On the realizability of projectively flat connections on surfaces (Q5945000)

Let \(M\) be an \(n\)-dimensional \(C^\infty\)-manifold and \(\nabla\) a torsion-free connection. The connection is called locally realizable if for each \(p\in M\) there exists an open neighbourhood \(p\in U\) and an affine immersion \(f:U\to\mathbb{R}^{n+1}\) satisfying \(D_xdf(Y)= df(\nabla_xY)+ h(X,Y)y\), where \(D\) is the cannonical flat connection of \(\mathbb{R}^{n+1}\), \(y\) some transversal vector field and \(h\) a symmetric bilinear form. It is a well known fact that realization problems for connections with prescribed properties are of particular interest in dimension \(n=2\). In foregoing papers, B. Opozda has solved the realization problem for given \((M,\nabla)\) with \(\nabla\) torsion-free, locally symmetric and Ricci-symmetric (symmetric Ricci tensor). In this paper, she considers projectively flat connections, torsion free and Ricci-symmetric; she gives examples of non-realizable connections in this class and proves a necessary condition for such connections to be realizable as non-degenerate surfaces (i.e. \(h\) defines a non-degenerate conformal class) in \(\mathbb{R}^3\).