Positively curved metrics on symmetric spaces with large symmetry rank

Abstract

We prove an obstruction at the level of rational cohomology in small degrees to the existence of positively curved metrics with large symmetry rank. The symmetry rank bound is logarithmic in the dimension of the manifold. As an application, we provide evidence for a generalized conjecture of Hopf that says that no symmetric space of rank at least two admits a metric with positive curvature.