Topology of positively curved 8-dimensional manifolds with symmetry

الأصل · EN

In this paper we show that a simply connected 8-dimensional manifold M of positive sectional curvature and symmetry rank ≥ 2 resembles a rank one symmetric space in several ways. For example, the Euler characteristic of M is equal to the Euler characteristic of S⁸, H P² or C P⁴. And if M is rationally elliptic then M is rationally isomorphic to a rank one symmetric space. For torsion-free manifolds we derive a much stronger classification. We also study the bordism type of 8-dimensional manifolds of positive sectional curvature and symmetry rank ≥ 2. As an illustration we apply our results to various families of 8-manifolds.