Self-dual metrics on the ball (Q1608582)

This paper is devoted to the construction of the self-dual Riemannian metric. A conformal metric on a 4-ball induces on the boundary 3-sphere a conformal metric and a trace-free second fundamental form. Conversely, such data on the 3-sphere is the boundary of a unique self-dual conformal metric, defined in a neighborhood of the sphere. The author characterizes the conformal metrics and trace-free second fundamental forms on the 3-sphere (close to the standard round metric) which are boundaries of self-dual conformal metrics on the whole 4-ball. When the data on the boundary is reduced to a conformal metric (the trace-free part of the second fundamental form vanishes), one may hope to find in the conformal class of the filling metric an Einstein metric, with a pole of order 2 on the boundary. The author determines which conformal metrics on the 3-sphere are boundaries of such self-dual Einstein metrics on the 4-ball. In particular, this implies the positive frequency conjecture of LeBrun. The proof uses twistor theory, which enables to translate the problem in terms of complex analysis; this leads to prove a criterion for certain integrable CR structures of signature \((1,1)\) to be fillable by a complex domain. Finally, the author solves an analogous, higher dimensional problem: self-dual Einstein metrics are replaced by quaternionic-Kähler metrics, and conformal structures on the boundary by quaternionic contact structures (previously introduced by the author); in contrast with the 4-dimensional case, in this case any small deformation of the standard quaternionic contact structure on the \((4m-1)\)-sphere is the boundary of a quaternionic-Kähler metric on the \(4m\)-ball.