Selfsimilar Lorentzian manifolds (Q793368)

The author studies the structure of Lorentzian manifolds (M,g) with a one-parameter group G of proper homothetic motions. These manifolds split into three classes according to the dimension of the fixed point set \(M^ G\) of the group G: 1) \(M^ G=\emptyset\), 2) \(\dim M^ G=0\), 3) \(\dim M^ G=1\). If (M,g) is a manifold of the first class, the group G is non-essential, i.e. it is the isometry group of a metric \(e^ fg\), which is conformally equivalent to g. Manifolds of the third class are precisely the plane-wave spaces. The global structure of such manifolds is completely determined. The metrics of analytic manifolds of the second class are described in terms of a normal coordinate system with centre at \(0\in M^ G\). The structure of the curvature tensor is investigated. In the two-dimensional case, the explicit form of the metric is derived.