Totally geodesic singular orbits and symmetric singular orbits in cohomogeneity one Riemannian manifolds (Q2378870): Difference between revisions

Let \(x\in M\) be a regular point of a cohomgeneity one Riemannian \(G\)-manifold, i.e., the orbit \(Gx=G/H\) is a principal orbit. Then some \(G\)-invariant neighborhood of \(x\) can be identified with \(((-\epsilon,\epsilon)\times G/H,dt^2+g^t)\), where \(g^t\) is a one-parameter family of invariant metrics on the homogeneous space \(G/H\). The manifold \(M\) may also have one singular orbit \(P=G/K\) or two singular orbits \(P=Gy=G/K\) and \(P'=Gy'=G/K'\). It is assumed that they are simply connected. Then the stabilizers \(K,K'\) are connected. In the first case, a \(G\)-manifold \(M\) can be identified with the homogeneous vector bundle \(M=M(K,H):=G\times_K V_\rho=(G\times V_\rho)/K\), where \(\rho:K\rightarrow GL(V_\rho)\) is a sphere transitive representation of \(K\), that is a representation such that the orbit \(\rho(K)v=K/H\) of a nonzero vector \(v\in V_\rho\) is a round sphere (with respect to a \(\rho(K)\)-invariant Euclidean metric). In the present paper the authors give a necessary and sufficient condition that a singular orbit \(P\) of a cohomogeneity one Riemannian \((M,g)\) is totally geodesic, which is formulated in terms of the metric \(g\). It is assumed (without loss of generality) that \((M=G\times_K V_\rho,g)\), where \(g\) is a \(G\)-invariant metric on \(M\) and the singular orbit \(P=G_o=G/K\), where \(o=[e,0]\). Let \(\gamma(t)\) be a geodesic of \(M\) through the point \(o=\gamma(0)\), which is normal to the orbit \(P\). The authors prove the following theorem: Let \((M=G\times _K V_\rho,g)\) be a cohomogeneity one Riemannian manifold. Then the singular orbit \(P=G_o=G/K\) is a totally geodesic submanifold if and only if for any Killing vector field \(X\in \mathfrak{g}=Lie(G)\) the square length function \(f_X(t)=g_{\gamma(t)}(X,X)\) has \(t=0\) as a critical point, i.e., \(\frac{d}{dt}f_X(0)=0\). Using this theorem the authors classify all cohomogeneity one manifolds of a simple Lie group \(G\) (with one or two singular orbits) such that at least one singular orbit \(P=G/K\) is a simply connected symmetric space. Using some specialization of this criteria, the authors study the case where \(P\) is totally geodesic submanifold with respect to any invariant metric on \(M\). They note that such a manifold cannot have an invariant metric of positive or negative sectional curvature if the symmetric space \(P\) has rank greater than one.