Rigidity of rank-one factors of compact symmetric spaces (Q646396)

The authors consider the decomposition of a compact-type symmetric space into a product of factors and show that the rank-one factors, when considered as totally geodesic submanifolds of the space, are isolated from inequivalent minimal submanifolds. More precisely the authors prove the following: Suppose that \(X\) is a symmetric space of compact type, decomposing into a direct product \(X=X_1\times X_2\), where \(X_1\) is of rank one and is not the Cayley Plane. Then there is a \(C^3\)-neighborhood of the standard embedding of \(X_1\) as a factor such that any minimal immersion in this neighborhood is another factor in the decomposition.