Nonimmersion theorems for Grassmann manifolds (Q1304857)

For a rational number \(q\), let \(\alpha(q)\) denote the number of ones in the dyadic expansion of \(q\). Let \(\mathbb F = \mathbb R, \mathbb C, \text{or } \mathbb H\), and let \(G_k(\mathbb F^n)\) denote the Grassmann manifold of all \(k\)-dimensional vector subspaces in \(\mathbb F^n\). The author proves some new nonimmersion and nonembedding results for \(G_k (\mathbb H^n)\) and \(G_{2k}(\mathbb R^{2n})\). As noted by him, his result for the complex Grassmannians was first proved, in a different way, by \textit{T. Sugawara} [Proc. Jap. Acad., Ser. A 55, 59-64 (1979; Zbl 0398.57027)]. Putting \(r(k,n)=\sum _{j=k+1}^{n-k-1}\alpha(j)-\sum_{j=2k+1}^{n-1}\alpha(j)\), for \(n\geq 2k\) in the quaternionic and for \(n>2k\) in the real case, the author proves that the Grassmannians \(G_k(\mathbb H^n)\), \(G_{2k}(\mathbb R^{2n})\) cannot be immersed into Euclidean \((8k(n-k)-4k+2r(k,n)-1)\)-space, and that they cannot be embedded into Euclidean \((8k(n-k)-4k+2r(k,n))\)-space. For \(G_{2k}(\mathbb R^{2n})\) still a little stronger results are given depending on \(-2k+r(k,n)\equiv 1,2\), or \(3 \pmod{4}\). The author's results for the real Grassmannians complement previously known nonimmersion or nonembedding theorems due to V. Oproiu, H. Hiller and R. Stong, V. Bartík and the reviewer, M. Markl. The proofs are based on integrality theorems due to \textit{M. F. Atiyah} and \textit{F. Hirzebruch} [Bull. Soc. Math. France 87, 383-396 (1959; Zbl 0196.55903)] and the author [Topology 4, 295-313 (1965; Zbl 0173.25903)]. To compute the needed rational characteristic numbers, the author considers a suitable \(S^1\)-action with a finite number of fixed points; using the Atiyah-Singer fixed point formula, the characteristic numbers are then obtained from local data at the fixed points.