Locally conformally flat Lorentzian quasi-Einstein manifolds (Q2436046)

This paper studies the class of Lorentzian manifolds which are quasi-Einstein, i.e. whose metric \(g\) satisfies \[ \rho + \nabla ^2 f - \mu df \otimes df = \lambda g , \] where \(\rho\) is the Ricci tensor of \(g\), \(f\) is a smooth function, whereas \(\mu\) and \(\lambda\) are constants. These metrics include in particular Einstein metrics and gradient Ricci solitons, and are therefore of interest in mathematical relativity. The authors provide here a classification result for those manifolds which are moreover assumed to be locally conformally flat. More precisely, they show that for one particular value of \(\mu\) related to the dimension, such manifolds are conformal to a space form. For any other value of \(\mu\), they prove that the manifold is locally isometric either to a warped product with codimension-1 fibers of constant curvature, or to a ``plane wave''. This classification can be compared with the corresponding one established in the Riemannian case [\textit{G. Catino} et al., J. Reine Angew. Math. 675, 181--189 (2013; Zbl 1277.53039)].