Chern numbers and the geometry of partial flag manifolds (Q1026414)

The authors describe the different structures of the partial flag manifolds \(F_n=SU(n+2)/S(U(n)\times U(1)\times U(1))\): for \(n>1\), two complex algebraic structures, corresponding to the projectivization of the tangent and cotangent bundle of \(\mathbb C\mathbb P^{n+1}\), and an invariant nearly Kähler one (because \(F_n\) is a 3-symmetric space). The authors focus on the computation of the Chern classes of the three structures in two different ways: Lie theory and another strategy (using an explicit formula for the total Chern class), with details for some examples to better explain the technique. In order to compute the Chern classes, the authors give a convenient presentation of the cohomology ring; as a consequence they prove that \(F_n\) is not geometrically formal.