Representation forms for metacyclic groups (Q1191484)

This paper presents a detailed study of the problem of constructing actions of an extension \(G\) of a normal subgroup \(H\) by a group \(K\) (both \(H\), \(K\) of odd prime order) on homotopy spheres \(X\). First, using several results of tom Dieck and others, the homotopy classification is considered: this involves the dimension functions (dimensions of fixed point sets of \(I\), \(H\), \(K\), \(G\) on \(X\)), and a Burnside ring invariant referring to degrees of maps of these fixed point sets. It is shown that \(X\) has finite homotopy type if and only if the action of \(H\) on \(X\) is homotopy equivalent to the restriction of a linear representation of \(G\) on a sphere. All the remaining results assume a gap hypothesis. The existence of a smooth normal invariant is shown to follow if certain spaces of equivariant linear surjections of representations are sufficiently highly connected. This is applied to prove existence under any one of 3 conditions on the dimension function. Next it is shown that if the action on \(X\) is smooth, then \(X\) has trivial stable tangent bundle and moreover \(X\times X\) is ``stably linear'' as a sphere bundle over \(X\). A key step is now to show that provided \(X\) as finite homotopy type, \(X\times X\) is stably linear, the gap hypothesis holds and certain further spaces of equivariant linear surjections are sufficiently highly connected, then equivariant transversality can be obtained and hence \(X\) realized by a smooth action. This is deduced from results of tom Dieck, Petrie and Hambleton. The connectivity problem is dealt with using standard results from equivariant stable homotopy theory (McClure, Hauschild, Waner) and the author obtains his final result: if the dimension function satisfies certain `gap' inequalities (and each nonempty fixpoint set has dimension \(\geq 5)\), \(X\) is realized by a smooth action if and only if the action of \(H\) on \(X\) is homotopy equivalent to a linear action, and the dimension function satisfies a congruence condition modulo a certain power of \(| K|\).