We study the geometry of non-reductive $4$-dimensional homogeneous spaces. In particular, after describing their Levi-Civita connection and curvature properties, we classify homogeneous Ricci solitons on these spaces, proving the existence of shrinking, expanding and steady examples. For all the non-trivial examples we find, the Ricci operator is diagonalizable.

A Riemannian manifold $(M,\rho)$ is called Einstein if the metric $\rho$ satisfies the condition \linebreak$\Ric (\rho)=c\cdot \rho$ for some constant $c$. This paper is devoted to the investigation of $G$-invariant Einstein metrics, with additional symmetries, on some homogeneous spaces $G/H$ of classical groups. As a consequence, we obtain new invariant Einstein metrics on some Stiefel manifolds $\SO(n)/\SO(l)$. Furthermore, we show that for any positive integer $p$ there exists a Stiefel manifold $\SO(n)/\SO(l)$ that admits at least $p$ $\SO(n)$-invariant Einstein metrics.

We provide an explicit thick and thin decomposition for oriented hyperbolic manifolds $M$ of dimension $5$. The result implies improved universal lower bounds for the volume $\rmvol_5(M)$ and, for $M$ compact, new estimates relating the injectivity radius and the diameter of $M$ with $\rmvol_5(M)$. The quantification of the thin part is based upon the identification of the isometry group of the universal space by the matrix group $\PS_\Delta {\rm L} (2,\mathbb{H})$ of quaternionic $2\times 2$-matrices with Dieudonn\'e determinant $\Delta$ equal to $1$ and isolation properties of $\PS_\Delta {\rm L} (2,\mathbb{H})$.

We show that the Seiberg-Witten invariants of a lens space determine and are determined by its Casson-Walker invariant and its Reidemeister-Turaev torsion.