Fixed points of maps of a nonaspherical wedge (Q1030618)

Drawing extensively upon earlier work by \textit{J. Wagner} [Trans. Am. Math. Soc. 351, 41--62 (1999; Zbl 0910.55001)] the authors study the Nielsen numbers of a map \(f:(X,x_0)\to(X,x_0)\) where \(X\) is a finite polyhedron which has the homotopy type \(P\vee C\) where \(P\) denotes the projective plane and \(C\) the circle and \(x_0\) is chosen as the intersection of \(P\) and \(C\). \(\pi_1(X,x_0)\) then is the free product of a group of order two (the generator being denoted by \(a\) and (after choosing an orientation for \(C\)) the infinite cyclic group with generator \(b\). Denote by \(\pi:X\to C\) the retraction which maps \(C\) to \(x_0\) and by \(f_C\) the restriction of \(f\) to \(C\). By homotoping \(f\) one may assume that \(f(P)\subset P\), so that there is an induced map \(f_P:P\to P\). The authors start by considering the case where \(f_\#(a)=1\). In this case the Nielsen number \(N(f)=|1-k|\) where \(\pi_\#f_\#(b)=b^k\). The remaining case where \(f_\#(a)=a\) is much more complicated and requires the study of various subcases and a lot of combinatorial group theory. The details are too technical to be explained here.