Quaternionic reduction and Einstein manifolds (Q1905459)

A quaternionic Kähler manifold \((M,g)\) is a Riemannian manifold of dimension \(4n\), \(n>1\), whose holonomy group is a subgroup of \(\text{Sp}(n) \cdot\text{Sp} (1)\). It is always an Einstein manifold. Many of the developments concerning quaternionic Kähler manifolds were due to the introduction of various associated fibrations relating such manifolds to different structures: \textit{S. Salamon} [Invent. Math. 67, 143-171 (1982; Zbl 0486.53048)] constructed a fibration \(Z(M)\to M\), where the total space, \(Z(M)\), is a complex manifold which is called the twistor space of \(M\). \textit{S. Ishihara} [Kodai Math. Sem. Reports 25, 321-329 (1973; Zbl 0267.53023)] defined a fibration \({\mathfrak S}(M)\to M\), where \({\mathfrak S} (M)\) is a 3-Sasakian manifold. Next \textit{A. Swann} [Math. Ann. 289, No. 3, 421-450 (1991; Zbl 0711.53051)] introduced a fibration \({\mathfrak U}(M)\to M\) where the total space \({\mathfrak U}(M)\) is a (pseudo)-hyperKähler manifold. \({\mathfrak U}(M)\) fibers over both \(M\) and \(Z(M)\) and there is an imbedding \(i\): \({\mathfrak S} (M)\to{\mathfrak U}(M)\). A. Swann notices that \({\mathfrak U} (M)\) admits a certain isometric \(G=\text{Sp}(1)\) or \(G=\text{SO}(3)\) action rotating the hyperKähler structure and describes sufficient conditions for a hyperKähler manifold to be the space \({\mathfrak U}(M')\) of a quaternionic Kähler manifold \((M',g)\). In this paper, the authors investigate another fibration over a quaternionic Kähler base and its relations to both Swann's and Salamon's constructions. They begin with a hyperKähler manifold \(M\) together with an isometric \(G=\text{Sp}(1)\) or \(\text{SO}(3)\) action which permutes the hyperKähler structure. For any such action they define functions \(\nu:M\to R\), \(\varphi:M\to S^4H\) where \(H\) is the standard complex representation of Sp(1). The level sets of \(\nu\) are \(G\)-invariant hypersurfaces in \(M\). If one assumes that \(G\) acts freely, one can introduce the quotient \(M'=\nu^{-1}(c)/G\). The vanishing of \(\Phi\) is both necessary and sufficient for \(M'\) to be a quaternionic Kähler manifold: in this case \(M={\mathfrak U}(M')\) and the situation is exactly the one described by A. Swann. If \(\Phi\) does not vanish or the action of \(G\) is locally free but not free, the authors get generalizations of results of A. Swann and, in particular, deduce a construction of new non-homogeneous Einstein metrics in dimension \(4k+3\), \(k>1\).