Conformal connection
title: "Conformal connection" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["conformal-geometry", "connection-(mathematics)"] topic_path: "science/mathematics" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conformal_connection" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
In conformal differential geometry, a conformal connection is a Cartan connection on an n-dimensional manifold M arising as a deformation of the Klein geometry given by the celestial n-sphere, viewed as the homogeneous space
:O+(n+1,1)/P
where P is the stabilizer of a fixed null line through the origin in Rn+2, in the orthochronous Lorentz group O+(n+1,1) in n+2 dimensions.
Normal Cartan connection
Any manifold equipped with a conformal structure has a canonical conformal connection called the normal Cartan connection.
Formal definition
A conformal connection on an n-manifold M is a Cartan geometry modelled on the conformal sphere, where the latter is viewed as a homogeneous space for O+(n+1,1). In other words, it is an O+(n+1,1)-bundle equipped with
- a O+(n+1,1)-connection (the Cartan connection)
- a reduction of structure group to the stabilizer of a point in the conformal sphere (a null line in Rn+1,1) such that the solder form induced by these data is an isomorphism.
References
- E. Cartan, "Les espaces à connexion conforme", Ann. Soc. Polon. Math., 2 (1923): 171–221.
- K. Ogiue, "Theory of conformal connections" Kodai Math. Sem. Reports, 19 (1967): 193–224.
- Le, Anbo. "Cartan connections for CR manifolds." manuscripta mathematica 122.2 (2007): 245–264.
::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::