Laplacian coflow on the 7-dimensional Heisenberg group (Q2004310)

A \(7\)-dimensional manifold \(M\) is said to carry a \(G_2\)-structure if \(M\) admits a globally defined 3-form \(\varphi\), which is called \(G_2\)-form, that can be described locally as \(\varphi = e^{127} + e^{347}+ e^{567} + e^{135} - e^{146} - e^{236} - e^{245}\), with respect to some local basis \(\{e^1, \ldots , e^7\}\) of the 1-forms on \(M\). Such a 3-form \(\varphi\) determines a Riemannian metric \(g_{\varphi}\) and an orientation on \(M\). If \(d\varphi =0\), then the \(G_2\)-structure is called closed or calibrated in the sense of Harvey and Lawson and if \(\varphi\) is coclosed, that is if \(\psi\,=\,\star_{\varphi} \varphi\) is closed, then the \(G_2\)-structure is called coclosed. The Laplacian flow for closed \(G_2\)-structures on a 7-manifold \(M\) has been introduced by Bryant, and it is given by \(\frac{\partial} {\partial t} \varphi(t) = \Delta_{t}\,\varphi(t)\), \(d\,\varphi(t) =0\), \(\varphi(0) = \varphi\), where \(\varphi(t)\) is a closed \(G_2\) form on \(M\), \(\Delta_{t} = d\,d^* + d^* d\) is the Hodge Laplacian operator associated with the metric \(g_{\varphi (t)}\) induced by the \(3\)-form \(\varphi(t)\), and \(\varphi\) is the initial closed \(G_2\)-structure. Other related flows of \(G_2\)-structures are also studied, such as the Laplacian coflow, for coclosed \(G_2\)-structures. This coflow has been originally proposed by Karigiannis, McKay and Tsui and for an initial closed form \(\psi\,=\,\star_{\varphi} \varphi\), it is given by \(\frac{\partial} {\partial t} \psi(t) = - \Delta_{t} \psi(t)\), \(d\psi(t)\,=\,0\), \(\psi(0) = \psi\), where \(\psi(t)\,=\, \star_t \varphi(t)\). A modified Laplacian coflow was introduced by Grigorian: \(\frac{\partial }{\partial t} \psi(t) = \Delta_{t} \psi(t) + 2d \Big(\big(A- \mathrm{Tr}_t(\tau(t))\big)\varphi(t)\Big)\), \(d\psi(t)\,=\,0\), \(\psi(0) = \psi\), where \(\mathrm{Tr}_t(\tau(t))\) is the trace of the full torsion tensor \(\tau(t)\) of the \(G_2\)-structure defined by \(\varphi(t)\), and \(A\) is a fixed positive constant. In this paper the authors study the Laplacian coflow and the modified Laplacian coflow of left-invariant \(G_2\)-structures on the \(7\)-dimensional Heisenberg group. For the Laplacian coflow the authors show that the solution is always ancient, that is it is defined in some interval \((-\infty,T)\), with \(0<T<+\infty\). However, for the modified Laplacian coflow, the authors prove that in some cases the solution is defined only on a finite interval while in other cases the solution is ancient or eternal, that is it is defined on \((-\infty, \infty)\).