Gauss-Bonnet theorems in the BCV spaces and the twisted Heisenberg group (Q2200283)

The classical Gauss-Bonnet theorem establishes an important relationship between the geometry of a Riemannian manifold and its topology. Versions of this famous theorem have been proven in [\textit{M. M. Diniz} and \textit{J. M. M. Veloso}, J. Dyn. Control Syst. 22, No. 4, 807--820 (2016; Zbl 1362.53040); \textit{Z. M. Balogh} et al., Math. Z. 287, No. 1--2, 1--38 (2017; Zbl 1375.53042)] in the setting of smooth surfaces in the sub-Riemannian Heisenberg group. Z. M. Balogh et al. [loc. cit.] established notions of curvature in the Heisenberg group via Rimannian approximation of the sub-Riemannian geometry, and they enquired about other sub-Riemannian manifolds in which this technique may be applied. The paper under review uses similar Riemannian approximation techniques to prove a version of the Gauss-Bonnet theorem in two particular sub-Riemannian settings. The authors consider Bianchi-Cartan-Vranceanu (BCV) spaces and the twisted Heisenberg group. For a given \(\lambda > 0\), a BCV space is the set \[ \{ (x_1,x_2,x_3) \in \mathbb{R}^n \, : \, 1+\tfrac{\lambda}{4}(x_1^2 + x_2^2) > 0\} \] with a natural sub-Riemannian structure. The twisted Heisenberg group is a modification of the usual Heisenberg group in which the usual Riemannian metric is rescaled in the first coordinate by a smooth function. In both settings, a version of the Gauss-Bonnet theorem is proven for regular surfaces whose boundaries are Euclidean \(C^2\)-smooth curves. (See Theorem 3.11 for the BCV version and Theorem 5.7 for the version in the twisted Heisenberg group.)