Abstract
The \({\mathbb {Z}}_2\)-cohomology ring \(H^*({\widetilde{G}}_{n,k})\) of the oriented Grassmann manifold \({\widetilde{G}}_{n,k}\cong \mathrm {SO}(n)/(\mathrm {SO}(k)\times \mathrm {SO}(n-k))\) is in general unknown. This paper demonstrates that the characteristic rank of vector bundles in the sense of Korbaš, Naolekar, and Thakur can be helpful in improving our knowledge. More precisely, using the full knowledge of the characteristic rank of the canonical orientable k-plane bundle \({\widetilde{\gamma }}_{n,k}\) over \({\widetilde{G}}_{n,k}\) for \(k=2\), we completely calculate the cohomology ring \(H^*({\widetilde{G}}_{n,2})\). In addition, we completely determine the generators of the cohomology ring \(H^*({\widetilde{G}}_{n,3})\) for \(n=6,\,7,\,8,\,9,\,10,\,11\).
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Acknowledgments
The authors thank Shilpa S. Gondhali for reading an earlier version of this paper. The authors also highly appreciate the referee’s comments and suggestions.
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Dedicated to Vojta Bartík on his 75th birthday.
Part of this research was carried out while J. Korbaš was supported in part by two grants and T. Rusin by one grant of VEGA (Slovakia). J. Korbaš was also partially affiliated with the Mathematical Institute, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Bratislava.
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Korbaš, J., Rusin, T. A note on the \({\mathbb {Z}}_2\)-cohomology algebra of oriented Grassmann manifolds. Rend. Circ. Mat. Palermo, II. Ser 65, 507–517 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12215-016-0249-7
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12215-016-0249-7
Keywords
- Stiefel–Whitney class
- Wu class
- Characteristic rank of a vector bundle
- Cup-length
- Oriented Grassmann manifold
- Steenrod square