A generalisation of the Hopf construction and harmonic morphisms into \(\mathbb S^{2}\) (Q711458)

The authors define a family of \(5\)-dimensional open manifolds \(V^5(a_1,a_2,a_3,a_4)\) of \(\mathbb C^4=\mathbb R^8\) having an \((S^1)^4\)-symmetry. Here, the \(a_i\) are some kind of ellipsoidal radii. The objects of study are \((S^1)^4\)-equivariant mappings \(V^5\to S^2\), where \((e^{i\theta_1},e^{i\theta_2},e^{i\theta_3},e^{i \theta_4})\) acting on \(V^5\) corresponds to \(e^{i(k_1\theta_1+k_2\theta_2+k_3\theta_3+k_4\theta_4)}\oplus1\) acting on \(S^2\subset\mathbb C\oplus\mathbb R\). It is proven that there is a harmonic morphism \(V^5(a_1,a_2,a_3,a_4)\to S^2\) with this symmetry provided the radii satisfy \(a_i=|k_i|\) for \(i=1,\dots,4\). This resembles the results for harmonic maps from Hopf constructions on ellipsoids. The map constructed here solves a second order ODE which in the equivariant situation is equivalent to the harmonic map equation. Being a harmonic map, it also has to be horizontally conformal in order to be a harmonic morphism. But this condition turns out to be a first integral of the ODE and hence is satisfied automatically under the assumptions made here.