Einstein metrics, harmonic forms, and symplectic four-manifolds (Q2351502)

Let \(\mathcal{E}(M)\) be the moduli space of Einstein metrics on a manifold \(M\). For some classes of four-manifolds this space \(\mathcal{E}(M)\) is known to be connected. Anyhow, in higher dimensions Einstein moduli spaces are typically disconnected and moreover often have infinitely many connected components. The author studies uniqueness questions for Einstein metrics on Del Pezzo surfaces. We recall that a Del Pezzo surface is by definition a compact complex surface \((M^4,J)\) whose first Chern class is a Kähler class. More precisely, if \(M\) is the underlying smooth oriented four-manifold of a Del Pezzo surface, the author considers the set of Riemannian metrics \(h\) on \(M\) such that \(W^+(\omega,\omega)>0\), where \(W^+\) is the self-dual Weyl curvature of \(h\), and \(\omega\) is a non-trivial self-dual harmonic two-form on \((M,h)\). While this open region in the space of Riemannian metrics contains all the known Einstein metrics on \(M\), the author shows that it contains no others. Therefore, it contributes exactly one connected component to the moduli space \(\mathcal{E}(M)\). His approach to this problem allows him to recover many results of Kirchberg as well as a new proof of Sekigawa's breakthrough result on the Goldberg conjecture.