Equivariant cohomology of quaternionic flag manifolds (Q926843)

Let \(V\) be a finite dimensional vectorspace over the field \({\mathbb H}\) of the quaternions, i.e. a finitely generated left \({\mathbb H}\)-module. If \(n\) is the dimension of \(V\), the complete quaternionic flag manifold, \(Fl_n({\mathbb H})\), parameterizes all the sequences \(0\subset V_1\subset\ldots\subset V_n=V\), where each \(V_i\) is a left \({\mathbb H}\)-submodule of \(V\) of dimension \(i\). The main result of the paper under review, Theorem 1.1., supplies a presentation in terms of generators and relations of the \(K\)-equivariant cohomology of \(Fl_n({\mathbb H})\), where \(K\) is the \(n\)-fold product of the symplectic group \(Sp(1)\). The proof is based on the fact that the \(K\)-equivariant cohomology of \(Fl_n(H)\) injects into the \(K\)-equivariant cohomology of the \(K\)-fixed points of \(Fl_n(H)\) and that the image is characterized via a description à la \textit{M. Goreski, R. Kottwitz, R. MacPherson }(GKM), as in [Invent. Math. 131, 25--83 (1998; Zbl 0897.22009)]. This article, which in the reviewer's opinion is very well organized, tries to be as self contained as possible. The introduction depicts clearly the shape of the entire paper, explaining precisely its goal, the statement of the main result as well as the main techniques invoked in the proof. Section 2 collects some useful preliminaries on the definition and the main properties of the quaternionic flag manifolds, to be used along the paper. Section~3, instead, begins with a clear description of the aforementioned GKM characterization of the equivariant cohomology of the quaternionic flag manifold and culminates with the proof of Theorem 1.1, the main result, concerning the presentation of the \(K\)-equivariant cohomology ring of \(Fl_n({\mathbb H})\). Two useful appendices and the list of references end this very nice and well written paper which, besides containing a new result, carries a great potential for introducing non experienced readers into such a beautiful subject.