On symmetric CR geometries of hypersurface type

Abstract

We study non-degenerate CR geometries of hypersurface type that are symmetric in the sense that, at each point, there is a CR transformation reversing the CR distribution at that point. We show that such geometries are either flat or homogeneous. We show that non-flat non-degenerate symmetric CR geometries of hypersurface type are covered by CR geometries with a compatible pseudo-Riemannian metric preserved by all symmetries. We construct examples of simply connected flat non-degenerate symmetric CR geometries of hypersurface type that do not carry a pseudo-Riemannian metric compatible with the symmetries.

arXiv comment21 pp, major revision, Sections 4.3, 4.4, 6.2 added