civita connection in the projective class. These obstructions are given by projectively invariant tensors algebraically constructed from the projective Weyl curvature. We show, by examples, that their vanishing is necessary but not sufficient for local metrisability.
We demonstrate how the complex integral formula for the Airy functions arises from Penrose's twistor contour integral formula. We then use the Lax formulation of the isomonodromy problem with one irregular singularity of order four to show that the Airy equation arises from the anti-self-duality equations for conformal structures of neutral signature invariant under the isometric action of the Bianchi II group. This conformal structure admits a null-Kähler metric in its conformal class which we construct explicitly.
We exploit the correspondence between the three-dimensional Lorentzian Einstein-Weyl geometries of the hyper-CR type, and the Veronese webs to show that the former structures are locally given in terms of solutions to the dispersionless Hirota equation. We also demonstrate how to construct hyper-CR Einstein--Weyl structures by Kodaira deformations of the flat twistor space $T\CP^1$, and how to recover the pencil of Poisson structures in five dimensions illustrating the method by an example of the Veronese web on the Heisenberg group.
This paper summarises oral contributions to the parallel session {\it Complex and conformal methods in classical and quantum gravity} which took place during the 20th International Conference on General Relativity and Gravitation held in Warsaw in July 2013.
We find necessary and sufficient conditions for a Riemannian four-dimensional manifold $(M, g)$ with anti-self-dual Weyl tensor to be locally conformal to a Ricci--flat manifold. These conditions are expressed as the vanishing of scalar and tensor conformal invariants. The invariants obstruct the existence of parallel sections of a certain connection on a complex rank-four vector bundle over $M$. They provide a natural generalisation of the Bach tensor which vanishes identically for anti-self-dual conformal structures. We use the obstructions to demonstrate that LeBrun's anti-self-dual metrics on connected sums of $\CP^2$s are not conformally Ricci-flat on any open set. We analyze both Riemannian and neutral signature metrics. In the latter case we find all anti-self-dual metrics with a parallel real spinor which are locally conformal to Einstein metrics with non-zero cosmological constant. These metrics admit a hyper-surface orthogonal null Killing vector and thus give rise to projective structures on the space of $β$-surfaces.
We characterize Lorentzian three-dimensional hyper-CR Einstein-Weyl structures in terms of invariants of the associated third order ordinary differential equations.
We show how to lift solutions of Euclidean Einstein-Maxwell equations with non-zero cosmological constant to solutions of eleven-dimensional supergravity theory with non-zero fluxes. This yields a class of 11D metrics given in terms of solutions to $SU(\infty)$ Toda equation. We give one example of a regular solution and analyse its supersymmetry. We also analyse the integrability conditions of the Killing spinor equations of N=2 minimal gauged supergravity in four Euclidean dimensions. We obtain necessary conditions for the existence of additional Killing spinors, corresponding to enhancement of supersymmetry. If the Weyl tensor is anti-self-dual then the supersymmetric metrics satisfying these conditions are given by separable solutions to the $SU(\infty)$ Toda equation. Otherwise they are ambi-Kähler and are conformally equivalent to Kähler metrics of Calabi type or to product metrics on two Riemann surfaces.