Existence of HKT metrics on hypercomplex manifolds of real dimension 8 (Q2411353)

Let \(M\) be a smooth manifold equipped with three complex structures \(I,J,K\) satisfying the quaternionic relation \(IJ = -JI = K\). Then, \((M, I, J, K)\) is called a hypercomplex manifold. A quaternionic Hermitian metric on such a manifold is a Riemannian metric which is invariant with respect to unitary quaternions. Such a metric is called hyper-Kähler with torsion (HKT for short) if it is locally obtained as the Hessian of a function averaged with quaternions. The authors show that a hypercomplex manifold \(M\) with the Obata holonomy contained in \(\mathrm{SL}(2,H)\) admits a HKT structure if and only if \(H^1 (\mathcal{O}_{(M,I)})\) is even-dimensional. This result can be seen as the quaternionic analogue of the well-known result that a compact complex surface \(M\) admits a Kähler structure if and only its first Betti number is even. The main theorem is deduced from the quaternionic \(dd^c\)-lemma by employing a suitable extension to the hypercomplex setting of Harvey and Lawson's theory of positive currents. The authors discuss the tools needed for the proof of the quaternionic \(dd^c\)-lemma: quaternionic Gauduchon metrics and quaternionic Aeppli and Bott-Chern cohomology. Finally, some applications of the main theorem are given by showing whether some examples given by \(T^4\)-bundles over K3 surfaces and nilmanifolds do admit a HKT metric.