Isometry types of frame bundles (Q346700)

Let \(\mathcal{SO}(M_i)\) be the principal bundles of oriented orthonormal frames for the tangent bundles of two oriented Riemannian manifold \((M_i,g)\) of fixed dimension \(m\neq 3,4,8\) for \(i=1,2\). Give the bundles \(\mathcal{SO}(M_i)\) the canonical \(\text{SO}(m)\)-invariant metric (the Sasaki-Mok-O'Neill metric); the metric is unique once one fixes the volume of the fibers. The author shows that \(M_1\) is isometric to \(M_2\) if and only if \(\mathcal{SO}(M_1)\) is isometric to \(\mathcal{SO}(M_2)\). They note, by considering the case of the round sphere where the structure group is \(\mathrm{SO}(m+1)\), that the question is a bit delicate as an isometry from \(\mathcal{SO}(M_1)\) to \(\mathcal{SO}(M_2)\) need not arise from an underlying isometry of \(M_1\) to \(M_2\). \S1 is an introduction to the problem at hand, a historical survey, a statement of results, and the outline of the proof. The Sasaki-Mok-O'Neill metric, vector fields on frame bundles, Killing vector fields, isometries, the Tagai-Yawati theorem, and volume normalization are introduced in \S2. \S3 deals with high-dimensional isometry groups of manifolds. \S4 gives a geometric characterization of the fibers of \(\mathcal{SO}(M)\rightarrow M\). The case where one of the manifolds has constant positive sectional curvature is exceptional and is dealt with in \S5 except for the case \(m=2\). \S6 completes the proof as it deals with surfaces. The cases \(m=3,4,8\) are left unsettled and no further information concerning these cases is provided.