A spinorial energy functional: critical points and gradient flow (Q303628)

Spinor field equations capture many relevant aspects of so-called `special geometric structures': from parallel spinors, related to special holonomy [\textit{N. J. Hitchin}, Adv. Math. 14, 1--55 (1974; Zbl 0284.58016); \textit{M. Y. Wang}, Ann. Global Anal. Geom. 7, No. 1, 59--68 (1989; Zbl 0688.53007)], to Killing spinors and Einstein metrics [\textit{H. Baum} et al., Twistors and Killing spinors on Riemannian manifolds. Stuttgart etc.: B.G. Teubner Verlagsgesellschaft (1991; Zbl 0734.53003)], and even generalised Killing spinors are rather interesting [\textit{C. Bär} et al., Math. Z. 249, No. 3, 545--580 (2005; Zbl 1068.53030); the first author et al., Commun. Math. Phys. 320, No. 1, 173--198 (2013; Zbl 1271.53048)]. The present article is part of a programme meant to give a unified treatment from a variational point of view. Let \(M\) be an \(n\)-dimensional, compact, oriented spin manifold. A section \(\Phi\in\mathcal{N}=\Gamma(S(\Sigma M)))\) of the bundle of unit spinors can be regarded as a pair \((g,\phi)\) consisting of a Riemannian metric and a spinor \(\phi\in\Gamma(\Sigma_gM)\) of length one. Let \(\mathcal{E}\) be the energy functional \[ \mathcal{E}: \mathcal{N}\to \mathbb{R}^{\geq 0},\quad \Phi \mapsto\tfrac{1}{2}\int_M|\nabla^g\phi|_g^2\,dv^g, \] where \(\nabla^g\) is the Levi-Civita connection on \(\Sigma_gM\), \(|\,\cdot\,|_g\) the pointwise norm on \(T^*M \otimes \Sigma_gM\) and \(dv^g\) the Riemann-Lebesgue measure given by the volume form of \(g\). For example, if \(M\) is a compact Riemann surface, the spinorial Weierstraß representation [\textit{T. Friedrich}, J. Geom. Phys. 28, No. 1--2, 143--157 (1998; Zbl 0966.53042)] implies that \(\mathcal{E}\) is essentially the Willmore energy of an immersion \(M\to \mathbb{R}^3\). The features of \(\mathcal{E}\) in two dimensions are discussed in details in [the first author et al., Math. Z. 282, No. 1--2, 177--202 (2016; Zbl 1345.53045)], so the present paper concentrates on \(n\geq3\). The first result characterises unconstrained critical points of \(\mathcal{E}\), namely: \((g,\phi)\) is critical if and only if it is an absolute minimiser, i.e., \(\nabla^g\phi=0\), so \(g\) is Ricci-flat and of special holonomy. One can also consider critical points constrained by \(\mathrm{Vol}(g)=1\), particular solutions being Killing spinors. To detect critical points one should study the negified gradient flow (called `spinor flow') \[ \tfrac{\partial}{\partial t}\Phi_t=Q (\Phi_t) \] with initial condition \(\Phi_0=\Phi=(g,\phi)\in\mathcal{N}\). The functional \(\mathcal{E}\) is convex only if we vary \(\varphi\) and keep \(g\) fixed, whereas convexity fails by changing both, see [Zbl 1345.53045]. Since the energy's linearised gradient has positive-definite principal symbol, up to diffeomorphism, the authors are able to prove short-time existence and uniqueness: For all \(\Phi\in\mathcal{N}\), there exist an \(\epsilon>0\) and a smooth family \(\Phi_t\in\mathcal{N}\) for \(t\in[0,\epsilon]\) solving the spinor flow. Furthermore \(\Phi_t\) is uniquely defined on a maximal interval \([0,T)\), for some \(0<T\leq\infty\). The group of spin-diffeomorphisms \(\widehat{\mathrm{diff}}_s(M)\) acts on \((g,\phi)\) in a natural way, and contains in particular diffeomorphisms isotopic to the identity \(\widetilde{\mathrm{diff}}_0(M)\). Since \(Q\) is equivariant for this action, its linearisation has an infinite-dimensional kernel and the principal symbol of the linearisation is positive semi-definite. A key observation is that the kernel of the principal symbol is due to diffeomorphism invariance alone. One can show \(Q\) is weakly parabolic, and the existence/uniqueness result descends from the flow equation for some explicit perturbation \(\widetilde Q_{\Phi_0}\) of \(Q\). The operator \(\tilde Q_{\Phi_0}\) also appears when looking at the pre-moduli space of critical points. The set of critical points \({\mathrm{Crit}(\mathcal{E})}\) fibres over Ricci-flat metrics with a parallel spinor, the fibres being the spaces of parallel spinors. The latter's dimension will be locally constant when \(M\) is simply connected and \(g\) irreducible. If \(M\) is simply connected and \(\bar\Phi\in\mathcal{N}\) an irreducible critical point, \({\mathrm{Crit}(\mathcal{E})}\) is smooth at \(\bar\Phi\). Moreover, the pre-moduli space of parallel spinors \({\mathrm{Crit}(\mathcal{E})}/\widetilde{\mathrm{diff}}_0(M)\) is smooth at that point. If all critical points are irreducible, then \(\mathcal{E}\) is Morse-Bott (it is non-degenerate transverse to its smooth critical set). For example, \(M\) simply-connected implies that any critical point is irreducible in dimensions \(4, 6, 7\), and also \(8\) unless \(M\) is a product of two \(K3\)s. Further results on the smoothness of \({\mathrm{Crit}(\mathcal{E})}\) can be found in [the first author et al., ``Holonomy rigidity for Ricci flat metrics'', Preprint, \url{arXiv:1512.07390}].