1. Introduction
In contemporary Riemannian geometry, geometric flows have become fundamental tools for analyzing the evolution of geometric structures. Among these, a particularly important class consists of metric evolutions governed by combined scaling and diffeomorphism transformations. The solutions to these flows, called solitons, have gained prominence for their ability to model and characterize singularity formation in geometric evolution processes. Consequently, solitons now represent crucial paradigms in the study of geometric flows, providing key insights into the nature of singularities and serving as essential models for understanding the long-term behavior of such evolutionary systems.
The R–B flow serves as an important extension of the classical Ricci flow [
1], first originated by Bourguignon [
2] based on foundational work by Lichnerowicz (unpublished) and key results from Aubin [
3]. Being an intrinsic geometric flow on Riemannian manifolds, its fixed points inherently correspond to solutions of the R–B soliton equation. R–B solitons are of particular significance, as they offer self-similar solutions to the flow, as demonstrated in [
4]. These solitons play a crucial role in modeling the flow’s singularities and analyzing its long-term behavior; they are defined by the relation
In this context,
E denotes the Ricci curvature of the Riemannian manifold,
s represents the scalar curvature associated with the metric
g and
is a constant. From Equation (
1), the partial differential equation (PDE) defines the evolution equation, as illustrated in the following table, which is derived in [
5] (
Table 1).
In two dimensions, the last three tensors in the table vanish, leading to a static flow. In higher dimensions, the values of are presented above.
The work of [
5] establishes that the R–B flow, given in (
1), admits a unique solution for sufficiently small
when the parameter
satisfies
, where
. Moreover, as demonstrated in [
1,
7], quasi-Einstein metrics (including Ricci solitons) emerge as special solutions to the classical Ricci flow
, satisfying
for some smooth potential function
f and constant
. Aubin [
3] was the pioneer in introducing the R–B flow on complete Riemannian manifolds. Subsequent contributions from researchers such as De et al. [
8] and Siddiqi [
9] have further advanced the theory of R–B solitons.
A (semi-)Riemannian manifold of dimension
is named as an R–B soliton [
3] if it satisfies the equation
In this equation, represents the Lie derivative with respect to the vector field , referred to as the soliton or potential vector field. The parameter is a non-zero real constant that governs the contribution of the scalar curvature, while is an arbitrary real constant characterizing the nature of the soliton. Analogous to the classification of Ricci solitons, R–B soliton is categorized as expanding if , steady if and shrinking if , respectively.
By modifying the defining equation of the R–B soliton in (
2) through the addition of a multiple of the specific (0,2)-tensor field
, we arrive at a broader framework referred to as
-R–B solitons [
9]. These solitons are characterized by the equation
where
is a 1-form and
is a real constant. If
, then Equation (
3) reduces to the
-Ricci soliton (see [
10,
11,
12,
13,
14,
15,
16,
17,
18,
19,
20]). Numerous contributions on
-R–B solitons were made by [
21,
22,
23,
24] and many other authors.
This paper aims to explore
-R–B solitons within the
-Kenmotsu geometry in the following manner:
Section 2 establishes the mathematical foundation, detailing the key properties of
-Kenmotsu manifolds and requisite geometric tools.
Section 3 develops the theoretical framework for
-R–B solitons on
-Kenmotsu manifolds, with particular attention given to the functional relationship between the soliton constants
and
.
Section 4 conducts a specialized analysis of
-R–B solitons-compatible Ricci tensors, focusing on three fundamental types: Codazzi-type, cyclic parallel and cyclic
-recurrent.
Section 5 extends the investigation to indefinite Kenmotsu manifolds, analyzing
-R–B solitons in the context of projective, conharmonic and
-curvature tensors.
Section 6 elucidates the geometric consequences of torse-forming vector fields in
-R–B soliton structures.
Section 7 provides a complete characterization of
-Ricci symmetric indefinite Kenmotsu manifolds that admit
-R–B soliton solutions. The concluding section demonstrates the physical realizability of these structures through explicit examples of
-R–B solitons on
-Kenmotsu manifolds.
2. Fundamental Concepts
An
n-dimensional smooth manifold
is characterized as an
-almost contact metric manifold [
25] if it is equipped with a (1,1)-tensor field
, a structure vector field
, a 1-form
and an indefinite metric
g, which collectively satisfy the following set of conditions:
for all vector fields
, where
or
, depending on whether
is a spacelike or timelike vector field, respectively, and the symbol
designates the space of all differentiable vector fields on the manifold
. If
where
d is an exterior derivative, then we say that
is an
-contact metric manifold. We also have
where
D denotes the Levi-Civita connection associated with the metric
g and the manifold
is known as an
-Kenmotsu manifold [
26]. An
-almost contact metric manifold is an
-Kenmotsu manifold if and only if it meets the following conditions:
Moreover, an
-Kenmotsu manifold
holds the following relations:
where
R represents the curvature tensor,
E is the Ricci tensor and
L is the Ricci operator defined by
[
26], respectively. If
, then an
-Kenmotsu manifold reduces to a Kenmotsu manifold [
27].
Definition 1. The projective curvature tensor P [
28]
, the conharmonic curvature tensor C [
29]
and the -curvature tensor W [
30]
, respectively, are defined on an n-dimensional ϵ-Kenmotsu manifold in the following manner:for all the vector fields on the manifold . Definition 2. The manifold , equipped with an ϵ-Kenmotsu structure is called an η-Einstein manifold when its Ricci tensor E can be written in the formwhere and are scalar functions defined on the manifold . 3. Indefinite Kenmotsu Manifolds with -R–B Solitonic Structures
Let us consider that an
-Kenmotsu manifold
admits
-R–B solitons
. Then from (
3), we can write
for all
on
.
We know that
, then using (
6) in (
17), we have
Now, from (
17) and (
18), we get
Again, setting
in (
19), we obtain
Comparing (
12) and (
20), we find
As a result, we derive the following.
Theorem 1. Suppose that an n-dimensional ϵ-Kenmotsu manifold admits an η-R–B solitons structure defined by . In this case, is considered to be an η-Einstein manifold given in (
19)
and the parameters λ and μ are connected through the relation given in (
21).
Moreover, if we take
, then from (
19) and (
21), we have
and
From this, we can deduce the following.
Corollary 1. Suppose that an n-dimensional ϵ-Kenmotsu manifold admits an η-R–B solitons structure defined by . Then is necessarily an η-Einstein manifold, with the soliton constant λ satisfying , where s denotes the scalar curvature. The soliton’s nature is determined by the causal character of the structure vector field ξ:
For spacelike ξ: expanding if , steady if and shrinking if ;
For timelike ξ: expanding if , steady if and shrinking if .
Next, we seek to establish a condition involving a second-order symmetric parallel tensor that determines when an
-Kenmotsu manifold
admits an
-R–B solitons. To achieve this, we define the second-order tensor
h on the manifold
as follows:
In view of (
18) and (
19), Equation (
22) becomes
Setting
in (
23), we obtain
Given that
h is a second-order symmetric parallel tensor, that is,
, we obtain the relation
for all
.
Again, setting
in (
25), we obtain
Inserting (
11) in (
26), we get
By taking the covariant derivative of (
27) with respect to
, we arrive at
From (
6), (
7) and (
28), we have
Thus, in view of (
22), (
24) and (
29), we finally obtain
Therefore, we can conclude the following.
Theorem 2. Suppose that an n-dimensional ϵ-Kenmotsu manifold . If the second-order symmetric (0,2)-tensor field is parallel to the Levi-Civita connection D associated with g, then the manifold admits an η-R–B solitons .
4. Indefinite Kenmotsu Manifolds Admitting -R–B Solitons with Certain Types of Ricci Tensor
Definition 3 ([
31]).
An ϵ-Kenmotsu manifold is said to possess a Codazzi-type Ricci tensor if its non-zero Ricci tensor satisfies the differential symmetry conditionfor all . Let us examine an
-Kenmotsu manifold with a Codazzi-type Ricci tensor that supports
-R–B solitons
. In this case, Equation (
19) holds. By taking the covariant derivative of (
19) and utilizing (
7), we obtain the following expression:
Due to the fact that the Ricci tensor exhibits Codazzi-type symmetry, Equation (
31) follows from (
30) and becomes
Since
is constant, that is,
. Therefore, the above equation becomes
Since
in (
32) and therefore,
. Thus, from (
21), it follows that
This leads to the formulation of the following.
Theorem 3. Let be an n-dimensional ϵ-Kenmotsu manifold that admits an η-R–B solitons associated with the tuple . If the Ricci tensor on this manifold satisfies the Codazzi condition, then the soliton parameters are given by and .
Corollary 2. Consider an n-dimensional ϵ-Kenmotsu manifold that admits an η-R–B solitons characterized by the tuple and suppose that its Ricci tensor is of Codazzi type. Then the nature of the soliton can be classified based on the causal character of the vector field ξ as follows:
If ξ is a spacelike vector field, the soliton is said to be expanding, steady, or shrinking depending on whether , , or , respectively.
If ξ is timelike, the soliton will be expanding, steady, or shrinking according to whether , , or , respectively.
Definition 4 ([
31]).
An ϵ-Kenmotsu manifold is said to possess a cyclic parallel Ricci tensor if its non-vanishing Ricci tensor E satisfies the cyclic covariant derivative conditionfor all . Assume that an
-Kenmotsu manifold with a cyclic parallel Ricci tensor admits an
-R–B solitons
. In this case, Equation (
19) holds.
From (
31) and (
33), we have
Since
is constant and upon replacing
with
in (
34), we get
The above equation indicates that
and from (
21), it follows that
. Therefore, the statement can be written as.
Theorem 4. Let be an n-dimensional ϵ-Kenmotsu manifold that admits an η-R–B solitons described by the tuple . If the Ricci tensor of the manifold is cyclic parallel, then the parameters satisfy and .
Definition 5. A cyclic η-recurrent Ricci tensor on an ϵ-Kenmotsu manifold is defined by the requirement that the non-zero Ricci tensor E satisfiesfor all . Suppose an
-Kenmotsu manifold with a cyclic
-recurrent Ricci tensor admits
-R–B solitons
. In this case, Equation (
19) is satisfied. Thus, in view of (
19), (
31) and (
35), we obtain
Then Equation (
36) becomes
Now, setting
in (
37), we get
Since
(in general), then from (
38), we get
Thus, we can conclude with the following statement.
Theorem 5. Let be an n-dimensional ϵ-Kenmotsu manifold admitting an η-R–B solitons given by the tuple . If the Ricci tensor of the manifold is cyclic η-recurrent, then the soliton parameter λ satisfies the relation . Furthermore, the behavior of the soliton depends on the causal character of the vector field ξ as follows:
If ξ is spacelike, the soliton is expanding when , steady when , and shrinking when .
If ξ is timelike, the soliton is expanding if , steady if , and shrinking if .
Corollary 3. Let be an n-dimensional ϵ-Kenmotsu manifold that admits an R–B soliton characterized by the quadruple . If the Ricci tensor of the manifold is cyclic η-recurrent, then the soliton constant λ is uniquely determined by the relation .
5. Indefinite Kenmotsu Manifolds Admitting -R–B Solitons with Certain Curvature Conditions
Definition 6. An n-dimensional ϵ-Kenmotsu manifold is said to be Ricci semi-symmetric if the following condition satisfiesfor all . Consider an
n-dimensional
-Kenmotsu manifold admitting
-R–B solitons
and suppose the manifold is Ricci semi-symmetric, meaning
. Then we have
Setting
and using (
12) in (
39), we have
From (
8), (
10) and (
40), we have
Using the expression in (
19), we can rewrite Equation (
41) as follows
Now, putting
and with the help of (
4) and (
5) in (
42), we have
Since
, we can conclude from (
43) that
Then from (
21), we have
. Therefore, the following statement arises.
Theorem 6. Let be an n-dimensional ϵ-Kenmotsu manifold that admits an η-R–B solitons . If the manifold is Ricci semi-symmetric, meaning that , then the soliton parameters satisfy and . Furthermore, the nature of the soliton depends on the causal character of the vector field ξ, if
ξ is spacelike, the soliton is expanding if , steady if , shrinking if ;
ξ is timelike, the soliton is expanding if , steady if , shrinking if .
We thus set the following definition.
Definition 7. An n-dimensional ϵ-Kenmotsu manifold is said to be conharmonically Ricci semi-symmetric if the following relation holdsfor all . Let us now consider an
n-dimensional
-Kenmotsu manifold
admitting an
-R–B solitons
that fulfills conharmonically Ricci semi-symmetric, i.e.,
. Under these conditions, we obtain the following equation
From (
44) and (
45), we have
Again, from (
12) and (
46), we get
Setting
in (
47) and using (
4), (
5) and (
12) in (
47), we get
Now, in view of (
19) and (
48), we derive
Again, taking
in (
49), we have
Based on the above equation, we are able to get
This leads us to the following conclusion.
Theorem 7. Let be an n-dimensional ϵ-Kenmotsu manifold that admits an η-R–B solitons specified by the tuple . If the manifold satisfies conharmonically Ricci semi-symmetric, that is, , then the manifold is an η-Einstein and the soliton constants λ and μ are related by the expression Definition 8. An n-dimensional ϵ-Kenmotsu manifold is called ξ-projectively flat iffor all , where P denotes the projective curvature tensor. Again, we consider an
n-dimensional
-Kenmotsu manifold
satisfying
and admitting an
-R–B solitons
. Then setting
in (
14), we obtain
Using (
10) and (
20) in (
50), we have
In view of (
21) and (
51), we obtain
. Thus, we have the following theorem.
Theorem 8. An n-dimensional ϵ-Kenmotsu manifold admitting an η-R–B solitons is ξ-projectively flat.
Now, we define another definition as follows.
Definition 9. An n-dimensional ϵ-Kenmotsu manifold is said to be projectively Ricci semi-symmetric if the following condition holdswhere P is the projective curvature tensor and L is the Ricci operator defined by , respectively. Theorem 9. Let be an n-dimensional ϵ-Kenmotsu manifold that admits an η-R–B solitons defined by the tuple . If the manifold satisfies projectively Ricci semi-symmetric, that is, , then is an η-Einstein and the soliton parameters λ and μ satisfy the relation Proof. Let an
n-dimensional
-Kenmotsu manifold
supporting
-R–B solitons
be projectively Ricci semi-symmetric, i.e., consider
. This type of curvature condition is also studied by [
32]. Then we can write
From (
14) and (
52), we get
Applying the inner product of (
53) with
, we arrive at
Putting
in (
54), we obtain
From (
4), (
9) and (
13), we get
Comparing (
55) and (
19), we get
Again, setting
in (
56), we have
for all
. Since
always, then from (
57), we can conclude that
Thus, the proof is completed. □
Once again, we present the following definition.
Definition 10. An n-dimensional ϵ-Kenmotsu manifold is said to be -Ricci semi-symmetric if the following expression satisfiesfor all , where W is the -curvature tensor. Theorem 10. Let be an n-dimensional ϵ-Kenmotsu manifold that admits an η-R–B solitons represented by the tuple . If the manifold satisfies -Ricci semi-symmetric, meaning , then it is an Einstein and the constants λ and μ are related by Proof. Suppose an
n-dimensional
-Kenmotsu manifold
admits an
-R–B solitons
that satisfy the
-Ricci semi-symmetric condition, that is,
, where
W is the
-curvature tensor. Then we have the following relation
Setting
in the latest equation, we get
Also, taking
in (
16), we get
In view of (
9), (
12), (
13) and (
59), we obtain
Again, performing
in (
60), we have
Using (
60) and (
61) in (
58), we have
which shows that
is an Einstein manifold. Comparing (
62) and (
19), we get
Again, setting
in (
63) and with the help of (
4) and (
5), we get
Since
, then from (
64), we can say that
Thus, this completes the proof. □
9. Conclusions and Future Directions
This study has provided a comprehensive examination of an -R–B solitons on -Kenmotsu manifolds, particularly under the influence of special Ricci tensor conditions such as Codazzi-type, cyclic parallel and cyclic -recurrent structures. By analyzing various curvature tensors, including the projective, conharmonic and tensors, we have identified several key geometric constraints that govern the existence and nature of these solitons. The role of torse-forming vector fields was also explored in detail, offering deeper insight into their interaction with solitonic structures. Moreover, we presented a characterization of -Ricci symmetric indefinite Kenmotsu manifolds admitting such solitons, further enriching the geometric context.
To validate our theoretical findings, explicit examples of indefinite Kenmotsu manifolds admitting -R–B solitons were constructed. These examples not only demonstrate the existence of such solitons but also highlight the distinctive geometric features they introduce.
Looking ahead, several promising directions emerge for future research. One natural extension is to study -R–B solitons on broader classes of contact metric manifolds, such as - or -spaces. Another avenue is to investigate the evolution and stability of these solitons under various geometric flows, including the R–B flow or its conformal variants. Additionally, exploring solitonic behavior on warped product manifolds or in pseudo-Riemannian contexts may yield further insights with potential applications in mathematical physics and relativity. These future investigations could significantly deepen our understanding of the interplay between soliton theory and contact metric geometry.