The existence of anti-self-dual conformal structures (Q1205536)

For an oriented 4-dimensional manifold \(M\) the admissible conformal class of a Riemannian metric defines the canonical reference \(\Lambda^ 2 T^* \simeq \Lambda^ 2_ + T^* \otimes \Lambda^ 2_ - T^*\), where \(\Lambda^ 2_{\pm} T^*\) are real, 3-plane bundles with sections called self-dual (+) or anti-self-dual \((-)\) 2-forms. The Riemannian curvature is then a section of the endomorphisms of \(\Lambda^ 2 T^*\), and has the form \[ {\mathcal R} = \begin{pmatrix} {\mathcal W}_ + + {s\over 12} \cdot 1 &B\\ B^ T &{\mathcal W}_ - + {s \over 12} \cdot 1 \end{pmatrix}, \] where \(s\) is the scalar curvature, \(B\) is the traceless Ricci curvature, and the \({\mathcal W}_{\pm}\) are, respectively, the self- dual and anti-self-dual Weyl's conformal curvatures. The purpose of this paper is to discuss the metrics with \({\mathcal W}_ +\). Denoting by \(N\) a sufficiently large number and using the symbol \(\#\) to mean the operation of the connect sum, the following theorem is presented: There exists a 4- dimensional Riemannian manifold which admits a metric with \({\mathcal W}_ + \equiv 0\). It is given by \(M_ N = M_ n \# \mathbb{C} P^ 2\), where \(\mathbb{C} P^ 2\) is the complex projective 2-space with the opposite of its complex orientation. The proof requires the author to exhibit ample facts and preparatory theorems on \({\mathcal W}_ +\) and \({\mathcal W}_ + \equiv 0\); he provides in \(\S 2\) a section-by-section outline of the strategy and the steps that lead to the goal.