On the cohomology of central Frattini extensions (Q5935968)

As the authors remark in their introduction, ``Obtaining a complete computation for the cohomology of a non-Abelian \(p\)-group can be quite difficult''. In this paper, the authors calculate the cohomology of certain \(p\)-groups which can be exhibited as central extensions \(1\to V\to G\to W\to 1\) of elementary Abelian groups. They require that the extension be Frattini, meaning that the quotient of \(G\) by its commutator subgroup, tensored with \(\mathbb{F}_p\), is isomorphic to the group \(W\). Such an extension is determined by a subgroup \(K\) of the second cohomology group of \(W\). If \(K\) contains the whole image of the Bockstein homomorphism then the cohomology ring of \(G\) is the tensor product of a polynomial ring on generators of degree \(2\) and the cohomology of a certain compact manifold. If, in addition, \(p\) is sufficiently large (\(p>\dim V-\dim W+1\)) then this second factor can be expressed as the homology of a Koszul complex, whose differentials can be described in terms of \(K\). By way of application, a complete computation of the `universal' central extension \(1\to H^2(W,\mathbb{F}_p)\to U\to W\to 1\) is given in the case where \(p>{n\choose 2}+1\), \(n\) being \(\dim W\).