A general nonuniqueness result for Yamabe-type problems for conformally variational Riemannian invariants

Abstract

Given a conformally variational scalar Riemannian invariant $I$, we identify a sufficient condition for a compact Riemannian manifold to admit finite regular coverings with many nonhomothetic conformal rescalings with $I$ constant. We also identify a sufficient condition for the universal cover to admit infinitely many geometrically distinct periodic conformal rescalings with $I$ constant. Using these conditions, we improve known nonuniqueness results for the $Q$-curvatures of orders two, four, and six, and establish nonuniqueness results for higher-order $Q$-curvatures and renormalized volume coefficients.