Conformal vector fields on Lie groups: The trans-Lorentzian signature

Abstract

A pseudo-Riemannian Lie group is a connected Lie group endowed with a left-invariant pseudo-Riemannian metric of signature (p,q). In this paper, we study pseudo-Riemannian Lie groups (G,〈⋅,⋅〉) with non-Killing left-invariant conformal vector fields. Firstly, we prove that if h is a Cartan subalgebra for a semisimple Levi factor of the Lie algebra g, then dim⁡h≤max⁡{0,min⁡{p,q}−2}. Secondly, we classify trans-Lorentzian Lie groups (i.e., min⁡{p,q}=2) with non-Killing left-invariant conformal vector fields, and prove that [g,g] is at most three-step nilpotent. Thirdly, based on the classification of the trans-Lorentzian Lie groups, we show that the corresponding Ricci operators are nilpotent, and consequently the scalar curvatures vanish. As a byproduct, we prove that four-dimensional trans-Lorentzian Lie groups with non-Killing left-invariant conformal vector fields are necessarily conformally flat, and construct a family of five-dimensional ones which are not conformally flat.