Contact pseudo-metric manifolds (Q988753)

The study of contact structures equipped with associated pseudo-Riemannian metrics was first begun by \textit{T. Takahashi} [Tôhoku Math. J., II. Ser. 21, 271--290 (1969; Zbl 0187.43601], however, he dealt only with the pseudo-Riemannian Sasakian case and most subsequent work has also dealt only with this case. In the present paper the authors develop the pseudo-Riemannian analogue of a general contact metric structure. The paper contains many examples and interesting results and emphasizes both the similarities and differences with the Riemannian theory. For example, a contact metric structure of constant curvature is either of constant curvature +1 and Sasakian or is 3-dimensional and flat. In the pseudo-Riemannian case both \(\pm 1\) constant curvature can occur as well as the flat 3-dimensional case. A number of deformations of the structure are discussed leading to new examples: in particular, 1) a ``reversal'' of the structure, 2) the \(\mathcal D\)-homothetic deformation (homothetic on the contact subbundle, but stretched differently in the direction of the Reeb vector field) and 3) a change of the causal character of the Reeb vector field. Another major theme in this study is the classification of 3-dimensional homogeneous contact Lorentzian manifolds.