Quarter-pinched Einstein metrics interpolating between real and complex hyperbolic metrics (Q667603)

Einstein deformations of rank-one symmetric spaces of non-compact type have been considered by various authors, see, for instance, [\textit{H. Pedersen}, Math. Ann. 274, 35--59 (1986; Zbl 0566.53058)]. In particular, \textit{C. LeBrun} [Duke Math. J. 63, No. 3, 723--743 (1991; Zbl 0764.53045)] has shown that the quaternionic hyperbolic metric on the smooth manifold \(\mathbb{R}^{4n}\) admits deformations by complete quaternionic Kähler metrics. In a previous paper [J. Geom. Phys. 92, 271--287 (2015; Zbl 1326.53061)], the first author and his coworkers described a geometric construction of a class of quaternionic Kähler manifolds of negative scalar curvature. In the paper under review, the authors show that the one-loop quantum deformation of the universal hypermultiplet provides a family of complete 1/4-pinched negatively curved quaternionic Kähler (i.e., half conformally flat Einstein) metrics \(g^c\), \(c\ge 0\), on \(\mathbb{R}^4\). The metric \(g^0\) is the complex hyperbolic metric whereas the family \((g^c)_{c>0}\) is equivalent to a family of metrics \((h^b)_{b>0}\) depending on \(b = 1/c\) and smoothly extending to \(b = 0\) for which \(h^0\) is the real hyperbolic metric. The singular conformal structures at infinity for the above families are determined.