Extremal \(K\)-contact metrics (Q897491)

The authors generalize the momentum map picture of Sasakian geometry (the Kähler analog in odd dimensions) to the non-integrable case of contact manifolds. They define a \(K\)-contact structure \((\eta,\zeta,\Phi)\), where \(\eta \) is a contact structure on an odd-manifold \(M\) and \(\zeta\) is a Reeb field and \(\Phi\) is an endomorphism of the tangent bundle, and an analog of compatible almost complex structures of a symplectic form to odd dimensions (the odd-dimensional analog of the symplectic form is our contact form \(\eta\)). Just like in the symplectic case the structure \(\Phi\) induces a metric \(g\) thus forming a \(K\)-contact manifold \((M,\eta,\zeta,\Phi,g)\). They also define a transverse almost complex structure \(J={\Phi}^{T}\) and the space \(K(\zeta,J)\) of all \(K\)-contact structures with Reeb vector field \(\zeta\). The authors describe the space \(K(\zeta,J)\) for \(\dim M=5\) and define the space \(K_{\eta}\) of \(K\)-contact structures compatible with \(\eta\). Considering \(K_{\eta}\) as a Fréchet space they also show \(K_{\eta}\) has a Kähler structure and has an action of the contactomorphism group which acts as symplectomorphisms on \(K_{\eta}\). Thus, there is a moment map and they provide a description of this map. The square norm of this map defines a functional and the critical points are called extremal metrics. They define \(K\)-contact Futaki invariant for subgroups of contactomorphism groups and give a characterization of extremal metrics through these invariants. At the end they prove a result on diffeomorphisms of extremal \(K\)-contact metrics.