Spaces of commuting elements in the classical groups (Q2039561)

For a compact connected Lie group \(G\) let \(\text{Hom}(\mathbb{Z}^m,G)\subset G^m\) be the space of commuting elements in \(G\) and \(\text{Hom}(\mathbb{Z}^m,G)_1\) its path-connected component containing \((1,\ldots,1)\in G^m\). In [\textit{D. A. Ramras} and \textit{M. Stafa}, Math. Z. 292, No. 1--2, 591--610 (2019; Zbl 1416.22023)] an explicit formula for the Poincaré series of \(\text{Hom}(\mathbb{Z}^m,G)_1\) was obtained. The paper under review refines this formula in terms of (signed) integer partitions when \(G\) is a classical group. Using this refinement, and by computing explicitly using the Ramras-Stafa formula in the cases when \(G\) is exceptional, the authors determine the top term of the Poincaré series of \(\text{Hom}(\mathbb{Z}^m,G)_1\) for every compact connected Lie group \(G\) (Theorem G). As a consequence they show that for \(m\geq 2\) and \(G\) a non-trivial compact simply-connected Lie group, \(\text{Hom}(\mathbb{Z}^m,G)_1\) is rationally hyperbolic. Furthermore, the authors give a minimal generating set of the cohomology of \(\text{Hom}(\mathbb{Z}^m,G)_1\) over a field \(\mathbb{F}\) (of characteristic zero or prime to the order of the Weyl group of \(G\)) and they determine the cohomology in low dimensions for \(G\) a classical group (excluding \(SO(2n)\)). Their results use the description of the cohomology by \textit{T. J. Baird} [Algebr. Geom. Topol. 7, 737--754 (2007; Zbl 1163.57026)] in terms of a certain ring of invariants of the Weyl group of \(G\) and consists of a direct calculation of this ring of invariants. Using these results, the authors prove rational homological stability of \(\text{Hom}(\mathbb{Z}^m,G)_1\) for \(G\) a classical group (excluding \(SO(2n)\)) with the best possible stable range. Rational homological stability of \(\text{Hom}(\mathbb{Z}^m,G)_1\) was originally proved in [\textit{D. A. Ramras} and \textit{M. Stafa}, Int. Math. Res. Not. 2021, No. 5, 3927--4002 (2021; Zbl 1480.57037)] with a different approach.