Metrics with Prescribed Ricci Curvature on Homogeneous Spaces

Abstract: Let $G$ be a compact connected Lie group and $H$ a closed subgroup of $G$. Suppose the homogeneous space $G/H$ is effective and has dimension 3 or higher. Consider a $G$-invariant, symmetric, positive-semidefinite, nonzero (0,2)-tensor field $T$ on $G/H$. Assume that $H$ is a maximal connected Lie subgroup of $G$. We prove the existence of a $G$-invariant Riemannian metric $g$ and a positive number $c$ such that the Ricci curvature of $g$ coincides with $cT$ on $G/H$. Afterwards, we examine what happens when the maximality hypothesis fails to hold.