G-invariant spin structures on spheres (Q2164364)

The authors state the following result: let \(G\) be a compact connected Lie group acting transitively and effectively on a sphere of appropriate dimension. Then, its unique spin structure is \(G\)-invariant if and only if \(G\) is simply connected, or for \(n\) odd, \(\text{Sp}(n+1).\mathrm{U}(1)\) or \(\text{Sp}(n+1).\text{Sp}(1)\). In the proof, they employ two techniques. The first one is based on a differential geometric nature and the second one is based on the characterization of the isotropy representation.