On maximality of the cup-length of flag manifolds (Q1677572)

Let \(q\), \(n_1,\dots,n_q\) be positive integers, \(n=n_1+\dots+n_q\), and \((V_1,\dots,V_q)\) be a \(q\)-tuple of mutually orthogonal subspaces of \(\mathbb{R}^n\) where dim\(V_i=n_i\). These data constitute a \textit{real flag} of type \((n_1,\dots,n_q)\). The space of such real flags is called the real flag manifold \(F(n_1,\dots,n_q)\) whose manifold structure comes from its identification with \(O(n)/O(n_1)\times\dots\times O(n_q)\). It is a closed manifold whose dimension is \(\sum\{n_in_j\,| \,1\leq i<j\leq q\}\). The authors note that for any permutation \(\sigma\) of \((n_1,\dots,n_q)\), \(F(n_1,\dots,n_q)\break\approx F(n_{\sigma(1)},\dots,F_{\sigma(q)})\). So for their purposes, it is assumed that \(n_1\leq\dots\leq n_q\). They are going to work only with cohomology modulo \(\mathbb{Z}/2\), and in terms of this ring there is a notion of \(\mathbb{Z}/2\)-cup-length, which we shall not define in this review. The question is: for which real flag manifolds \(X\) does the \(\mathbb{Z}/2\)-cup-length equal dim\(X\)? They obtain a complete classification for such manifolds that are of the form \(F(1,\dots,1,2,m)\) and \(F(1,\dots,1,2,2,m)\). They also provide a negative answer to a question of \textit{J. Korbaš} and \textit{J. Lörinc} [Fundam. Math. 178, No. 2, 143--158 (2003; Zbl 1052.55006)] related to the preceding notion but concerning a different class of flag manifolds.