The classification of compact simply connected biquotients in dimensions 4 and 5 (Q2453717)

Let \(G\) be a compact Lie group, \(H\) a subgroup of \(G\) and \(f = (f_1, f_2) : H \rightarrow G \times G\) be a group homomorphism with a finite kernel. Then there is an action of \(H\) on \(G\), given by \(h*g := f_1(h) g f_2 (h)^{-1}\) for \(\forall h \in H\), \(\forall g \in G\). This \(H\)-action on \(G\) is effectively free if \(h_0 * g_0 = g_0\) for some \(h_0 \in H\) and some \(g_0 \in G\) implies \(h_0 * g = g\) for all \(g \in G\). When such an action of \(H\) on \(G\) is effectively free, the quotient \(G//H\) is a smooth manifold, called a bi-quotient. In this case, the \(H\)-action on \(G\) is isometric with respect to the bi-invariant metric on \(G\) and \(G//H\) carries a metric of non-negative sectional curvature. Totaro has shown that for any compact, simply connected manifold \(M\), diffeomorphic to a bi-quotient there exist a compact semisimple simply connected Lie group \(G\) and a connected subgroup \(H\) of \(G\), such that \(M\) is diffeomorphic to a bi-quotient \(G//H\) and no simple factor of \(H\) acts transitively on a simple factor of \(G\). Such bi-quotients are called reduced. Up to a diffeomorphism, there are a single \(2\)-dimensional reduced compact simply connected bi-quotient \(S^2 \simeq \mathrm{SU}(2) // S^1\) and a unique \(3\)-dimensional reduced compact simply connected bi-quotient \(S^3 \simeq \mathrm{SU}(2) // \{ e \}\). The article under review classifies the \(4\)-dimensional and the \(5\)-dimensional reduced compact simply connected bi-quotients. More precisely, the \(4\)-dimensional reduced compact simply connected bi-quotients \(M^4 \simeq G //H\) are diffeomorphic to \(S^4\), \({\mathbb C}{\mathbb P} ^2\), \(S^2 \times S^2\), \({\mathbb C} {\mathbb P} ^2 \sharp {\mathbb C}{\mathbb P}^2\) or to \({\mathbb C} {\mathbb P}^2 \sharp - {\mathbb C}{\mathbb P}^2\), where \(- {\mathbb C}{\mathbb P}^2\) stands for \({\mathbb C}{\mathbb P}^2\) with reversed orientation. The work specifies the groups \(G\), their subgroups \(H\) and the images \(f(H) \subseteq G \times G\) of \(H\) under homomorphisms \(f: H \rightarrow G \times G\) with finite kernel. There are five representations \(S^4 \simeq \mathcal{G}_i // \mathcal{H}_i\), \(1 \leq i \leq 5\) of \(S^4\) as a reduced bi-quotient. These are \[ G_1 = \mathrm{Sp}(2), \quad \mathcal{H}_1 = \mathrm{Sp}(1)^2, \quad f(\mathcal{H}_1) = \mathrm{Sp}(1) \times \Delta \mathrm{Sp}(1); \] \[ \mathcal{G}_2 = \mathrm{SU}(4), \quad \mathcal{H}_2 = \mathrm{SU}(3) \times \mathrm{SU}(2), \quad f(\mathcal{H}_2) = \mathrm{SU}(3) \times \Delta \mathrm{SU}(2); \] \[ \mathcal{G}_3 = \mathrm{Spin} (8), \quad \mathcal{H}_3 = \mathrm{Spin} (7) \times \mathrm{SU}(2), \quad f(\mathcal{H}_3) = \mathrm{Spin} (7) \times \Delta \mathrm{SU}(2); \] \[ \mathcal{G}_4 = \mathrm{Spin} (8), \quad \mathcal{H}_4 = \mathrm{Spin} (7) \times \mathrm{SU}(2), \quad f(\mathcal{H}_4) = \overline{\mathrm{Spin} (7)} \times \overline{\mathrm{SU}(2)} \] for the image \(\overline{\mathrm{Spin} (7)}\) of the spin representation and the inverse image \(\overline{\mathrm{SU}(2)} \simeq \mathrm{SU}(2)\) of the standard block embedding \(\mathrm{SO}(3) \hookrightarrow \mathrm{SO}(8)\) under the natural projection \(\mathrm{Spin} (8) \rightarrow \mathrm{SO}(8)\) and, finally, \[ \mathcal{G}_5 = \mathrm{Spin} (7), \quad \mathcal{H} _5 = G_2 \times \mathrm{SU}(2), \quad f(\mathcal{H}_5) = G_2 \times \overline{\mathrm{SU}(2)} \] for the inverse image \(\overline{\mathrm{SU}(2)} \simeq \mathrm{SU}(2)\) of the standard block embedding \(\mathrm{SO}(3) \hookrightarrow \mathrm{SO}(7)\) under the natural projection \(\mathrm{Spin} (7) \rightarrow \mathrm{SO}(7)\). The complex projective plane \({\mathbb C}{\mathbb P}^2\) admits two representations \({\mathbb C}{\mathbb P}^2 \simeq \mathfrak{G}_j //\mathfrak{H}_j\), \(1 \leq j \leq 2\) as a reduced bi-quotient. The first one is \[ \mathfrak{G}_1 = \mathrm{SU}(3), \quad \mathfrak{H}_1 = \mathrm{SU}(2) \times S^1, \quad f(\mathfrak{H}_1) = \text{diag} (zA, \overline{z}^2) \times \text{diag} (z^4, z^4, \overline{z}^8), \] while the second one is \[ \mathfrak{G}_2 = \mathrm{SU}(4), \quad \mathfrak{H}_2 = \mathrm{Sp} (2) \times S^1, \quad f(\mathfrak{H}_2) = \mathrm{Sp}(2) \times \text{diag} (z,z,z,\overline{z}^3). \] The remaining three \(4\)-dimensional reduced compact simply connected bi-quotients \(M^4\) have unique representations \(M^4 \simeq G//H\). Namely, \[ S^2 \times S^2 \simeq \mathrm{Sp}(1)^2 / S^1 \times S^1 \quad \text{with} \quad f(S^1 \times S^1) = (z^2, wz^n) \times (1,z^n) \] for even \(n\), \[ {\mathbb C}{\mathbb P}^2 \sharp - {\mathbb C}{\mathbb P}^2 \simeq \mathrm{Sp}(1) ^2 // S^1 \times S^1 \quad \text{with} \quad f(S^1 \times S^1) = (z^2, wz^n) \times (1, z^n) \] for odd \(n\) and \[ {\mathbb C}{\mathbb P}^2 \sharp {\mathbb C}{\mathbb P}^2 \simeq \mathrm{Sp}(1)^2 // S^1 \times S^1 \quad \text{with} \quad f(S^1 \times S^1) = (zw, zw^2) \times (w,z). \] There are two \(5\)-dimensional reduced compact simply connected bi-quotients: \[ S^3 \times S^2 \simeq \mathrm{Sp}(1)^2 // S^1 \quad \text{ with } \quad f(S^1) = \text{diag} (z^{a}, z^b) \times \text{diag} (z^c, z^d), \] \(\text{GCD} (a,b,c,d) = 1\), \(\text{GCD} (a^2 - c^2, b^2 - d^2) =1\) and the unique non-trivial \(S^3\)-bundle \[ S^3 \widehat{\times} S^2 \simeq \mathrm{Sp}(1)^2 // S^1 \quad \text{over} \quad S^2 \quad \text{with} \quad f(S^1) = \text{diag} (z^{a}, z^b) \times \text{diag} (z^c, z^d), \] \(\text{GCD} (a,b,c,d) = 1\), \(\text{GCD} (a^2 - c^2, b^2 - d^2) =4\). The main tool for the classification of the \(4\)-dimensional and \(5\)-dimensional reduced compact simply connected bi-quotients is rational homotopy theory.