Extremally Ricci pinched \(G_2\)-structures on Lie groups (Q6043437)

A closed \(G_2\)-structure on a seven-dimensional manifold \(M\) is defined by a positive closed three-form \(\varphi\) on \(M\). If the torsion of a closed \(G_2\)-structure \(\varphi\) given by \[ \tau = -{*}d * \varphi \] satisfies the neat equation \[ d\tau =\frac{1}{6}(|\tau |^2\varphi + *(\tau \wedge \tau )), \] then the manifold is called extremally Ricci pinched (abbreviated as ERP). Only two examples of extremally Ricci pinched \(G_2\)-structures could be found in the published literature and they were both homogeneous. The authors study in this paper the existence of ERP \(G_2\)-structures on Lie groups and give structural conditions on the Lie algebra. They obtain three new examples that are all steady Laplacian solitons. They also study the deformation and rigidity of these structures. These examples are complete and exhaustive thanks to the classification result obtained by the authors in [Ann. Mat. Pura Appl. (4) 199, No. 6, 2489--2510 (2020; Zbl 1451.53066)]. One may wonder why this article does not acknowledge the classification paper [loc. cit.], as both articles are similar in their findings. By comparing the dates of these papers, the result of the classification would have been known before the acceptance of this paper and therefore it could have incorporated the result of the classification, thus reducing duplication of material.