In mathematics, Kähler manifolds are an important geometric structure, and "almost Kähler manifolds" are an extension of this concept. The connection between the two is important for understanding their respective properties.
An almost Kähler manifold is an almost Hermitian manifold with an almost complex structure. This means that not only does it have a complex structure J, it must also satisfy certain geometric conditions. Here, the most critical condition is the antisymmetry of the (2,1)-tensor ∇J.
This means that for every vector field X, (∇XJ)X = 0 is satisfied.
In this case, a Kähler manifold is a special case of an almost Kähler manifold. However, an almost Kähler manifold is not necessarily a Kähler manifold. Such relationships lead to further exploration of non-Kähler almost Kähler manifolds and to find applications in geometry and physics.
For example, a notable example is the six-dimensional almost Kähler manifold S6, which does not have Kähler properties. This means that the six-dimensional geometric structure is not only complex, but also has its own unique properties.
Almost the study of Kähler manifolds can be traced back to 1959, first proposed by Tachibana and further popularized by Gray in 1970.
The interesting features of these manifolds are not limited to their mathematical construction, but are also closely related to spinners in physics. Scholars like Thomas Friedrich and Ralf Grunewald have shown that the conditions for whether a six-dimensional Riemannian manifold possesses a Riemannian spinner are inseparable from whether it is an almost Kähler manifold.
These discoveries brought more attention to strict almost Kähler manifolds in the 1980s.
It is worth noting that according to Lichnerowicz's theorem, any strictly almost Kähler manifold in six dimensions is an Einstein manifold and has a vanishing first Chern kind. This is a key point in mathematical theory because it tells us the topological and geometric properties of these manifolds.
As for admissible compact and connected six-dimensional manifolds, only a few examples are known, including S6, CP3 and P(TCP2). These manifolds not only have unique geometric characteristics, but are also almost part of the Kähler manifold.
Latest research even shows that these manifolds can possess non-trivial strict almost Kähler metrics.
Here too, Bär's observations provide crucial insights, highlighting that the almost Kähler condition of six-dimensional manifolds is particularly natural and fascinating. Indeed, this was further verified in Nagy's theorem, where he showed that any strict, complete almost Kähler manifold is automorphic in its local structure, which allowed many related theories to hold.
A common misunderstanding when understanding this type of manifold is to confuse almost Kähler manifolds with almost Kähler manifolds. In fact, the two are defined differently, with the latter requiring its Kähler form closure, which provides further constraints on the structure of the manifold.
This leads us to think further about the subtle differences between almost Kähler and Kähler manifolds.
For mathematicians and physicists, therefore, the exploration of almost Kähler manifolds is not just an academic endeavor, but the beginning of the understanding of many more complex phenomena. As the research deepens, more relevant discoveries will be revealed, and it all comes back to the question: in the process of understanding these manifolds, can we unearth more new perspectives and insights in the future? What about applications?