A critical metric for the 𝐿²-norm of the curvature tensor on 𝑆³ (Q4383033)

Given a compact \(n\)-dimensional manifold \(M\) endowed with a Riemannian metric \(g\), the \(L^2\)-norm of the curvature tensor \(R\) of \(g\), denoted by \({\mathcal R}(g)\), is defined as the integral \[ (\text{Vol}(M))^{4-n\over n}\int_M| R|^2 \text{d vol}_g. \] Thus, \(\mathcal R\) gives a positive functional on the space of all Riemannian metrics of \(M\); if \(\dim(M)=3,4\), then all metrics of constant Ricci curvature are critical points of \(\mathcal R\). The converse of this statement is false: if \(\dim(M)=4\), a simple counterexample is obtained by taking the product of a surface of scalar curvature \(-1\) and the two-sphere \(S^2\). In this article the author constructs an example of a metric \(g\) on the 3-sphere \(S^3\) which has nonconstant Ricci curvature, yet it is critical for \(\mathcal R\). Using the principle of symmetric criticality, the author reduces the functional \(\mathcal R\) on the set of left-invariant metrics on \({SU}(2)\) to a functional on the set of inner products on \({su}(2)\). The author exhibits a one parameter family \(\{g_t\}\) of inner products of \({su}(2)\) such that \({\mathcal R}(g_t)\) is a fourth degree polynomial in \(t\), whose critical points correspond to \(\mathcal R\)-critical metrics. One of these critical metrics is then shown to have nonconstant Ricci curvature. Moreover, the author proves that all left-invariant metrics on \({su}(2)\) which are \(\mathcal R\)-critical are of Berger type.