Bieberbach groups and flat manifolds (Q1085802)

The author's intention was to write a textbook which can be used for a second year graduate course. The topic has an interdisciplinary character. It starts with the three classical theorems of Bieberbach on the crystallographic groups leading to the solution to Hilbert's 18th problem. Special torsionfree crystallographic groups, called Bieberbach groups, can be fundamental groups of compact flat manifolds. The complexity of the topic also appears in the method of classifying these groups and manifolds, accordingly, since the classification is based on the cohomology theory of groups. In general, this would be a hopeless program. The author illustrates the method by some known examples and also his own results where the manifold has a holonomy group \({\mathbb{Z}}_ p\) of prime order. The characterization of automorphisms of such \({\mathbb{Z}}_ p\)-manifolds, appearing first here, completes this monograph. Some joint results with C.-H. Sah and A. T. Vasquez are also treated in the book. The author mentions in the preface that he will continue the topic in a second volume. The reviewer misses the very stimulating paper of \textit{H. Zassenhaus} [Comment. Math. Helv. 21, 117-141 (1948; Zbl 0030.00902)] in the list of references. The algorithm given there would motivate the misterious definition of the second cohomology group \(H^ 2(\phi,M)\) and make clearer why this concept helps us in the classification. Also the author should mention the papers of \textit{G. Maxwell} [J. Algebra 35, 159-177 (1975; Zbl 0312.20029)] and the one of \textit{G. Maxwell} and \textit{N. Broderick} [ibid. 44, 290-318 (1977; Zbl 0348.20041)], moreover, the thematically closely related paper of \textit{G. Maxwell} [ibid. 44, 191-195 (1977; Zbl 0357.20024)] where the holonomy group \(\phi\) is a Coxeter group or the rotation subgroup of such a group. Turning to the content of the book to be reviewed, a Bieberbach group \(\pi\) satisfies an exact sequence \[ 0\to M\to \pi \to \phi \to 1 \] with M free abelian (say, of rank n), \(\phi\) finite, and \(\pi\) torsionfree. The proofs of Bieberbach's theorems, presented and analyzed in Chapter I, indicate the following scheme for the construction and classification of such groups (Chapter III): A) Pick any finite group \(\phi\) as the holonomy group of a Bieberbach group (by a theorem of Auslander and Kuranishi). B) Take a faithful representation of \(\phi\) on a free abelian group M. C) Find a cohomology class \(\alpha \in H^ 2(\phi;M)\) such that the associated extension \(\pi\) is torsionfree. D) See if this \(\pi\) is isomorphic to any other \(\pi\) ' corresponding to any \(\alpha '\in H^ 2(\phi;M')\) where M' is any other \(\phi\)-module. Because of the difficulty of step B) only special holonomy groups \(\phi ={\mathbb{Z}}_ p\) of prime order are examined in this book. Chapter IV is based on the paper of the author [Ann. Math., II. Ser. 81, 15-30 (1965; Zbl 0132.165)]. Chapter V concerns the automorphisms of a Bieberbach group \(\pi\), it is partly a joint work with Han Sah and has never been published before. The book contains many exercises, stimulating open problems with some hints. Chapter II also describes the differential geometric background of the topic, although it is not necessary for the main treatment. In the reviewer's opinion the book is very hard to read, because of its complexity, but the reader will enjoy the author's enthusiastic style of writing and this stimulates in overcoming the difficulties.