ON THE GEOMETRY OF VECTOR BUNDLES WITH FLAT CONNECTIONS

Let $E{\rightarrow}M$ be an arbitrary vector bundle of rank k over a Riemannian manifold M equipped with a fiber metric and a compatible connection $D^E$. R. Albuquerque constructed a general class of (two-weights) spherically symmetric metrics on E. In this paper, we give a characterization of locally symmetric spherically symmetric metrics on E in the case when $D^E$ is flat. We study also the Einstein property on E proving, among other results, that if $k{\geq}2$ and the base manifold is Einstein with positive constant scalar curvature, then there is a 1-parameter family of Einstein spherically symmetric metrics on E, which are not Ricci-flat.