1. Introduction
Geometric flows constitute an essential methodology for continuously transforming a given metric on a manifold towards a canonical or more regular geometric configuration. Prominent examples of such geometric flows, fundamentally significant in both theoretical physics and differential geometry, encompass the cross-curvature (CC) flow, Ricci-harmonic flow, mean curvature flow, Yamabe flow, and Ricci flow. A significant subset of solutions within these flows are the so-called solitons, which characterize self-similar solutions evolving under the flow dynamics. Ricci solitons, initially introduced by R. Hamilton in [
1], satisfy the defining relation
and naturally extend the concept of Einstein metrics. Since their inception, this notion has been broadened to encompass solitons arising from various other geometric flow equations. Here, the term ‘curvature’ refers exclusively to the intrinsic (pseudo-)Riemannian curvature of three-dimensional manifolds; we do not consider extrinsic curvature nor make direct physical interpretations from General Relativity.
This study is devoted to the analysis of generalized CC solitons residing on 3D Lorentzian homogeneous manifolds. Such manifolds are characterized either by local symmetry or by a local Lie group structure equipped with a Lorentzian metric that remains invariant under left translations. Our primary objective is to classify such solitons and analyze their intrinsic geometric characteristics within the Lorentzian framework.
Consider a smooth 3D manifold
equipped with a metric
g. Define the symmetric
-tensor
where
denotes the Ricci tensor components and
R is the scalar curvature derived from
g. By raising indices through the inverse metric tensor
, the corresponding
-tensor is given by
Assuming that the matrix
is invertible with inverse denoted by
, the CC tensor
h is introduced by
A pseudo-Riemannian manifold
of dimension three is termed a
cross-curvature soliton (CCS) if a smooth vector field
X and a constant scalar
exist, satisfying
where
is the Lie derivative of the metric
g, and
h is as above. The cross-curvature flow (CCF), formulated by B. Chow and R. S. Hamilton [
2], applies to three-dimensional Riemannian manifolds and is defined by the differential equation
where the tensor
h denotes the cross-curvature tensor, and the parameter
reflects the sign of the sectional curvature of
. Such solitons characterize self-similar solutions to the CC flow and play a role analogous to that of Ricci solitons in the context of Ricci flow, as studied in [
3,
4,
5,
6].
The tensor
introduced in Equation (
1) can be interpreted as a curvature-derived analogue of an energy–momentum tensor. In three dimensions, all curvature information is encoded in the Ricci tensor
(or equivalently the Schouten tensor). From this perspective,
provides a natural symmetric two-tensor constructed purely from intrinsic curvature data, serving as the appropriate analogue of a stress–energy-type tensor. The generalized soliton Equation (
2) should therefore be regarded as a curvature-driven ansatz, motivated by the same algebraic principles that underlie stress–energy constructions in geometric flows and gravity. The trace of the tensor
P on the surfaces is zero.
In our analysis, we assume the invertibility of the tensor
. This assumption is natural for most left-invariant metrics under consideration, and it plays an analytic role in reducing the soliton system to a tractable set of relations. However, for completeness, we now explicitly list the degenerate cases in
Section 2 where
fails to be invertible. Such exceptional cases are either excluded from the present analysis or treated separately with modified soliton equations. The CC flow on three-dimensional locally homogeneous Riemannian spaces with non-negative curvature constraints was studied by Cao and collaborators [
7,
8], who analyzed the long-term behavior of the flow. Further contributions to this field can be found in [
9,
10,
11,
12].
Extending this notion, a
generalized cross-curvature soliton is defined by the equation
where
is a real parameter and
R denotes the scalar curvature. This generalization was introduced by Azami [
13] to describe solitons of the generalized CC flow. The soliton is called expanding, steady, or shrinking depending on whether
is positive, zero, or negative, respectively. If the vector field
X is Killing, i.e.,
, then the soliton is considered trivial.
Classical soliton (kink) solutions originally arise in the study of solitary waves in nonlinear field theories and are often constructed as finite-energy solutions of the (Lorentzian) field equations. The concept of a “soliton” was first introduced by Kruskal and Zabusky to describe the nature of solitary waves [
14]. Since then, soliton theory has been extensively developed and found applications in fields such as fluid dynamics, elementary particle physics, and condensed matter physics [
15]. A relatively complete mathematical and physical theory of solitons has now emerged, demonstrating close connections with modern physics. On the other hand, symmetric metrics are often employed to simplify the classification of solutions to Einstein’s field equations. In this context, solitons represent an important type of symmetry related to the geometric flow of spacetime. Hamilton [
1] introduced the Ricci flow and the Yamabe flow, along with their associated solitons, which have been instrumental in understanding the kinematics of geometric structures.
In semiclassical quantum mechanics and quantum field theory, it is standard to perform a Wick rotation
to Euclidean time; under this transformation, certain time-dependent Lorentzian solutions become static or finite-action solutions of the Euclidean equations. Such finite-action Euclidean solutions are commonly referred to as instantons or pseudo-particles and are used to evaluate tunneling amplitudes and semiclassical contributions to path integrals (for reviews, see, e.g., [
16,
17]).
In the present work, when we refer to soliton or kink solutions, we mean (depending on context) either the original Lorentzian solitary-wave solutions or their Euclidean counterparts used in semiclassical analysis. Likewise, the phrase time-dependent solution in the Euclidean formulation should be read as a
-dependent (Euclidean-time dependent) solution. The metrics generated by the cross-curvature flow depend on time ttt, satisfy Equation (
3), and their special cases are the cross-curvature solitons.
The foundational results on the generalized CC flow, including its short-time existence, were established in [
13].
In recent developments, the study of various geometric solitons on locally homogeneous manifolds has attracted considerable attention. Previous studies have established that no non-trivial homogeneous Ricci solitons arise on Lie groups of dimension four or lower when these groups are equipped with left-invariant Riemannian metrics (refer to [
18,
19,
20,
21]). Nevertheless, explicit examples of three-dimensional homogeneous Ricci solitons in Riemannian settings have been constructed in [
22,
23]. Onda [
24] extended a key result originally established by Lauret [
25], who demonstrated that Ricci solitons of algebraic type on Lie groups equipped with left-invariant (LI) Riemannian metrics are inherently homogeneous. This foundational insight was later adapted to the broader setting of pseudo-Riemannian geometry, revealing its applicability beyond the Riemannian case. Moreover, Calvaruso and Fino [
26] explored Ricci solitons on homogeneous non-reductive four-dimensional spaces.
Regarding CCSs, the classification of LI solutions on three-dimensional Lorentzian Lie groups (3DLLGs) has been presented in [
9]. For more information on Ricci solitons in homogeneous geometries, the reader may refer to [
27,
28].
Recent interest in geometric evolution equations beyond the Ricci flow has motivated the study of cross-curvature (CC) flows and their solitons as natural pseudo-Riemannian analogues of Ricci solitons. In particular, extending the CC soliton framework to Lorentzian signature and introducing a one-parameter generalization involving the parameter
yields a richer algebraic structure and new families of homogeneous models to analyze. Left-invariant metrics on three-dimensional Lie groups provide a tractable setting for a complete algebraic classification, allowing for the explicit computation of curvature tensors and reduction in the soliton condition to solvable polynomial systems. Recent work by Azami et al. (2024) [
9] on cross-curvature solitons of three-dimensional Lorentzian Lie groups provides both a precedent and concrete examples that motivate the present generalization. Our introduction of the parameter
unifies and extends previously studied cases, clarifies the role of conformal flatness in the existence theory, and produces new existence and nonexistence results specific to the Lorentzian setting. These homogeneous models therefore serve as useful laboratories for testing conjectures about existence, uniqueness, and stability for generalized CC-flows, and they highlight phenomena absent in the Riemannian category.
The organization of this paper is as follows:
Section 2 recalls necessary background on 3DLLGs utilized in the subsequent classification.
Section 3 contains the main results along with their proofs.
3. Generalized CCSs on 3DLLGs
This section focuses on an in-depth investigation of LI solutions to Equation (
4) as posed on the 3DLLGs outlined earlier in
Section 2. Through the resolution of the corresponding algebraic system, we provide a full classification of all admissible LI generalized CCSs compatible with these Lie group geometries.
Theorem 1. Let be a unimodular 3DLLG of Type Ia. The existence of an LI generalized CCS on this structure is characterized precisely by the fulfillment of the following conditions:
Proof. To determine when a Type Ia Lie group supports a generalized CCS, we analyze the conditions imposed by Equation (
4). This reduces to solving the following system:
Starting with the first line, if we set
, then either
or
. Assuming
, it follows that all three structure constants are equal. Since
is assumed to be invertible, we must have
. Substituting into the remaining equations of (
5), we obtain the following:
and the soliton Equation (
4) holds true for every LI vector field
X.
Now, assume that
while
differs from
. This implies
, and considering the relation
, it follows that
must also vanish. The last two equations simplify to the following:
Since (from invertibility of ), it follows that , contradicting the initial assumption.
Now consider
. Then
, and we must analyze two subcases. First, if
, then the system reduces to the following:
Solving yields , which again contradicts our assumption.
The only remaining situation is
,
, and
. From the first equation, all components
,
, and
must vanish. Substituting into the curvature equations yields the following:
This system has no solution under the stated inequalities, completing the proof. □
As a direct consequence of Proposition 1 and Theorem 1, we deduce the following corollary:
Corollary 1. Any LI generalized CCS defined on a unimodular 3DLLG Type Ia is necessarily locally conformally flat.
Theorem 2. No LI generalized CCSs exist on unimodular 3DLLGs of Type Ib.
Proof. Referring to Equation (
4), a generalized CCS of Type Ib exists precisely when the subsequent system is satisfied:
From the combination of the fourth and sixth relations, it follows that . Given , one deduces . The fifth condition implies either or .
Assuming the latter, substitution into the fourth equation yields , which conflicts with the first equation unless . This contradicts the assumption .
Alternatively, if , the first and fourth equations reduce to and , respectively. These two equalities imply and , again contradicting the premise .
Therefore, system (
6) admits no solutions, and consequently, no homogeneous generalized CCSs of Type Ib exist. □
Theorem 3. Consider the three-dimensional unimodular Lorentzian Lie algebra of Type II, denoted by . The classification of LI generalized CCSs on is as follows:
Proof. The condition for a generalized CCS on Type II, as given by Equation (
4), reduces to solving the following system:
By aggregating the last three equations, one finds that
Substituting this expression into the first equation of system (
7) imposes
. The invertibility of
guarantees that
cannot vanish. This subsequently forces
and
. □
Corollary 2. For a Type II unimodular Lorentzian Lie group, possessing local conformal flatness does not automatically guarantee the existence of an LI generalized CCS.
Theorem 4. Consider the three-dimensional unimodular Lorentzian Lie algebra of Type III. The associated LI generalized CCS is defined by the following conditions: Proof. The soliton Equation (
4) specialized to Type III yields the following system:
From the second relation, it immediately follows that
Combining the first and third equations leads to
and similarly, the first and fifth imply
Solving these simultaneously results in
□
Theorem 5. In the case of a three-dimensional non-unimodular Lorentzian Lie algebra of Type IV.1, every LI generalized CCS can be categorized into one of four unique classes:
- 1.
When , with and , the scalar parameter is given by valid for arbitrary , δ, ρ, and nonzero γ.
- 2.
If and the relation hold, together with where , then with , , and arbitrary δ, ρ, .
- 3.
Under the assumptions , , and , for arbitrary and ρ.
- 4.
If and with , all components vanish. The scalar λ is for arbitrary ρ.
Proof. Starting from the soliton Equation (
4), we derive the following system:
Starting with the scenario where
, the invertibility of
imposes that
while
remains nonzero. The first equation then imposes
. Setting
in the final three equations yields
implying the identity
and hence
. The second equation further dictates
. This corresponds to the first classification above.
Next, for
, from the second equation of (
9), we find
and
. The third equation reduces to
. Assuming
, denote
and
with
. The last three equations simplify, resulting in
which with
forces
. This case defines the second solution family.
If
, the constraint
implies
and
. The reduced equations become
which yield
and
. Since
, it follows
. This represents the third family.
Finally, consider
,
,
, and
. From the third equation,
follows. The first equation enforces either
or
. Assuming
, the system reduces to
Given that
is invertible, this simplifies to
By substituting
and assuming
, one obtains
,
, and
which describes the fourth family.
If one attempts the alternative with
and
, from the last equation it follows
Substitution into the preceding equations yields
For , this forces , which contradicts the assumption after simplification and leads to . Hence, this scenario is invalid. □
Corollary 3. Local conformal flatness does not imply the existence of LI generalized CCSs on a Type IV.1 non-unimodular Lorentzian Lie group.
Theorem 6. Let be a three-dimensional non-unimodular Lorentzian Lie algebra of Type IV.2. The full classification of LI generalized CCSs on falls into one of the following four exclusive categories:
- 1.
When , with , and parameters satisfying , , the scalar parameter satisfies while remains arbitrary.
- 2.
For and , all vanish, and valid for any ρ.
- 3.
If , , with , then for arbitrary ρ.
- 4.
When , , , and , the scalar and vector components satisfy for any ρ.
Proof. Starting from the soliton Equation (
4), the system reduces to the following:
Case 1: Suppose
. Invertibility of
demands
and
. The first equation yields
. Substituting
into the last three equations results in
Consistency forces . From the second equation, . This characterizes the first solution family.
Case 2: For , the constraint gives . The second and third equations imply and .
If
, then
and
. The system reduces to
implying
, contradicting
.
Case 3: If , , and , then . The first equation yields either or .
Assuming
, the last three equations reduce to a linear system that forces
Replacing
and assuming
yield
,
, and
. Then,
identifying the second family.
Case 4: Suppose
,
,
,
, and
. Then
, and the sixth equation determines
Inserting this into the fourth and fifth equations yields
Equating the two expressions for
leads to
If
, then
defining the third family. Otherwise, if
, then
and
which corresponds to the fourth family. □
Corollary 4. A locally conformally flat Type IV.2 non-unimodular Lorentzian Lie group may fail to possess any LI generalized CCS.
Theorem 7. There exist no LI generalized CCSs on any three-dimensional non-unimodular Lorentzian Lie group of Type IV.3.
Proof. The soliton Equation (
4) for Type IV.3 reduces to solving the following:
Since is invertible, we have . Then implies . The relation enforces . Substituting into the first and fourth equations yields , contradicting . Therefore, no such soliton exists. □