Cone-decompositions of the unitary groups (Q820092)

The Lusternik-Schnirelman category (LS category) of a space \(X\), cat\((X)\), is the least integer \(n\) for which \(X\) can be covered by \(n+1\) open sets, each being contractible in \(X\). The LS category is a homotopy invariant. \textit{W. Singhof} [Math. Z. 145, 111--116 (1975; Zbl 0315.55012)] computed the LS category of unitary groups. He constructed an open covering of SU\((n)\) by \(n\) subsets contractible in SU\((n)\) and thus obtained an upper bound for the category of \(U(n) \cong \text{SU}(n) \times S^1\); he then used the cup-length of \(U(n)\) to obtain a lower bound and to show that cat\((U(n))=n\). The author of the paper under review gives a different proof of Singhof's result by using cone decompositions of a space to determine an upper bound for LS category and to compute it. The author gives two different cone decompositions of the unitary group. One of the two decompositions is more difficult, but it agrees with the filtration used by Miller in [\textit{H. Miller}, Topology 24, 411--419 (1985; Zbl 0581.55006)].