A classification of Riemannian manifolds with structure group Spin (7) (Q1081843)

In this paper the author studies the class W of 8-dimensional Riemannian manifolds M for which the structure group of the orthonormal frame bundle can be reduced to the Lie group Spin(7). Such M can be described as having a 3-fold vector cross product P, with an associated fundamental 4- form \(\phi\) and a natural representation of Spin(7) on each tangent space \(M_ m\). The author shows that \[ (\nabla \phi)_ m\in W_ m=\{\alpha \in W^{*}_{m}\otimes \Lambda^ 4(M^{*}_{m})| \quad \alpha (w,x\wedge y\wedge z\wedge P(x\wedge y\wedge z))=0,\quad x,y,z,w\in M_ m\}\text{ for all } m\in M. \] The search for a classification of these manifolds is accomplished, in a systematic way, by using a method similar to that of \textit{A. Gray} and \textit{L. M. Harvella} [Ann.Mat. Pura Appl., IV. Ser. 123, 35-58 (1980; Zbl 0444.53032)] for the class of almost Hermitian manifolds and the author and \textit{A. Gray} [ibid. 132, 19-45 (1982; Zbl 0524.53023)] for the class of Riemannian manifolds with structure group \(G_ 2\). It is shown that the induced representation of Spin(7) on \(M_ m\) has only two irreducible components and, hence, there are four subclasses of W. Moreover, in contrast to what happens in the cases of almost Hermitian manifolds and of Riemannian manifolds with structure group \(G_ 2\), the following conditions are shown to be equivalent: (i) \(\nabla P=0\); (ii) \(\nabla_ x(P)(X,Y,Z)=0\) for all vector fields X,Y,Z on M; (iii) \(d\phi =0\); (iv) \(\delta \phi =0\). Thus, Spin(7)-calibrated manifolds are those whose holonomy group is a subgroup of Spin(7).