Conformally recurrent semi-Riemannian manifolds (Q2566493)

Let \((M^n,g)\) be an \(n\)-dimensional Riemannian manifold with \(n \geq 4\) and let \(\nabla\) be its Levi Civita connection. Furthermore, let \(C\) denote its conformal curvature tensor. \((M,g)\) is said to be conformally flat if \(C = 0\) and conformally symmetric if \(\nabla C = 0\). It is called conformally recurrent if \(\nabla C = \alpha \otimes C\) where \(\alpha\) is a one-form. Conformally flat, symmetric and conformally symmetric \((M,g)\) are clearly conformally recurrent. It has been proved by Derdzinski and Roter, and also by Miyazawa, that conformally symmetric \((M,g)\) are conformally flat or locally symmetric. In this paper, the authors treat an extension of this result and derive the same conclusion for Riemannian manifolds which are conformally recurrent and have a harmonic conformal curvature tensor (i.e., \(\delta C = 0\)). In their theorem, the authors also request that the scalar curvature is a nonzero constant but at the end of their paper they prove that this condition is redundant. Moreover, the paper contains several results which still hold in the semi-Riemannian case. By providing examples of semi-Riemannian manifolds with vanishing zero scalar curvature which are conformally recurrent but not locally symmetric and non conformally flat, they show that for semi-Riemannian manifolds \((M^n,g)\) this condition will be essential if one tries to consider a similar result.