Canonical isotopies in Euclidean space

LetG(n,k) denote the space (with the compact-open topology) of homeomorphisms ofR ⁿ which are fixed onR ^k. Theorem 1:G(n, n−2) deforms inG(n, 0) toO(2), whereO(2) is the orthogonal group. Corollary 2: (forn=2) the Kneser theorems. Corollary 3: A EuclideanR ⁿ bundleξ ⁿ overS ^m(m≦∞) which contains anR ⁿ−2 subbundleξ ^{n − 2} is isomorphic, as aG(n,0) bundle, to a Whitney sumξ ^{n − 2} ⊕ξ ². Corollary 4: (n−2) stable homeomorphisms ofR ⁿ orS ⁿ are (n−1) stable, hence stable if orientation preserving. Part of this work represents a portion of the author’s Ph.D. thesis at the University of California, Los Angeles, written under the direction of D. S. Gillman and R. C. Kirby.