Twistor geometry of a pair of second order ODEs

DOI10.1007/S00220-013-1729-7zbMATH Open1277.53044arXiv1203.4158OpenAlexW3101146730WikidataQ125851257 ScholiaQ125851257MaRDI QIDQ356702FDOQ356702

Paul Tod, Maciej Dunajski, Stephen Casey

Publication date: 26 July 2013

Published in: Communications in Mathematical Physics (Search for Journal in Brave)

Abstract: We discuss the twistor correspondence between path geometries in three dimensions with vanishing Wilczynski invariants and anti-self-dual conformal structures of signature $(2,2)$. We show how to reconstruct a system of ODEs with vanishing invariants for a given conformal structure, highlighting the Ricci-flat case in particular. Using this framework, we give a new derivation of the Wilczynski invariants for a system of ODEs whose solution space is endowed with a conformal structure. We explain how to reconstruct the conformal structure directly from the integral curves, and present new examples of systems of ODEs with point symmetry algebra of dimension four and greater which give rise to anti--self--dual structures with conformal symmetry algebra of the same dimension. Some of these examples are $(2,2)$ analogues of plane wave space--times in General Relativity. Finally we discuss a variational principle for twistor curves arising from the Finsler structures with scalar flag curvature.

Full work available at URL: https://arxiv.org/abs/1203.4158

zbMATH Keywords

differential geometryconformal structureFinsler structurepath geometrysecond-order ODEstorsionfree ODE systemtwistor geometry[https://portal.mardi4nfdi.de/w/index.php?title=+Special%3ASearch&search=Wi%EF%BF%BD%EF%BF%BDczynski+invariants&go=Go Wi��czynski invariants]

Mathematics Subject Classification ID

Geometric methods in ordinary differential equations (34A26) Applications of differential geometry to physics (53Z05) Spinor and twistor methods applied to problems in quantum theory (81R25) Twistor methods in differential geometry (53C28) Differential geometric methods, including holonomy, Berry and Hannay phases, Aharonov-Bohm effect, etc. in quantum theory (81Q70)

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Cited In (24)

• Conformal geodesics on gravitational instantons
• Strongly essential flows on irreducible parabolic geometries
• Almost every path structure is not variational
• Self-dual conformal gravity
• Torsion-free path geometries and integrable second order ODE systems
• Admissible transformations and Lie symmetries of linear systems of second-order ordinary differential equations
• Finsler metrizable isotropic sprays and Hilbert's fourth problem
• Conformally related vacuum gravitational waves and their symmetries
• Spinor and twistor geometry in Einstein gravity and Finsler modifications
• Twistor theory of dancing paths
• On the Einstein-Weyl and conformal self-duality equations
• Ordinary differential equations described by their Lie symmetry algebra
• Webs and the Plebański equation
• On uniqueness of submaximally symmetric vector ordinary differential equations of C-class
• The Cayley cubic and differential equations
• Symmetry gaps for higher order ordinary differential equations
• Einstein metrics, projective structures and the \(\mathrm{SU}(\infty)\) Toda equation
• Some examples of projective and \(c\)-projective compactifications of Einstein metrics
• The gap phenomenon in parabolic geometries
• Metrisability of three-dimensional path geometries
• Gauge theory on projective surfaces and anti-self-dual Einstein metrics in dimension four
• Twistor theory at fifty: from contour integrals to twistor strings
• Ricci-flat spacetimes admitting higher rank Killing tensors
• Metrisability of Painlevé equations

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