GJMS operators, \(Q\)-curvature, and obstruction tensor of partially integrable CR manifolds (Q5964090)

The author discusses CR versions of the GJMS operators, Branson's \(Q\)-curvature, and the Fefferman-Graham obstruction tensor (considered in conformal geometry) for nondegenerate partially integrable CR manifolds with the bundle of contact forms oriented, which he calls partially integrable CR manifolds. On the one hand, this study strengthens the parallelism between the conformal and CR cases, as the author constructs the CR GJMS operators \(P_{2k}\) and the \(Q\)-curvature \(Q_{\theta}\) for partially integrable CR structures by generalizing the scattering-theoretic approach of Hislop, Perry, and Tang to asymptotically complex hyperbolic Einstein metrics. The total integral of the \(Q\)-curvature becomes a global CR invariant, and its variational properties are discussed. On the other hand, the author also discusses the rather subtle nature of the CR case by exploring the properties of the linearized obstruction operator \(\mathcal O^{\star}\). The general frame of the subject and the notions necessary to understand the author's constructions are also presented.