Extension of de Rham decomposition theorem via non-Euclidean development

Abstract

In the present paper, we give a necessary and sufficient condition for a Riemannian manifold $(M,g)$ to have a reducible action of a hyperbolic analogue of the holonomy group. This condition amounts to a decomposition of $(M,g)$ as a warped product of a special form, in analogy to the classical de Rham decomposition theorem for Riemannian manifolds. As a consequence of these results and Berger's classification of holonomy groups, we obtain a simple necessary and sufficient condition for the complete controllability of the system of $(M,g)$ rolling against the hyperbolic space.