Nonpositively curved homogeneous spaces of dimension five (Q1263102)

In this paper we classify, in terms of the rank, the simply connected homogeneous spaces of nonpositive curvature and dimension five. In particular, an affirmative answer is given to the following conjecture: An irreducible homogeneous space of nonpositive curvature and rank \(k\geq 2\) is a symmetric space of rank k. We exhibit examples in dimension five of rank one homogeneous spaces of nonpositive curvature having totally geodesic two-flats isometrically imbedded. Moreover, these examples show that the rank in a Lie group is not invariant under the change of left invariant metrics of nonpositive curvature.