Large semisimple groups on 16-dimensional compact projective planes are almost simple (Q1358282)

The present paper together with a succeeding one (to be published in Monatsh. Math.) is a significant contribution to the classification program for sufficiently homogeneous compact connected projective planes as it is described in \S 87 of the book [`Compact projective planes' (CPP), \textit{H. Salzmann, D. Betten, Th. Grundhöfer, H. Hähl, R. Löwen} and \textit{M. Stroppel} (1996; Zbl 0851.51003)]. Let \(\Delta\) denote any connected closed subgroup of the automorphism group of a compact \(16\)-dimensional plane \(\mathcal P\). If the topological dimension \(\dim\Delta\geq 27\), then \(\Delta\) is a Lie group [the author and the reviewer, J. Lie Theory 8, 1-11 (1998)], and there are three possibilities: (i) \(\Delta\) is semi-simple, (ii) \(\Delta\) contains a central torus subgroup, or (iii) \(\Delta\) has a minimal normal vector subgroup. Each plane \(\mathcal P\) with \(\dim\Delta\geq 40\) is a semi-field plane over a mutation of the octonion algebra \(\mathbb{O}\), see CPP 87.7. If \(\dim\Delta\geq 31\) in case (ii), then \(\mathcal P\) is a Hughes plane as described in CPP \S 86. Only the classical Moufang plane \({\mathcal P}_2\mathbb{O}\) admits a semi-simple group of dimension at least \(37\) [the reviewer, Math. Ann. 261, 447-454 (1982; Zbl 0497.51015)]. The author obtains a remarkable improvement of the last result: if \(\dim\Delta\geq 29\) and \(\Delta\) is semi-simple, then \(\mathcal P\) is a Hughes plane (including \({\mathcal P}_2\mathbb{O}\)) or \(\Delta\cong\text{Spin}(\mathbb{R},r)\) with \(r\leq1\). In the paper under review, she reduces the problem to almost simple groups. Theorem. If \(\dim\Delta\geq 29\) and \(\Delta\) is semi-simple but not almost simple, then \(\Delta\) is isomorphic to the centralizer of a Baer involution in \({\mathcal P}_2\mathbb{O}\), i.e. a product of \(\text{SL}_3\mathbb{H}\) and \(\text{SU}_2\mathbb{C}\) with amalgamated centers, and \(\mathcal P\) is classical. The proof distinguishes 4 different possibilities for the center of \(\Delta\).