Let $ G $ be a compact topological group which is quasisimple in the sense that $$ [G,G]=G $$ and $$ G/Z(G) $$ is simple as an abstract group. Must $ G $ be a Lie group?
This is a follow-up question to https://math.stackexchange.com/questions/4537401/compact-simple-group-which-is-not-a-lie-group
By Peter-Weyl theorem there must be a nontrivial continuous homomorphism from $ G/Z(G) $ to some $ U_n $. Since $ G/Z(G) $ is abstractly simple then this is an embedding and so we realize $ G/Z(G) $ as a compact and thus closed subspace of some $ U_n $. Thus $ G/Z(G) $ is a closed subgroup of $ U_n $ so it is a Lie group. So the question is equivalent to: let the compact topological group $ G $ be a perfect central extension of a compact simple Lie group. Must $ G $ be a Lie group?