De Rham Complex for Quantized Irreducible Flag Manifolds

It is shown that quantized irreducible flag manifolds possess a canonical $q$-analogue of the de Rham complex. Generalizing the well known situation for the standard Podle\'s' quantum sphere this analogue is obtained as the universal differential calculus of a distinguished first order differential calculus. The corresponding differential $\dif$ can be written as a sum of differentials $\del$ and $\delbar$. The universal differential calculus corresponding to the first order differential calculi $\dif$, $\del$, and $\delbar$ are given in terms of generators and relations. Relations to well known quantized exterior algebras are established. The dimensions of the homogeneous components are shown to be the same as in the classical case. The existence of a volume form is proven.