Ricci-positive metrics on connected sums of projective spaces (Q1733256)

The proof of the fact that the connected sum of arbitrarily many copies of $\mathbb{C}P^2$ can be endowed with a Ricci-positive metric [\textit{G. Perelman}, Math. Sci. Res. Inst. Publ. 30, 157--163 (1997; Zbl 0890.53038)] relies in a key way on the construction of a ``core metric'' on $\mathbb{C}P^2 \setminus D^4$ with a round boundary having positive principal curvatures. This construction uses the Lie group structure on $S^3$. \par The present paper generalizes the result to projective spaces in every dimension over the complex, quaternionic and octonionic numbers. In place of the $S^3$-invariant metric, ``doubly warped Riemannian submersion metrics'' are used, which coincide in the case of $\mathbb{C}P^2$ with the metric constructed by Perelman. The construction permits taking connected sums of different types of projective spaces. \par It is also found that a single real projective space can be added to the connected sum or that one can take the product of each summand with a sphere.