An integral formula for \(G_2\)-structures (Q2127684)

In this paper the author proves a formula relating the integral of the scalar curvature and that of (some objects associated to) the intrinsic torsion of a closed \(G_2\) structure, relying on a general integral formula previously proved for an arbitrary Riemannian \(G\)-structure. Recall that a \(G_2\)-structure on a 7-dimensional Riemannian manifold \((M,g)\) consists of a 3-form on \(M\) locally equivalent to the associative 3-form \(\phi\) of \(\mathbb{R}^7\) (an explicit object originating from the seven-dimensional cross product). Equivalently, it is a reduction of the structure group of the (orthonormal) frame bundle of \(M\) from \(\mathrm{SO}(7)\) to the subgroup \(G_2\) of matrices preserving \(\phi\), i.e., it is a standard \(G\)-structure with \(G = G_2\). To any \(G\)-structure one can associate the so-called intrinsic torsion, which can be defined as the Spencer cohomology class of the torsion of some compatible connection. While the general definition may look abstract, in many significant examples this object becomes a ``concrete'' tensor encoding important properties of the geometric structure to which it is associated. In particular, in the Riemannian case (i.e., \(G \subset \operatorname{O}(n)\)) the intrinsic torsion boils down to a tensor measuring the failure of the Levi-Civita connection to be compatible with the \(G\)-structure. The main result of this paper, presented in Section 4, is the adaptation to the case \(G=G_2\) of an integral formula, which the author proved for every closed Riemannian \(G\)-structure in [\textit{K. Niedziałomski}, Ann. Global Anal. Geom. 56, No. 1, 167--192 (2019; Zbl 1454.53026)]. More precisely, the author shows that \[ \frac{1}{6} \int_M s \ \mathrm{vol}_M = \int_M \left( -\frac{3}{2} i_0(T) + 6 \sigma_2(T) \right) \ \mathrm{vol}_M, \] where \(s\) is the scalar curvature, while the objects on the right-hand side depend only on the intrinsic torsion of the \(G_2\)-structure. Such objects are introduced in Section 3 and rely on some algebraic facts on \(G_2\) and its Lie algebra \(\mathfrak{g}_2\), recalled in Section 2. Compared to the general case for Riemannian \(G\)-structures, the formula for \(G_2\)-structures significantly simplifies both sides, in particular making the scalar curvature appear on the left-hand side. For instance, as an immediate consequence, if the intrinsic torsion vanishes the right-hand side vanishes as well, recovering \(\int_M s \ \mathrm{vol}_M=0\) (which of course follows also from the known fact that the metric is Ricci-flat if the intrinsic torsion vanishes). The integral formula is further illustrated on several classes of examples and compared with other similar results. It should also be noted that the author uses the adjective ``integrable'' for a property (the vanishing of the intrinsic torsion) which is often called 1-integrable or 1-flatness in most of the literature on \(G\)-structures, as opposed to the standard notion of integrability/flatness for \(G\)-structures (i.e., the local equivalence with the trivial \(G\)-structure on \(\mathbb{R}^n\)).