Lorentzian geometry: holonomy, spinors, and Cauchy problems (Q2322941)

This text comprises the first half of the recently published book ``Geometric Flows and the Geometry of Space-time'' and is based on lecture notes of a summer course given by the authors on holonomy issues in Lorentzian geometry. Although the holonomy group of a semi-Riemannian manifold is defined in the exact same way as the Riemannian case (generated by parallel transports along loops), the indefiniteness of the metric creates several challenges, starting from the fact that this group is no longer a subgroup of the (classical) orthogonal group, but rather of the group of Lorentz transformations. In particular, notions of reducibility and decomposability become much more delicate. The first part of the text reviews basic concepts in Lorentzian geometry and presents the algebraic classification of connected Lorentzian holonomy groups (Section 3). The close relation between special (Lorentzian) holonomy groups and parallel spinors is discussed, and motivates the second part of the text on constructions of globally hyperbolic Lorentzian manifolds with special holonomy, via solving suitable Cauchy problems. This text is simultaneously an accessible pathway for students entering the field, and also a valuable and convenient resource for specialists interested in a panoramic view of the latest developments in this area of research. For the entire collection see [Zbl 1412.53002].