On three-dimensional $N(k)$-paracontact metric manifolds and Ricci solitons

The aim of this paper is to characterize $3$-dimensional $N(k)$-paracontact metric manifolds satisfying certain curvature conditions. We prove that a $3$-dimensional $N(k)$-paracontact metric manifold $M$ admits a Ricci soliton whose potential vector field is the Reeb vector field $xi$ if and only if the manifold is a paraSasaki-Einstein manifold. Several consequences of this result are discussed. Finally, an illustrative example is constructed.