Positive quaternionic Kähler manifolds and symmetry rank. II (Q2518151)

The author improves his previous result in [Positive quaternionic Kähler manifolds and symmetry rank. Part 1, J. Reine Angew. Math. 576, 149--165 (2004; Zbl 1060.53053)], where he finds an estimate for the rank of the isometry group of a quaternionic-Kähler space \(M\) in order to have \(M\) diffeomorphic to \(\mathbb {HP}^n\) or \(\text{Gr}_2(\mathbb C^{n+ 2})\). The first result about such lower bound was given in [\textit{R. Bielawski}, Math. Ann. 314, 505--528 (1999; Zbl 0952.53024)] where it was shown that if \(\text{rk}(G)\geq n+ 1\) for the isometry group \(G\) of \(M^{4n}\), then \(M\) is one of the above and \(\text{rk}(G)= n+ 1\). In the first pat of this paper the author proves that the same holds if \(\text{rk}(G)\geq n- 2\) if \(n\geq 10\) and moreover \(\text{rk}(G)\leq n+ 1\) always. In the second part the author improves the lower bound to \(\text{rk}(G)\geq{n\over 2}+ 3\). The proof is based on results by \textit{F. Battaglia} [J. Lond. Math. Soc., II. Ser. 59, No. 1, 345--358 (1999; Zbl 0922.53017)] about moment map of a circle action in this setting and previous classification results.