The involutions of compact symmetric spaces. II (Q1201458)

This article is a continuation of the earlier paper with the same title [Part I, ibid. 11, 57-79 (1988; Zbl 0655.53041)] in which to any compact symmetric space \(M\) a couple \((M^ +,M^ -)\) of symmetric subspaces was attached (called a polar and a meridian). The main theorem says that a compact connected simple symmetric space \(M\) is uniquely determined by any pair of its polar and meridian. A number of special results is proved for the involutions of Lie groups.