Sp(2)/U(1) and a Positive Curvature Problem

Abstract

A compact Riemannian homogeneous space $G/H$, with a bi--invariant orthogonal decomposition $\mathfrak{g}=\mathfrak{h}+\mathfrak{m}$ is called positively curved for commuting pairs, if the sectional curvature vanishes for any tangent plane in $T_{eH}(G/H)$ spanned by a linearly independent commuting pair in $\mathfrak{m}$. In this paper,we will prove that on the coset space $\mathrm{Sp}(2)/\mathrm{U}(1)$, in which $\mathrm{U}(1)$ corresponds to a short root, admits positively curved metrics for commuting pairs. B. Wilking recently proved that this $\mathrm{Sp}(2)/\mathrm{U}(1)$ can not be positively curved in the general sense. This is the first example to distinguish the set of compact coset spaces admitting positively curved metrics, and that for metrics positively curved only for commuting pairs.