Canonical Kähler metrics on classes of Lorentzian 4-manifolds (Q2291470)

The authors study the existence of distinguished Kähler metrics on classes of Lorentzian \(4\)-manifolds with two distinguished vector fields. They exhibit examples based on the construction given by the second author in [Trans. Am. Math. Soc. 355, No. 6, 2161--2182 (2003; Zbl 1043.53056)]. In the present work, they focus on cases where that construction leads to Kähler-Einstein metrics or central Kähler metrics. Recall that central Kähler metrics are metrics for which the determinant of the Ricci endomorphism is constant. The main results are Theorems \(1\) and \(2\) where they describe central metrics and Kähler-Einstein metrics induced by certain Lorentzian metrics admitting either a Killing field or a vector field with a geodesic flow. As examples they show plane gravitational waves, metrics related to other pp-waves or metrics residing on four simply connected Lie groups associated with the Lie algebras \(\mathfrak{su}(2)\times \mathbb R, \mathfrak{sl}(2) \times R, \mathfrak{nil}_3 \times \mathbb R\), and a \(3\)-step nilpotent Lie algebra. Another class of Kähler-Einstein metrics is studied in Theorem \(3\) as well. Finally, in the appendix, the authors recall the construction in [\textit{C. LeBrun}, J. Differ. Geom. 34, No. 1, 223--253 (1991; Zbl 0725.53067)] and they show how to obtain examples starting from an exact symplectic form associated with a Lorentzian or other semi-Riemannian metric, and give a few examples where the latter is a \(pp\)-wave, and the scalar-flat Kähler metrics are also conformal to an Einstein metric.