Complex 2-plane bundles over complex projective space

Abstract

In recent years there has been some interest in rank2 algebraic (or holomorphic) vector bundles over the complex projective space pn. One of the main reasons for this interest is the connection of such bundles with projective varieties of codimension 2 and in particular with the question whether such varieties are necessarily complete intersections. In [2] Hartshorne formulates the conjecture that every rank2 algebraic bundle over pn splits as the sum of 2 line bundles at least if n > 7. Rank 2 bundles over pa are classified topologically by their Chern classes cl, c 2. In [1] Atiyah and Rees carry out the topological classification for p3 and show the existence of "sufficiently many" rank 2 topological bundles over p4. On p2 and p3 every topological 2-plane bundle has an algebraic structure. It is not known whether this is true for n > 4. In [6] and [-7] non-trivial 2-plane bundles are constructed over P", n>5 , with c a = c 2 = 0 . These are possible candidates for topological bundles without algebraic structure. In this paper we carry the classification of topological 2-plane bundles over P~ a few steps further. Although this by no means solves the classification problem for algebraic bundles, we hope the results may be of some use to those interested in algebraic bundles and projective varieties. In the following we shall not distinguish between a map f:X~BU(2), its homotopy:class and the induced isomorphism class of rank 2 bundles. Thus we shall often write r/$X or q :X~BU(2) . As H*(P";2~) is a truncated polynomial algebra on a 2-dimensional generator x, the Chern classes cl, c 2 are integer multiples of x resp. x 2. Therefore we shall regard them as integers. Let us write