Almost contact metric manifolds whose Reeb vector field is a harmonic section (Q2250801)

Let \((M,g)\) be a Riemannian manifold and \((T^{1}M, g_S )\) its unit tangent sphere bundle equipped with the Sasaki metric \(g_S\). A unit vector field \(V\) on \(M\) determines a map between \((M,g)\) and \((T^{1}M, g_S )\). When \(M\) is compact, the energy of \(V\) is the energy \(E(V)\) of the corresponding map. \(V\) is said to be a harmonic unit vector field if it is a critical point for the energy functional \(E\) defined on the space of all unit vector fields on \((M,g)\). The author studies here almost contact metric manifolds whose Reeb vector field is a harmonic unit vector field. He first considers an arbitrary Riemannian manifold and characterizes the harmonicity of a unit vector field \(\xi\), when \(\nabla\xi\) is symmetric, in terms of Ricci curvature. Then, he shows that for the class of locally conformal almost cosymplectic manifolds whose Reeb vector field \(\xi\) is geodesic, \(\xi\) is a harmonic section if and only if it is an eigenvector of the Ricci operator. He builds a large class of locally conformal almost cosymplectic manifolds whose Reeb vector field is a harmonic section. Finally, he exhibits several classes of almost contact metric manifolds where the associated almost contact metric structures \(\sigma\) are harmonic sections, in the sense of \textit{E. Vergara-Diaz} and \textit{C. M. Wood} [Geom. Dedicata 123, 131--151 (2006; Zbl 1118.53043); Int. J. Math. 20, No. 2, 209--225 (2009; Zbl 1169.53048)] and in some cases they are also harmonic maps.