Trivializable and quaternionic subriemannian structures on \({\mathbb{S}}^7\) and subelliptic heat kernel (Q2672970)

In this article, the authors study the differences between two different sub-Riemannian structures on the sphere \(\mathbb{S}^7\), which here are called the \textit{trivializable} and \textit{quaternionic} structures. To define the \textit{trivializable} structure \(\mathbb{S}^7_T\), view \(\mathbb{S}^7\) as the unit sphere of \(\mathbb{R}^8\), and suppose \(A_1, \dots, A_7\) are \(8 \times 8\) skew-symmetric matrices satisfying the anti-commutation relations \(A_k A_\ell + A_\ell A_k = -2 I \delta_{k\ell}\). (That is, \(A_1, \dots, A_7\) generate a Clifford algebra. The authors verify explicitly that such \(A_i\) exist.) Define the corresponding vector fields \(X_1, \dots, X_7\) on \(\mathbb{S}^7\) as \(X_k = \sum_{i,j} (A_k)_{ij} x_j \frac{\partial}{\partial x_i}\), and let \(\mathcal{H}_T\) be the trivial distribution of rank \(4\) spanned by \(\{X_1, \dots, X_4\}\). (This can be shown to be well defined independent of the choices of the matrices \(A_i\).) It is equipped with the sub-Riemannian metric which is the restriction to \(\mathcal{H}_T\) of the usual Riemannian one, and for which the vector fields \(X_1, \dots, X_4\) form a global orthonormal frame. Trivializable structures on spheres, including this one, were previously studied in [\textit{W. Bauer} et al., Bull. Sci. Math. 137, No. 3, 361--385 (2013; Zbl 1288.53025)]. The \textit{quaternionic} structure, denoted \(\mathbb{S}^7_Q\), is defined on the horizontal distribution \(\mathcal{H}_Q\) coming from the quaternionic Hopf fibration \(\mathbb{S}^3 \to \mathbb{S}^7 \to \mathbb{S}^4 \cong \mathbb{HP}^1\), which is then equipped with the restriction of the usual Riemannian metric of \(\mathbb{S}^7\). The authors show that these two structures have the following properties: \begin{itemize} \item The distribution \(\mathcal{H}_Q\) does not admit any global nowhere-vanishing smooth section. In particular, it is not trivializable, which resolves a question posed in [\textit{M. Godoy Molina} and \textit{I. Markina}, Rev. Mat. Iberoam. 27, No. 3, 997--1022 (2011; Zbl 1228.53043)]. It follows that \(\mathbb{S}^7_Q\) and \(\mathbb{S}^7_T\) cannot be isometric. \item The Popp volume \(\mathcal{P}_Q\) of \(\mathbb{S}^7_Q\) coincides with the usual Riemannian volume \(d\sigma\) on \(\mathbb{S}^7\), up to a constant. On the other hand, the Popp volume \(\mathcal{P}_T\) of \(\mathbb{S}^7_T\) is given by \(d\mathcal{P}_T = g \,d\sigma\) for a non-constant density \(g\) which is computed explicitly. \item The tangent algebra (nilpotent approximation) of \(\mathbb{S}^7_Q\) at every point is the quaternionic Heisenberg Lie algebra \(\mathfrak{h}^1_{\mathbb{H}}\), whereas the tangent algebra of \(\mathbb{S}^7_T\) varies from point to point, and is never isomorphic to \(\mathfrak{h}^1_{\mathbb{H}}\) except possibly on a certain set \(\mathcal{S}\) which is of codimension \(1\). It follows that \(\mathbb{S}^7_Q\) and \(\mathbb{S}^7_T\) are not even locally isometric. Moreover, the isometry group \(\mathcal{I}(\mathbb{S}^7_T)\) does not act transitively. \item On the complement of the singular set \(\mathcal{S}\) mentioned above, the distribution \(\mathcal{H}_T\) is of \emph{elliptic type}, meaning that at these points, the quadratic form \(Q\) given by the square of the dual curvature map is elliptic. By Theorem 7.22 of [\textit{R. Montgomery}, A tour of sub-Riemannian geometries, their geodesics and applications. Providence, RI: American Mathematical Society (AMS) (2002; Zbl 1044.53022)], this implies that the dimension of the isometry group \(\mathcal{I}(\mathbb{S}^7_T)\) is at most 21, and the present paper also shows explicitly that it is at least 3. It remains an open problem to determine its dimension exactly. On the other hand, it is known that \(\dim \mathcal{I}(\mathbb{S}^7_Q) = 21\); see Proposition 6.14 of Montgomery's book cited above. \item Equipping \(\mathbb{S}^7_T\) with the intrinsic sub-Laplacian \(\Delta_{\mathrm{sub}}^T\) induced by its Popp measure, the authors compute its first heat invariant \(c_0^T(z)\), which is the leading term of the small-time asymptotics at the point \(z\) of the subelliptic heat kernel of \(\Delta_{\mathrm{sub}}^T\). Comparing this to the corresponding function \(c_0^Q\) (a constant) for the sub-Laplacian \(\Delta_{\mathrm{sub}}^Q\) of \(\mathbb{S}^7_Q\), it is shown that they disagree almost everywhere, and as a result, the sub-Riemannian manifolds \(\mathbb{S}^7_T\) and \(\mathbb{S}^7_Q\) are not isospectral. Results about the heat kernel of \(\mathbb{S}^7_Q\) are drawn from the detailed analysis in [\textit{F. Baudoin} and \textit{J. Wang}, Potential Anal. 41, No. 3, 959--982 (2014; Zbl 1304.35234)]. \item Considering instead the sub-Laplacian \(\tilde{\Delta}^T_{\mathrm{sub}}\) on \(\mathbb{S}^7_T\) induced by the usual Riemannian volume, it is shown that its spectrum contains that of \(\Delta^Q_{\mathrm{sub}}\), but that the two operators are not isospectral. \end{itemize}