Einstein metrics in projective geometry

Abstract

It is well known that pseudo-Riemannian metrics in the projective class of a given torsion free affine connection can be obtained from (and are equivalent to) the solutions of a certain overdetermined projectively invariant differential equation. This equation is a special case of a so-called first Bernstein-Gelfand-Gelfand (BGG) equation. The general theory of such equations singles out a subclass of so-called normal solutions. We prove that non-degenerate normal solutions are equivalent to pseudo-Riemannian Einstein metrics in the projective class and observe that this connects to natural projective extensions of the Einstein condition. Show more