Cohomogeneity one actions on some noncompact symmetric spaces of rank two (Q897140)

The authors continue the classification of the cohomogeneity-one actions on irreducible noncompact Riemannian symmetric spaces and, more specifically, on the spaces \(\mathbf{G}_2^{\mathbb{C}}/\mathbf{G}_2\), \(\mathbf{SL}_3(\mathbb{C})/\mathbf{U}_3\) and \(\mathbf{SO}_2/\mathbf{SO}_2\times \mathbf{SO}_{n+2}\) of rank two. They start the paper with a good review of the work done up to date. \textit{A. Kollross} [Trans. Am. Math. Soc. 354, No. 2, 571--612 (2002; Zbl 1042.53034)] has done the classification for simply connected irreducible compact Riemannian symmetric spaces. The authors explain that the techniques used in the compact case fail to work in the noncompact case. The first author and \textit{H. Tamaru} [Trans. Am. Math. Soc. 359, No. 7, 3425--3438 (2007; Zbl 1117.53041)] solved the rank-one noncompact case with one exception (the quaternionic hyperbolic spaces). In other papers, the first author and Tamaru obtained partial results on the classification of cohomogeneity-one actions on noncompact Riemannian symmetric spaces of higher rank. They also developed an overall conceptual approach for all ranks in [the first author and \textit{H. Tamaru}, J. Reine Angew. Math. 683, 129--159 (2013; Zbl 1280.53049)] to attack the problem. This approach allowed them to solve the problem for the spaces \(\mathbf{SL}_3(\mathbb{R})/\mathbf{SO}_3\), \(\mathbf{SO}^0_{2,3}(\mathbb{C})/\mathbf{SO}_2\times \mathbf{SO}_3\) and \(\mathbf{G}_2^2/\mathbf{SO}_4\) of rank two. The authors of the current paper reproduce a theorem from the ``conceptual paper'' by the first author and Tamaru which shows that all cohomogeneity-one actions on irreducible noncompact Riemannian symmetric spaces are obtained by one of five methods. They then go on to simplify the application of the ``nilpotent construction'' and provide tools for its use. This allows them to provide the classification for the spaces associated with the root system \(\mathbf{G}_2\) and, as a by-product, for the space \(\mathbf{SL}_3(\mathbb{C})/\mathbf{U}_3\). A more elementary method provides them with the classification for the space \(\mathbf{SO}_2/\mathbf{SO}_2\times \mathbf{SO}_{n+2}\) for \(n\geq 1\). The authors suggest that this paper will be helpful in deriving the classification for the other rank-two spaces but that for higher ranks, other methods will have to be developed.