Hermitian structures on a class of quaternionic K\"ahler manifolds

Abstract

Any quaternionic K\"ahler manifold $(\bar N,g_{\bar N},\mathcal Q)$ equipped with a Killing vector field $X$ with nowhere vanishing quaternionic moment map carries an integrable almost complex structure $J_1$ that is a section of the quaternionic structure $\mathcal Q$. Using the HK/QK correspondence, we study properties of the almost Hermitian structure $(g_{\bar N},\tilde J_1)$ obtained by changing the sign of $J_1$ on the distribution spanned by $X$ and $J_1X$. In particular, we derive necessary and sufficient conditions for its integrability and for it being conformally K\"ahler. We show that for a large class of quaternionic K\"ahler manifolds containing the one-loop deformed c-map spaces, the structure $\tilde J_1$ is integrable. We do also show that the integrability of $\tilde J_1$ implies that $(g_{\bar N},\tilde J_1)$ is conformally K\"ahler in dimension four, but not in higher dimensions. In the special case of the one-loop deformation of the quaternionic K\"ahler symmetric spaces dual to the complex Grassmannians of two-planes we construct a third canonical Hermitian structure $(g_{\bar N},\hat J_1)$. Finally, we give a complete local classification of quaternionic K\"ahler four-folds for which $\tilde J_1$ is integrable and show that these are either locally symmetric or carry a cohomogeneity $1$ isometric action generated by one of the Lie algebras $\mathfrak{o}(2)\ltimes\mathfrak{heis}_3(\mathbb R)$, $\mathfrak{u}(2)$, or $\mathfrak{u}(1,1)$.