Existence of non-isotropic conjugate points on rank one normal homogeneous spaces (Q2454016): Difference between revisions

Let \(\{ \gamma _{\tau} \} _{\tau \in (a,b)}\) be a smooth one-parameter family of geodesics on a Riemannian manifold \((M,g)\), parameterized by an open segment \((a,b) \subseteq {\mathbb R}\), containing \(0 \in {\mathbb R}\). Then \(J(t) := \frac{\partial \gamma _{\tau}}{\partial \tau} \Big | _{\tau =0}\) is the Jacobi vector field of the geodesic variation \(\{ \gamma _{\tau} \} _{\tau \in (a,b)}\) of \(\gamma _0\). We say that \(X\) is a Killing vector field on a Riemannian manifold \((M,g)\) if the metric \(g\) has vanishing Lie derivative \(\mathcal{L} _X g =0\) with respect to \(X\). A Jacobi vector field \(J(t)\) is called isotropic if it is the restriction of a Killing vector field along the geodesic \(\gamma _0\). In order to explain the etymology of this term, let us assume that \(M\) admits a transitive action of the isometry group \(I(M,g)\) with isotropy subgroup \(K\). Then the isotropic Jacobian fields on \(M = I(M,g) / K\), vanishing at the origin are exactly the restrictions of the infinitesimal \(K\)-motions. Two points \(p,q\) from a geodesic \(\gamma _0\) are conjugate along \(\gamma _0\) if there is a non-identically vanishing Jacobi field of a geodesic variation of \(\gamma _0\), vanishing at \(p\) and \(q\). The points \(p,q \in \gamma _0\) are isotropically conjugate if there is a non-identically vanishing isotropic Jacobi vector field \(J(t)\) along \(\gamma _0\), vanishing at \(p\) and \(q\). If any Jacobi field, vanishing at \(p,q \in \gamma _0\) is isotropic, then \(p\) and \(q\) are called strictly isotropic conjugate. It is well known that any pair of conjugate points on a Riemannian symmetric space is strictly isotropic. Let \(M = G / K\) be a connected homogeneous space with a \(G\)-invariant metric \(g\). Then \(g\) induces an inner product \(\langle \text{ }, \text{ } \rangle\) on the tangent space \(T_oM\) to \(M\) at the origin \(o\). If \(\langle \text{ }, \text{ } \rangle\) extends to an \(\operatorname{Ad}(G)\)-invariant inner product on the Lie algebra \(\operatorname{Lie} G\) such that \(T_oM = (\operatorname{Lie} K) ^{\perp}\) is the orthogonal complement of \(\operatorname{Lie} K\) to \(\operatorname{Lie} G = \operatorname{Lie }K \oplus (\operatorname{Lie} K) ^{\perp}\) with respect to \(\langle \text{ }, \text{ } \rangle\), then \((M = G/K, g)\) is said to be a normal homogeneous space. All normal homogeneous spaces have non-negative sectional curvature. The rank of a normal homogeneous space \((M = G/K, g)\) is the maximal dimension of a flat, totally geodesic submanifold. A normal homogeneous space has strictly positive sectional curvature if and only if it is of rank \(1\). Let \(H = \mathrm{Sp}(2) \times S^2 / Z( \mathrm{Sp}(2) \times S^1)\) be the quotient of \(\mathrm{Sp}(2) \times S^1\) by its center \(Z( \mathrm{Sp} (2) \times S^1) = \{ \pm \text{Id} \}\). In 1967 Chavel showed that the non-symmetric, simply connected normal homogeneous Berger spaces \(B^7 := \mathrm{Sp}(2) / \mathrm{SU}(2)\) and \(B^{13} := \mathrm{SU}(5) /H\) of rank \(1\) admit conjugate points, which are not isotropically conjugate. He conjectures that if arbitrary conjugate points on a simply connected normal homogeneous space \((M = G/K, g)\) of rank \(1\) are isotropically conjugate then \((M = G/K, g)\) is isometric to a Riemannian symmetric space of rank \(1\). The article under review proves Chavel's conjecture by showing that any geodesic on a non-symmetric simply connected normal homogeneous space \((M = G/K, g)\) of rank \(1\) contains conjugate points, which are not isotropically conjugate. An arbitrary closed subgroup \(H\) of \(G\), containing \(K\), determines a homogeneous fibration \(F = H/K \rightarrow M = G/K \rightarrow \widetilde{M} = G/H\) with fibre \(F\) and structure group \(H\). The article classifies the homogeneous Riemannian fibrations on the non-symmetric normal homogeneous spaces of rank \(1\), different from \(B^7\) in three series and two exceptional cases. The first series consists of the fibrations of the spheres \(S^{2m+1} =\mathrm{SU}(m+1) /\mathrm{SU}(m)\), endowed with Riemannian metrics of constant sectional curvature \(\kappa >0\) by circles \(S^1\) over complex projective spaces \({\mathbb C}{\mathbb P} ^m\) of constant holomorphic sectional curvature \(4\kappa\). The second series comprises the \(S^2\)-fibrations of \({\mathbb C}{\mathbb P} ^{2m+1} = \mathrm{Sp} (m+1) / \mathrm{Sp}(m) \times \mathrm{U}(1)\) with constant holomorphic sectional curvature \(4 \kappa >0\) over the quaternionic projective spaces \({\mathbb H}{\mathbb P} ^m\) with constant quaternionic sectional curvature \(4 \kappa\). The third series is formed by the \(S^3\)-fibrations of \(S^{4m+3} = \mathrm{Sp}(m+1) / \mathrm{Sp}(m)\) with constant sectional curvature \(\kappa >0\) over \({\mathbb H}{\mathbb P}^m\) with constant quaternionic sectional curvature \(4 \kappa\). The first exception is Walking's example \(W^7 := \mathrm{SO}(3) \times \mathrm{SU}(3) / \mathrm{U}^{\bullet} (2)\), where \( \mathrm{U}^{\bullet}(2)\) is the image of \( \mathrm{U}(2)\) under the injective product \((\pi, i) : \mathrm{U}(2) \hookrightarrow \mathrm{SO}(3) \times \mathrm{SU}(3)\) of the projection \(\pi : \mathrm{U}(2) \twoheadrightarrow \mathrm{U}(2) / S^1 \simeq \mathrm{SO}(3)\), modulo the centre \(S^1\) of \( \mathrm{U}(2)\) and the natural inclusion \(i :\mathrm{U}(2) \hookrightarrow \mathrm{SU}(3)\). The space \(W^7\) fibers by \(3\)-dimensional real projective spaces \({\mathbb R}{\mathbb P} ^3\) over the complex projective plane \({\mathbb C}{\mathbb P}^2\). The second exceptional case is the fibration of Berger's space \(B^{13} := \mathrm{SU}(5) /H\) by \(5\)-dimensional real projective spaces \({\mathbb R}{\mathbb P} ^5\) over \({\mathbb C}{\mathbb P}^4\). The authors show that for any of these homogeneous Riemannian fibrations, the linear isotropy action on the unit horizontal tangent sphere at the origin is transitive. The sectional curvatures \(\tau = K(u_1,u_0)\) for sections \(u_1\), \(u_0\) of the horizontal, respectively the vertical distribution are proved to be independent of the choice of \(u_1\) and \(u_0\). Let \(\gamma _u (t)\) be the geodesic, starting at the origin \(\gamma _u(0) =o\) with unit horizontal speed \(\gamma '_u (0) = u\) and \(t\) be a solution of the equation \(\tan \frac{t}{2} = \frac{\tau - \kappa}{2 \tau} t\). The main result of the article states that the points \(\gamma _u \left( \frac{t}{2 \sqrt{\kappa}} \right)\) are non-isotropic conjugate to the origin, while \(\gamma _u \left( \frac{2 p \pi}{2 \sqrt{\kappa}} \right)\) with \(p \in {\mathbb Z}\) are isotropic conjugate to the origin. A geodesic \(\gamma\) on a homogeneous space \(M = G/K\) is transversal (or, more precisely, \(K\)-transversal) if all of its tangents \(\frac{d \gamma (t)}{dt}\) are orthogonal to the \(K\)-orbits \(\text{Orb} _K ( \gamma (t))\) of the corresponding points \(\gamma (t)\). Bott and Samelson say that the \(K\)-action on \(M = G/K\) is variationally complete if any Jacobi vector field \(J(t)\) of a transversal geodesic variation \(\{ \gamma _{\tau} \} _{\tau \in (a,b)}\) of \(\gamma _0\), which is tangent to some \(K\)-orbits \(\text{Orb} _K ( \gamma _0 (t_1))\) and \(\text{Orb} _K ( \gamma _0 ( t_2))\) with \(t_1 \neq t_2\) is the restriction of an infinitesimal \(K\)-motion. In 2009, González-Dávila proved that if the \(K\)-action on a simply connected normal homogeneous space \((M = G/K, g)\) of rank \(1\) is variationally complete then for any Jacobi vector field \(J\) along a geodesic \(\gamma _0\), there exists \(X \in \operatorname{Lie} G\) with \(J = X^* \circ \gamma\). The combination of this result with the proof of Chavel's conjecture implies that if the \(K\)-action on a simply connected normal homogeneous space \((M = G/K, g)\) of rank \(1\) is variationally complete then \(G/K\) is a compact symmetric space of rank \(1\).