On the space of null geodesics of a spacetime: the compact case, Engel geometry and retrievability

DOI10.1007/S00209-023-03412-5MaRDI QIDQ6139852zbMATH OpenOpenAlexFDO

Authors Adrià Marín-Salvador, Roberto Rubio

Publication date 19 December 2023

Published in Mathematische Zeitschrift (Search for Journal in Brave)

Copyright license Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International

Full work available at URL https://arxiv.org/abs/2112.06955

zbMATH Keywords

contact manifoldsLorentzian manifoldsnull geodesicsZollfrei manifolds

Mathematics Subject Classification ID

Geodesics in global differential geometry (53C22) Global differential geometry of Lorentz manifolds, manifolds with indefinite metrics (53C50) Global theory of symplectic and contact manifolds (53D35)

Abstract: We compute the contact manifold of null geodesics of the family of spacetimes ${(S^{2}imes{S}^1,g_{c}irc-frac{d}^2{c}^{2}d{t}^2)}_{d,cinmathbb{N}^{+}extcoprime}$, with $g_{c}irc$ the round metric on $mathbb{S}^2$ and $t$ the $mathbb{S}^1$-coordinate. We find that these are the lens spaces $L(2c,1)$ together with the pushforward of the canonical contact structure on $STmathbb{S}^{2}congL(2,1)$ under the natural projection $L(2,1)oL(2c,1)$. We extend this computation to $Zimesmathbb{S}^1$ for $Z$ a Zoll manifold. On the other hand, motivated by these examples, we show how Engel geometry can be used to describe the manifold of null geodesics of a certain class of three-dimensional spacetimes, by considering the Cartan deprolongation of their Lorentz prolongation. We characterize the three-dimensional contact manifolds that are contactomorphic to the space of null geodesics of a spacetime. The characterization consists in the existence of an overlying Engel manifold with a certain foliation and, in this case, we also retrieve the spacetime.

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