The index of certain Stiefel manifolds

Abstract

This paper computes the Fadell-Husseini index of Stiefel manifolds in the case where the group acts via permutations of the orthogonal vectors. The computations are carried out in the case of elementary Abelian $p$-groups. The results are shown to imply certain generalizations of the Kakutani-Yamabe-Yujobo theorem.