Left-invariant Einstein metrics on \(S^3 \times S^3\) (Q1747950)

This article is concerned with the classification of homogeneous compact Einstein manifolds \((M,g)\) of real dimension six. \textit{Yu. G. Nikonorov} and \textit{E. D. Rodionov} proved in [Differ. Geom. Appl. 19, No. 3, 369--378 (2003; Zbl 1045.53031)] that a simply connected such \(M\) is either a symmetric space or isometric, up to a multiple of \(g\), to the squashed \(\mathbb{CP}^3 = \frac{\mathrm{Sp}(2)}{\mathrm{Sp}(1)\times \mathrm{U}(1)}\), the Wallach space \(\mathrm{SU}(3)/T_{\max}\) (standard or Kähler), or the product \(G=\mathrm{SU}(2) \times \mathrm{SU}(2) = S^3 \times S^3\) with some left-invariant Einstein metric. To complete the goal there remains to classify left-invariant Einstein metrics \(g\) on the above Lie group \(G\), up to isometry. Call \(K=\mathrm{Isom}(G,g) \cap \mathrm{Inn}(G)\) the subgroup of isometric inner automorphisms. Nikonorov and Rodionov [loc. cit.] settled the case when \(K\) contains a circle (\(\dim K \geq 1\)), for then \(g\) is homothetic to either the standard metric or the nearly Kähler metric. Notably, these two are the only Einstein metrics known on \(G\) up to isometry and scale, and deformations as well [\textit{A. Moroianu} and \textit{U. Semmelmann}, Trans. Am. Math. Soc. 363, No. 6, 3057--3069 (2011; Zbl 1216.58006); \textit{K. Kröncke}, Differ. Geom. Appl. 38, 41--57 (2015; Zbl 1308.53065)]. The paper under review studies the case \(\dim K = 0\) (\(K\) finite), by proving that if \(g\) is a left-invariant Einstein metric on \(G\) that is invariant under a non-trivial finite subgroup \(\Gamma \subset \mathrm{Ad}(G)\) with \(\Gamma\not\cong \mathbb{Z}_2\), then \((G,g)\) is homothetic to \((G,g_{\text{can}})\) or \((G,g_{NK})\). When \(K\cong \mathbb{Z}_2\) the authors obtain promising results by a variational approach. In general the scalar curvature of \(g\) can be expressed as a rational function in the parameters determining \(g\). Critical points with normalised volume (Einstein metrics) are given by the zero locus of a system of polynomials in the parameters. If now \(g\) is left-invariant on \(G\) and also \(\mathbb{Z}_2\)-invariant, one gets \(12\) polynomial equations of degree \(6\) in \(12\) unknowns. The authors analyse the space of solutions and show that there are continuous families of real solutions.