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The paper surveys open problems and questions related to interplay between the theory of integrable systems with infinitely and finitely many degrees of freedom and Nijenhuis geometry. This text has grown out from preparatory materials for the series of research symposia and workshops on Nijenhuis geometry and integrable systems held at SMRI (Sydney) and MATRIX (Creswick) in February 2022 and at La Trobe University (Melbourne) and MATRIX in February 2024, and from the open problem sessions at these events. It includes both relatively simple questions to get familiar with the topic, as well as challenging problems that are of great importance for the field., Comment: 35 pages

The main object of the paper is a recently discovered family of multicomponent integrable systems of partial differential equations, whose particular cases include many well-known equations such as the Korteweg--de Vries, coupled KdV, Harry Dym, coupled Harry Dym, Camassa--Holm, multicomponent Camassa--Holm, Dullin--Gottwald--Holm, and Kaup--Boussinesq equations. We suggest a methodology for constructing a series of solutions for all systems in the family. The crux of the approach lies in reducing this system to a dispersionless integrable system which is a special case of linearly degenerate quasilinear systems actively explored since the 1990s and recently studied in the framework of Nijenhuis geometry. These infinite-dimensional integrable systems are closely connected to certain explicit finite-dimensional integrable systems. We provide a link between solutions of our multicomponent PDE systems and solutions of this finite-dimensional system, and use it to construct animations of multi-component analogous of soliton and cnoidal solutions., Comment: 31 pages, 6 figures

We describe all metrics geodesically compatible with a gl-regular Nijenhuis operator $L$. The set of such metrics is large enough so that a generic local curve $\gamma$ is a geodesic for a suitable metric $g$ from this set. Next, we show that a certain evolutionary PDE system of hydrodynamic type constructed from $L$ preserves the property of $\gamma$ to be a $g$-geodesic. This implies that every metric $g$ geodesically compatible with $L$ gives us a finite dimensional reduction of this PDE system. We show that its restriction onto the set of $g$-geodesics is naturally equivalent to the Poisson action of $\mathbb{R}^n$ on the cotangent bundle generated by the integrals coming from geodesic compatibility.

The paper contains two lines of results: the first one is a study of symmetries and conservation laws of gl-regular Nijenhuis operators. We prove the splitting Theorem for symmetries and conservation laws of Nijenhuis operators, show that the space of symmetries of a gl-regular Nijenhuis operator forms a commutative algebra with respect to (pointwise) matrix multiplication. Moreover, all the elements of this algebra are strong symmetries of each other. We establish a natural relationship between symmetries and conservation laws of a gl-regular Nijenhuis operator and systems of the first and second companion coordinates. Moreover, we show that the space of conservation laws is naturally related to the space of symmetries in the sense that any conservation laws can be obtained from a single conservation law by multiplication with an appropriate symmetry. In particular, we provide an explicit description of all symmetries and conservation laws for gl-regular operators at algebraically generic points. The second line of results contains an application of the theoretical part to a certain system of partial differential equations of hydrodynamic type, which was previously studied by different authors, but mainly in the diagonalisable case. We show that this system is integrable in quadratures, i.e., its solutions can be found for almost all initial curves by integrating closed 1-forms and solving some systems of functional equations. The system is not diagonalisable in general, and construction and integration of such systems is an actively studied and explicitly stated problem in the literature.

A pair of planar polygons is "dancing" if one is inscribed in the other and they satisfy a certain cross-ratio relation at each vertex of the circumscribing polygon. Non-degenerate dancing pairs of closed $n$-gons exist for all $n\geq 6$. Dancing pairs correspond to trajectories of a non-holonomic mechanical system, consisting of a ball rolling, without slipping and twisting, along a polygon drawn on the surface of a ball 3 times larger than the rolling ball. The correspondence stems from reformulating both systems as piecewise rigid curves of a certain remarkable rank 2 non-integrable distribution defined on a 5-dimensional quadric in $\mathbb{RP}^6$, introduced by \'E. Cartan and F. Engel in 1893 in order to define the simple Lie group $\mathrm{G}_2$., Comment: 36 pages, 16 figures. Small corrections, remark 2 expanded. To appear in NY J of Math

We construct all orthogonal separating coordinates in constant curvature spaces of arbitrary signature. Further, we construct explicit transformation between orthogonal separating and flat or generalised flat coordinates, as well as explicit formulas for the corresponding Killing tensors and the St\"ackel matrices., Comment: 28 pages, one figure. Comments are welcome

We construct a new series of multicomponent integrable PDE systems that contain as particular example (with appropriately chosen parameters) many famous integrable systems including KdV, coupled KdV, Harry Dym, coupled Harry Dym, Camassa-Holm, multicomponent Camassa-Holm, Kaup-Boussinesq systems. The series contains also integrable systems with no low-component analogues.

We consider multicomponent local Poisson structures of the form $\mathcal P_3 + \mathcal P_1$, under the assumption that the third order term $\mathcal P_3$ is Darboux-Poisson and non-degenerate, and study the Poisson compatibility of two such structures. We give an algebraic interpretation of this problem in terms of Frobenius algebras and reduce it to classification of Frobenius pencils, i.e. of linear families of Frobenius algebras. Then, we completely describe and classify Frobenius pencils under minor genericity conditions. In particular we show that each such Frobenuis pencil is a subpencil of a certain maximal pencil. These maximal pencils are uniquely determined by some combinatorial object, a directed rooted in-forest with edges labeled by numbers $\lambda_\alpha$'s and vertices labeled by natural numbers whose sum is the dimension of the manifold. These pencils are naturally related to certain (polynomial, in the most nondegenerate case) pencils of Nijenhuis operators. We show that common Frobenius coordinate systems admit an elegant invariant description in terms of the Nijenhuis pencil., Comment: In Version v2, Theorem 4 and its proof are improved, and a mistake in Theorem 5 is corrected. In Version v3 we changed the signs in certain formulas for cosmetical reasons, to avoid multiple use of $(-1)^n$, and to make the paper better compatible with arXiv:2212.01605, and also updated the references

Two geodesically (projectively) equivalent Finsler metrics determine a set of invariant volume forms on the projective sphere bundle. Their proportionality factors are geodesically invariant functions and hence they are first integrals. Being 0-homogeneous functions, the first integrals are common for the entire projective class. In Theorem 1.1 we provide a practical and easy way of computing these first integrals as the coefficients of a characteristic polynomial.

In this text, we explore the tools that Projective Differential Geometry can provide for the asymptotic analysis of classical fields on projectively compact manifolds. We emphasise on the case of order 2-compactifications and develop, in this case, a projective exterior differential tractor calculus that is analogous to that existing for conformally compact manifolds.

We connect two a priori unrelated topics, theory of geodesically equivalent metrics in differential geometry, and theory of compatible infinite dimensional Poisson brackets of hydrodynamic type in mathematical physics. Namely, we prove that a pair of geodesically equivalent metrics such that one is flat produces a pair of such brackets. We construct Casimirs for these brackets and the corresponding commuting flows. There are two ways to produce a large family of compatible Poisson structures from a pair of geodesically equivalent metrics one of which is flat. One of these families is $(n+1)(n+2)/2$ dimensional; we describe it completely and show that it is maximal. Another has dimension $\le n+2$ and is, in a certain sense, polynomial. We show that a nontrivial polynomial family of compatible Poisson structures of dimension $n+2$ is unique and comes from a pair of geodesically equivalent metrics. In addition, we generalise a result of Sinjukov (1961) from constant curvature metrics to arbitrary Einstein metrics., Comment: comments are welcome

We study invariant systems of PDEs defining Killing vector-valued forms, and then we specialize to Killing spinor-valued forms. We give a detailed treatment of their prolongation and integrability conditions by relating the point-wise values of solutions to the curvature of the underlying manifold. As an example, we completely solve the equations on model spaces of constant curvature producing brand new solutions which do not come from the tensor product of Killing spinors and Killing-Yano forms.

The problem of description of superintegrable systems (i.e., systems with closed trajectories in a certain domain) in the class of rotationally symmetric natural mechanical systems goes back to Bertrand and Darboux. We describe all superintegrable (in a domain of slow motions) systems in the class of rotationally symmetric magnetic geodesic flows. We show that all sufficiently slow motions in a central magnetic field on a two-dimensional manifold of revolution are periodic if and only if the metric has a constant scalar curvature and the magnetic field is homogeneous, i.e. proportional to the area form., Comment: 11 pages; Engl. transl. of the published version; Engl. transl. will be published in J. Math. Sci

We construct in projective differential geometry of the real dimension $2$ higher symmetry algebra of the symplectic Dirac operator ${D}\kern-0.5em\raise0.22ex\hbox{/}_s$ acting on symplectic spinors. The higher symmetry differential operators correspond to the solution space of a class of projectively invariant overdetermined operators of arbitrarily high order acting on symmetric tensors. The higher symmetry algebra structure corresponds to a completely prime primitive ideal having as its associated variety the minimal nilpotent orbit of $\mathfrak{sl}(3,{\mathbb{R}})$., Comment: Symplectic Dirac operator, Higher symmetry algebra, Projective differential geometry, Minimal nilpotent orbit, $\mathfrak{sl}(3,\mR)$

The classical Patterson-Walker construction of a split-signature (pseudo-)Riemannian structure from a given torsion-free affine connection is generalized to a construction of a split-signature conformal structure from a given projective class of connections. A characterization of the induced structures is obtained. We achieve a complete description of Einstein metrics in the conformal class formed by the Patterson-Walker metric. Finally, we describe all symmetries of the conformal Patterson-Walker metric. In both cases we obtain descriptions in terms of geometric data on the original structure., Comment: v2: The article has been restructured: a section has been added and includes a characterisation of Patterson-Walker metrics. An error in Proposition 6.6 has been fixed v3: One reference clarified. v4: References added. Remark 6.9 added. Accepted for publication in The Asian Journal of Mathematics on 21 June 2018 v5: Minor changes, as published

For complete complex connections on almost complex manifolds we introduce a natural definition of compactification. This is based on almost c--projective geometry, which is the almost complex analogue of projective differential geometry. The boundary at infinity is a (possibly non-integrable) CR structure. The theory applies to almost Hermitean manifolds which admit a complex metric connection of minimal torsion, which means that they are quasi--Kaehler in the sense of Gray--Hervella; in particular it applies to Kaehler and nearly Kaehler manifolds. Via this canonical connection, we obtain a notion of c-projective compactification for quasi--Kaehler metrics of any signature. We describe an asymptotic form for metrics that is necessary and sufficient for c--projective compactness. This metric form provides local examples and, in particular, shows that the usual complete Kaehler metrics associated to smoothly bounded, strictly pseudoconvex domains in C^n are c--projectively compact. For a smooth manifold with boundary and a complete quasi-Kaehler metric $g$ on the interior, we show that if its almost c--projective structure extends smoothly to the boundary then so does its scalar curvature. We prove that $g$ is almost c--projectively compact if and only if this scalar curvature is non-zero on an open dense set of the boundary, in which case it is, along the boundary, locally constant and hence nowhere zero there. Finally we describe the asymptotics of the curvature, showing, in particular, that the canonical connection satisfies an asymptotic Einstein condition. Key to much of the development is a certain real tractor calculus for almost c--projective geometry, and this is developed in the article., Comment: 39 PAGES

Consider a manifold with boundary, and such that the interior is equipped with a pseudo-Riemannian metric. We prove that, under mild asymptotic non-vanishing conditions on the scalar curvature, if the Levi-Civita connection of the interior does not extend to the boundary (because for example the interior is complete) whereas its projective structure does, then the metric is projectively compact of order 2; this order is a measure of volume growth toward infinity. The result implies a host of results including that the metric satisfies asymptotic Einstein conditions, and induces a canonical conformal structure on the boundary. Underpinning this work is a new interpretation of scalar curvature in terms of projective geometry. This enables us to show that if the projective structure of a metric extends to the boundary then its scalar curvature also naturally and smoothly extends., Comment: Final version to be published in J. Geom. Phys. Includes minor typo corrections and a new summarising corollary. 10 pages

Given a projective structure on a three-dimensional manifold, we find explicit obstructions to the local existence of a Levi-Civita connection in the projective class. These obstructions are given by projectively invariant tensors algebraically constructed from the projective Weyl curvature. We show, by examples, that their vanishing is necessary but not sufficient for local metrisability., Comment: 19 pages. In this version we analyse the projective structures arising from Einstein-Weyl geometries and make several other minor modifications and additions

For complete affine manifolds we introduce a definition of compactification based on the projective differential geometry (i.e.\ geodesic path data) of the given connection. The definition of projective compactness involves a real parameter $\alpha$ called the order of projective compactness. For volume preserving connections, this order is captured by a notion of volume asymptotics that we define. These ideas apply to complete pseudo-Riemannian spaces, via the Levi-Civita connection, and thus provide a notion of compactification alternative to conformal compactification. For each order $\alpha$, we provide an asymptotic form of a metric which is sufficient for projective compactness of the given order, thus also providing many local examples. Distinguished classes of projectively compactified geometries of orders one and two are associated with Ricci-flat connections and non--Ricci--flat Einstein metrics, respectively. Conversely, these geometric conditions are shown to force the indicated order of projective compactness. These special compactifications are shown to correspond to normal solutions of classes of natural linear PDE (so-called first BGG equations), or equivalently holonomy reductions of projective Cartan/tractor connections. This enables the application of tools already available to reveal considerable information about the geometry of the boundary at infinity. Finally, we show that metrics admitting such special compactifications always have an asymptotic form as mentioned above., Comment: 30 Pages. v2: Added a necessary technical assumption in Theorem 2.6. Adapted numbering to version to be published in J. reine angew. math. (Crelle's J.)

Here we treat the problem: given a torsion-free connection do its geodesics, as unparametrised curves, coincide with the geodesics of an Einstein metric? We find projective invariants such that the vanishing of these is necessary for the existence of such a metric, and in generic settings the vanishing of these is also sufficient. We also obtain results for the problem of metrisability (without the Einstein condition): We show that the odd Chern type invariants of an affine connection are projective invariants that obstruct the existence of a projectively related Levi-Civita connection. In addition we discuss a concrete link between projective and conformal geometry and the application of this to the projective-Einstein problem., Comment: 29 pages. Dedicated to Mike Eastwood in celebration of his 60th birthday

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 BGG equation. The general theory of such equations singles out a subclass of so-called normal solutions. We prove that non-degerate 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., Comment: 10 pages. Adapted to published version. In addition corrected a minor sign error

We show that Margulis spacetimes without parabolic holonomy are topologically tame. A Margulis spacetime is the quotient of the $3$-dimensional Minkowski space by a free proper isometric action of the free group of rank $\geq 2$. We will use our particular point of view that the Margulis spacetime is a manifold-with-boundary with an $\mathbb{R} P^3$-structure in an essential way. The basic tools are a bordification by a closed $\mathbb{R} P^2$-manifold with free holonomy group, and the work of Goldman, Labourie, and Margulis on geodesics in the Margulis spacetimes and $3$-manifold topology., Comment: 51 pages, 6 figures. Corrected a few typos (The 6th version of "The topological and geometrical finiteness of complete flat Lorentzian 3-manifolds with free fundamental groups" arXiv:1204.5308v1 [math.GT])

We provide non trivial examples of solutions to the system of coupled equations introduced by M. Garc\'ia-Fern\'andez for the uniformization problem of a triple $(M,L,E)$ where $E$ is a holomorphic vector bundle over a polarized complex manifold $(M,L)$, generalizing the notions of both constant scalar curvature K\"ahler metric and Hermitian-Einstein metric., Comment: 17 pages

The generalization of Bertrand's theorem to abstract surfaces of revolution without "equators" is proved. We prove a criterion for the existence on such a surface of exactly two central potentials (up to an additive and a multiplicative constants) all of whose bounded nonsingular orbits are closed and which admit a bounded nonsingular noncircular orbit. A criterion for the existence of a unique such potential is proved. The geometry and classification of the corresponding surfaces are described, with indicating either the pair of gravitational and oscillator) potentials or the unique (oscillator) potential. The absence of the required potentials on any surface which does not meet the above criteria is proved., Comment: 37 pages, 5 figures, in Russian

The degree of mobility of a (pseudo-Riemannian) K\"ahler metric is the dimension of the space of metrics h-projectively equivalent to it. We prove that a metric on a closed connected manifold can not have the degree of mobility $\ge 3$ unless it is essentially the Fubini-Study metric, or the h-projective equivalence is actually the affine equivalence. As the main application we prove an important special case of the classical conjecture attributed to Obata and Yano, stating that a closed manifold admitting an essential group of h-projective transformations is $(CP(n), g_{Fubini-Study})$ (up to a multiplication of the metric by a constant). An additional result is the generalization of a certain result of Tanno 1978 for the pseudo-Riemannian situation., Comment: 31 pages, 2 .eps figures. No essential changes w.r.t. v1 (misprints, reference updated,etc.)

For curved projective manifolds we introduce a notion of a normal tractor frame field, based around any point. This leads to canonical systems of (redundant) coordinates that generalise the usual homogeneous coordinates on projective space. These give preferred local maps to the model projective space that encode geometric contact with the model to a level that is optimal, in a suitable sense. In terms of the trivialisations arising from the special frames, normal solutions of classes of natural linear PDE (so-called first BGG equations) are shown to be necessarily polynomial in the generalised homogeneous coordinates; the polynomial system is the pull back of a polynomial system that solves the corresponding problem on the model. Thus questions concerning the zero locus of solutions, as well as related finer geometric and smooth data, are reduced to a study of the corresponding polynomial systems and algebraic sets. We show that a normal solution determines a canonical manifold stratification that reflects an orbit decomposition of the model. Applications include the construction of structures that are analogues of Poincare-Einstein manifolds., Comment: 22 pages

We prove an important partial case of the pseudo-Riemannian version of the projective Lichnerowicz conjecture stating that a complete manifold admitting an essential group of projective transformations is the round sphere (up to a finite cover)., Comment: 32 pages, one .eps figure. The version v1 has a misprint in Theorem 1: I forgot to write the assumption that the degree of mobility is greater than two. The versions v3, v4 have only cosmetic changes wrt v2

Let Riemannian metrics $g$ and $\bar g$ on a connected manifold $M^n$ have the same geodesics (considered as unparameterized curves). Suppose the eigenvalues of one metric with respect to the other are all different at a point. Then, by the famous Levi-Civita's Theorem, the metrics have a certain standard form near the point. Our main result is a generalization of Levi-Civita's Theorem for the points where the eigenvalues of one metric with respect to the other bifurcate., Comment: 28 pages; no figures

We prove that every complete Einstein (Riemannian or pseudo-Riemannian) metric $g$ is geodesically rigid: if any other complete metric $\bar g$ has the same (unparametrized) geodesics with $g$, then the Levi-Civita connections of $g$ and $\bar g$ coincide., Comment: misprints corrected, references updated. 22 pages, one .eps figure

We generalize the following classical result of Fubini for pseudo-Riemannian metrics: if three essentially different metrics on $M^{n\ge 3}$ share the same unparametrized geodesics, and two of them (say, $g$ and $\bar g$) are strictly nonproportional (i.e., the minimal polynomial of $g^{i\alpha} \bar g_{\alpha j}$ coincides with the characteristic polynomial) at least at one point, then they have constant curvature.

We discuss pseudo-Riemannian metrics on 2-dimensional manifolds such that the geodesic flow admits a nontrivial integral quadratic in velocities. We construct local normal forms of such metrics. We show that these metrics have certain useful properties similar to those of Riemannian Liouville metrics, namely: 1) they admit geodesically equivalent metrics; 2) one can use them to construct a big family of natural systems admitting integrals quadratic in momenta; 3) the integrability of such systems can be generalized to the quantum setting; 4) these natural systems are integrable by quadratures.

We construct local normal forms of pseudo-Riemannian projectively equivalent 2-dimensional metrics., Comment: 6 pages. This is an appendix to the paper "A solution of another problem of Sophus Lie: 2-dimensional metrics admitting precisely one projective vector field" of V. Matveev

We present the theory of tensors with Young tableau symmetry as an efficient computational tool in dealing with the polynomial first integrals of a natural system in classical mechanics. We relate a special kind of such first integrals, already studied by Lundmark, to Beltrami's theorem about projectively flat Riemannian manifolds. We set the ground for a new and simple theory of the integrable systems having only quadratic first integrals. This theory begins with two centered quadrics related by central projection, each quadric being a model of a space of constant curvature. Finally, we present an extension of these models to the case of degenerate quadratic forms., Comment: 39 pages, 2 figures

Given a real vector space V of finite dimension, together with a particular homogeneous field of bivectors that we call a "field of projective forces", we define a law of dynamics such that the position of the particle is a "ray" i.e. a half-line drawn from the origin of V. The impulsion is a bivector whose support is a 2-plane containing the ray. Throwing the particle with a given initial impulsion defines a projective trajectory. It is a curve in the space of rays S(V), together with an impulsion attached to each ray. In the simplest example where the force is identically zero, the curve is a straight line and the impulsion a constant bivector. A striking feature of projective dynamics appears: the trajectories are not parameterized. Among the projective force fields corresponding to a central force, the one defining the Kepler problem is simpler than those corresponding to other homogeneities. Here the thrown ray describes a quadratic cone whose section by a hyperplane corresponds to a Keplerian conic. An original point of view on the hidden symmetries of the Kepler problem emerges, and clarifies some remarks due to Halphen and Appell. We also get the unexpected conclusion that there exists a notion of divergence-free field of projective forces if and only if dim V=4. No metric is involved in the axioms of projective dynamics., Comment: 20 pages, 4 figures

The Hodge equations for 1-forms are studied on Beltrami's projective disc model for hyperbolic space. Ideal points lying beyond projective infinity arise naturally in both the geometric and analytic arguments. An existence theorem for weakly harmonic 1-fields, changing type on the unit circle, is derived under Dirichlet conditions imposed on the non-characteristic portion of the boundary. A similar system arises in the analysis of wave motion near a caustic. A class of elliptic-hyperbolic boundary-value problems is formulated for those equations as well. For both classes of boundary-value problems, an arbitrarily small lower-order perturbation of the equations is shown to yield solutions which are strong in the sense of Friedrichs., Comment: 30 pages; Section 3.3 has been revised

In this paper we investigate flows on discrete curves in $\C^2$, $\CP^1$, and $\C$. A novel interpretation of the one dimensional Toda lattice hierarchy and reductions thereof as flows on discrete curves will be given., Comment: 24 pages, 3 figures