A time-flat condition on spacelike 2-surfaces in spacetime is considered here. This condition is analogous to constant torsion condition for curves in three dimensional space and has been studied in [2, 4, 5, 12, 13]. In particular, any 2-surface in a static slice of a static spacetime is time-flat. In this article, we address the question in the title and prove several local and global rigidity theorems for such surfaces in the Minkowski spacetime.

We study adiabatic limits of Ricci-flat K¨ahler metrics on a Calabi-Yau manifold which is the total space of a holomorphic fibration when the volume of the fibers goes to zero. By establishing some new a priori estimates for the relevant complex Monge-Amp`ere equation, we show that the Ricci-flat metrics collapse (away from the singular fibers) to a metric on the base of the fibration. This metric has Ricci curvature equal to a WeilPetersson metric that measures the variation of complex structure of the Calabi-Yau fibers. This generalizes results of Gross-Wilson for K3 surfaces to higher dimensions.

We consider left-invariant distances d on a Lie group G with the property that there exists a multiplicative one-parameter group of Lie automorphisms (0,∞)→Aut(G), λ↦δλ, so that d(δ_λx,δ_λy)=λd(x,y), for all x,y∈G and all λ>0. First, we show that all such distances are admissible, that is, they induce the manifold topology. Second, we characterize multiplicative one-parameter groups of Lie automorphisms that are dilations for some left-invariant distance in terms of algebraic properties of their infinitesimal generator. Third, we show that an admissible left-invariant distance on a Lie group with at least one nontrivial dilating automorphism is bi-Lipschitz equivalent to one that admits a one-parameter group of dilating automorphisms. Moreover, the infinitesimal generator can be chosen to have spectrum in [1,∞). Fourth, we characterize the automorphisms of a Lie group that are a dilating automorphisms for some admissible distance. Finally, we characterize metric Lie groups admitting a one-parameter group of dilating automorphisms as the only locally compact, isometrically homogeneous metric spaces with metric dilations of all factors. Such metric spaces appear as tangents of doubling metric spaces with unique tangents.

We define non-pluripolar products of an arbitrary number of closed positive (1, 1)-currents on a compact Kähler manifold$X$. Given a big (1, 1)-cohomology class$α$on$X$(i.e. a class that can be represented by a strictly positive current) and a positive measure$μ$on$X$of total mass equal to the volume of$α$and putting no mass on pluripolar sets, we show that$μ$can be written in a unique way as the top-degree self-intersection in the non-pluripolar sense of a closed positive current in$α$. We then extend Kolodziedj’s approach to sup-norm estimates to show that the solution has minimal singularities in the sense of Demailly if$μ$has$L$^{1+$ε$}-density with respect to Lebesgue measure. If$μ$is smooth and positive everywhere, we prove that$T$is smooth on the ample locus of$α$provided$α$is nef. Using a fixed point theorem, we finally explain how to construct singular Kähler–Einstein volume forms with minimal singularities on varieties of general type.

Deformation quantization and geometric quantization on K\"ahler manifolds give the mathematical description of the algebra of quantum observables and the Hilbert spaces respectively, where the later forms a representation of quantum observables asymptotically via Toeplitz operators. When there is a Hamiltonian $G$-action on a K\"ahler manifold, there are associated symmetries on both the quantum algebra and representation aspects. We show that in nice cases of coadjoint orbits and K\"ahler-Einstein manifolds, these symmetries are strictly compatible (not only asymptotically).